Fansided

College football 2018: Biggest X-factor on every Top 25 team

By Derek Grochowski

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Miles Sanders (24) of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs for a gain in the game between the Washington Huskies and the Penn State Nittany Lions on December 30, 2017 at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Miles Sanders (24) of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs for a gain in the game between the Washington Huskies and the Penn State Nittany Lions on December 30, 2017 at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
19 of 25
Next
GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 30: Washington Huskies defensive lineman Greg Gaines (99) looks on during the Fiesta Bowl college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Washington Huskies on December 30, 2017 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 30: Washington Huskies defensive lineman Greg Gaines (99) looks on during the Fiesta Bowl college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Washington Huskies on December 30, 2017 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

7. Greg Gaines, Washington Huskies

Chris Petersen has done a phenomenal job turning Washington into a legitimate team in the Pac-12 every year. He even got them to a College Football Playoff. The path is not as clear this year as the Pac-12 is starting to get more competitive at the top but the Washington Huskies can make their way back to the playoff for the second time in three years.

Right out of the gate the Huskies will be tested against Auburn in the opening week of the season. UCLA is entering the first year of the Chip Kelly era, they will not be great just yet but could be tricky. Follow that up with an Oregon Ducks team on the rise and the middle of October could be rough for Washington. They get their last tough matchup of the regular season early in November when they take on Stanford.

Replacing Vita Vea will be key for the Huskies lineup. Their x-factor is senior defensive lineman Evan Gaines. He is not quite the same level that Vea was, not many are that same level, but he will be crucial in slowing down the run game. Looking at the schedule the Huskies will have a lot of talented running backs to face this year.

Gaines has played all three seasons so far, usually being a part of a rotation on the line. In his twelve games last season he racked up 30 tackles and one and a half sacks. For rotation duties that is not bad. It is just a start but as the new keystone of the defensive line, those numbers will jump up. Bryce Love carved up the Washington defense last season for three rushing touchdowns and then receiving one as well. Gaines and the defensive line will need to have a game plan to shut him down if they want to have a chance at the College Football Playoff.