Washington preseason #8?

[OSU2015]

It's that time of year where all of the CFB experts start to release their preseason polls. Phil Steele just released his preseason top 25 and he has Washington at #8.

Not sure I agree with Phil about their ranking but he is regarded as the best in the business. It looks like you guys have a tough one right out the gate.

Phil's magazine is due out in about a week.

http://247sports.com/Gallery/College-football-previews-poll-rankings-top-25-45914347

 

[oldman87]

Love playing with house money.

 

[RU23]

ESPN had an article yesterday about how they're a sleeper to make the college football playoff. I don't think anyone on here understands how good they're to be. This isn't like starting with Fresno or WSU which we've done the past few years (and gone 1-2).

2012 and 2013 were their best recruiting classes ever (#22 and #18 respectively) and now those guys are the older guys on the roster. Their QB, Jake Browning, is only going to be a true sophomore but is really good (was the #3 QB in the country coming out of high school). And they paid up for a legit coach in Chris Peterson who going into his third season will be able to looking to put his stamp on the program.

 

[chrisru99]

Steele unlike other magazine writers puts an extensive amount of time into his magazine. I heard an interview he gave to channel 84 online and he talked about his work day when preparing this magazine. Cant wait to fly out and see this game gonna be fun.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I think there are experts looking for someone else to pick other than Oregon and it's going to be a tough hill to climb for Washington to finally break through and beat Oregon. I think if they are going to do it, it would be this year, but I'm not quite sure UW is quite that talented or confident (explosive) enough to be in this range.

There were signs of turning the corner by winning at USC on the Thursday night and burying Washington State in the Apple Cup, but #8 is too high for my liking. This type of stuff lands on bulletin boards of other programs across the Pac 12 and this type of ranking gets the attention of an opposing coaching staff that needs to convince their players of what they are up against...ie RU staff in early summer really only needs to see this to keep the attention and focus of the players on what they are up against in the opener.

If this was USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, the anticipation would be off the charts for this opener....right now they are saying UW is at that level, but it seems like our fans are semi-neutral or blah about the opener. This is a more challenging road trip than Michigan State or possibly Ohio State this year.

 

[shields]

They also buried Washington State when the starting QB did not play.

 

[RU Husky]

I think there are experts looking for someone else to pick other than Oregon and it's going to be a tough hill to climb for Washington to finally break through and beat Oregon. I think if they are going to do it, it would be this year, but I'm not quite sure UW is quite that talented or confident (explosive) enough to be in this range.

There were signs of turning the corner by winning at USC on the Thursday night and burying Washington State in the Apple Cup, but #8 is too high for my liking. This type of stuff lands on bulletin boards of other programs across the Pac 12 and this type of ranking gets the attention of an opposing coaching staff that needs to convince their players of what they are up against...ie RU staff in early summer really only needs to see this to keep the attention and focus of the players on what they are up against in the opener.

If this was USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, the anticipation would be off the charts for this opener....right now they are saying UW is at that level, but it seems like our fans are semi-neutral or blah about the opener. This is a more challenging road trip than Michigan State or possibly Ohio State this year.

Your last paragraph says more about our fans than it does about UW. Oregon has a lot of issues and if Washington puts it all together they could be playing for the PAC 12 title. Their HC is one of the best.

 

[sct1111]

If Rutgers is competitive and puts up a fight, I'll be happy. I think the biggest thing I'm looking for is how much our defense improves. I don't think I'll be able to take another year of getting blown out by ranked teams. Hopefully this game is more like MSU and less like OSU or UM last year.

 

[RAA-1]

I can't wait to visit Husky Stadium.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

No one in their right mind thinks we have any chance in hell of winning this game.

So with nothing to lose, lets just go for it and see what happens!

 

[Knight Shift]

No one in their right mind thinks we have any chance in hell of winning this game.

So with nothing to lose, lets just go for it and see what happens!

Some of us don't believe the hype about the Huskies, and as others have pointed out, we will face much more formidable competitors in at least tOSU and Michigan this year. That said, we have too many question marks and unknowns to feel unduly optimistic. Will have a better feel when we see what the depth chart looks like, especially at QB and the linebacker positions.

 

[Extra Point]

#8!??? It could get ugly and this board could get ugly too during the game. I believe we can win, our advantage is our new scheme. University of Washington has no tapes of it. Unfortunately our new scheme is also our weakness. It will take a long time to learn it. Based on what everyone is saying it looks most likely that we will get blown out. I didn't realize that UW was ranked #8.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

Some of us don't believe the hype about the Huskies, and as others have pointed out, we will face much more formidable competitors in at least tOSU and Michigan this year. That said, we have too many question marks and unknowns to feel unduly optimistic. Will have a better feel when we see what the depth chart looks like, especially at QB and the linebacker positions.

