Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history
15. Washington Huskies – 2017
Lost to Alabama in Semifinal (Peach Bowl), 24-7
After a 12-1 regular season in 2016, the Washington Huskies entered the 2017 College Football Playoff looking to slay a giant, and they had the opportunity to do so as they faced off with the Alabama Crimson Tide in a semifinal matchup in the Peach Bowl. They had an up-and-comer at quarterback in Jake Browning, some talented skill position players and a good defense that was underrated all season.
In terms of the Washington pass defense, they undoubtedly did their part in shutting down the few times that Jalen Hurts and Alabama tried to throw the ball in this game. Hurts only attempted 14 passes in the game and completed just seven of them for 57 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Where the Huskies fell apart, though, is that they were just overpowered on both sides of the ball.
Staying with their defense, the Crimson Tide ran all over the Huskies defense throughout the night, particularly Bo Scarbrough. The running back carried the ball 19 times and amassed 180 yards and two touchdowns on the game, supplemented by Hurts and Damien Harris adding a combined 80 rushing yards as well.
As for the Washington offense, their line was no match for Bama’s defensive line as Browning was pressured constantly, forcing big mistakes, and running back Myles Gaskin had no room to run from start to finish. They only lost by 17 and showed that they could at least keep things respectable, but Washington was clearly on a lower tier than many of the great College Football Playoff teams.