As Rutgers fans we are quick to point out Rutgers' faults/shortcoming, but at no time do we bother to see what the opponents have returning and what questions they have. Here's a little tidbit on Washington:

UW offense was in the 60s in total offense. Not bad, but once you look at what they have to replace it takes on another look. WR Jaydon Mickens was the leading receiver for UW. He had 58 receptions for 692 yards and 2 TD. Mickens is now a rookie with Oakland Raiders. UW second leading receiver was TE Joshua Perkins (36 catches, 539 yds. & 3 TD) and he's a rookie with Atlanta Falcons. UW also loss their 4th leading receiver in RB Dante Pettis (30 catches, 414 yds. & 1 TD) and he's a rookie with Detroit Lions. We scream about Carroo being impossible to replace, but UW has greater issues when it comes to the passing game. Overall, UW has less starting experience than Rutgers coming into the 2016 season. UW may be a year away from being the team everyone expects. The thing that has been hurting them the last few years is early departures for the NFL. Several players left early on a team that was 8-6, so when they finished 7-6 this year and it was a disappointment. Peterson is a good coach, but this isn't the MWC. Here's UW record the last 4 years: 2012 7-6, 2013 9-4, 2014 8-6, 2015 7-6. That looks a lot like Rutgers.:rolleyes:

My point is UW is not superman and Rutgers has a better chance than the experts and naysayers give. UW does have a good defense, but we saw first hand (RU 2012) if the offense can help the defense it doesn't matter.

 

[Knight Shift]

As Rutgers fans we are quick to point out Rutgers' faults/shortcoming, but at no time do we bother to see what the opponents have returning and what questions they have. Here's a little tidbit on Washington:

UW offense was in the 60s in total offense. Not bad, but once you look at what they have to replace it takes on another look. WR Jaydon Mickens was the leading receiver for UW. He had 58 receptions for 692 yards and 2 TD. Mickens is now a rookie with Oakland Raiders. UW second leading receiver was TE Joshua Perkins (36 catches, 539 yds. & 3 TD) and he's a rookie with Atlanta Falcons. UW also loss their 4th leading receiver in RB Dante Pettis (30 catches, 414 yds. & 1 TD) and he's a rookie with Detroit Lions. We scream about Carroo being impossible to replace, but UW has greater issues when it comes to the passing game. Overall, UW has less starting experience than Rutgers coming into the 2016 season. UW may be a year away from being the team everyone expects. The thing that has been hurting them the last few years is early departures for the NFL. Several players left early on a team that was 8-6, so when they finished 7-6 this year and it was a disappointment. Peterson is a good coach, but this isn't the MWC. Here's UW record the last 4 years: 2012 7-6, 2013 9-4, 2014 8-6, 2015 7-6. That looks a lot like Rutgers.:rolleyes:

My point is UW is not superman and Rutgers has a better chance than the experts and naysayers give. UW does have a good defense, but we saw first hand (RU 2012) if the offense can help the defense it doesn't matter.

But, but, but, but, but, but we are Rutgers and . . . .

 

[Dr. Potato]

Pre season predictions usually don't pan out. Alabama and Ohio St. will be very good. Beyond that who really knows. There are surprises every year.

Away game on the west coast against any P 5 team is tough.

 

[MoobyCow]

My prediction for this year: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[srru86]

Your last paragraph says more about our fans than it does about UW.

Really - if you can't get excited about this one I don't know what would do it for them.

 

[newwavedave1]

It is now a given that the Huskies are a good team. The question is, how good will RU be with a new coach and new offensive and defensive systems. I'll be there to find out.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

It is now a given that the Huskies are a good team. The question is, how good will RU be with a new coach and new offensive and defensive systems. I'll be there to find out.

How? Based on what? If that was the case, then why hasn't Rutgers received the same level of respect during its run under Schiano/Flood? I think our (RU fans) perception is what outsiders use against us when they see it first coming from us. There not a Rutgers fan who thinks the offense will be any good especially without Carroo, but not one of us has taken the time to look up Washington. UW has 3 of their top 4 receivers/backs in the NFL now, but we (RU fans) believe UW will just replace them and keep on trucking. You don't replace that type of firepower and expect everything to be OK. UW secondary is legit, but teams had success running on them. Power run games give them problems and controls the clock. This year's game against UW is similar to the Wazzu game of 2 years ago.

 

[RUich]

Playing on the west coast is always difficult. We have the usual number of suspects who think getting rid of Flood and hiring Ash will automatically translate into a winning record. As already stated, we are FILLED with question marks and don't even have a clear idea who will be under, or is it behind, center? I expect a lot of our fans to be on suicide watch early this season. I, on the other hand, will take the games as they come and hope for the best.
My belief is that we will eventually become a respected member of the BIG and not be embarrassed on the field too often. Right now, I do not see us shaking up the existing cream of this league any time soon.

 

[RUScrew85]

Ugh.