Washington Huskies 2016 NCAA Football Preview
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
PAC-12 Conference – North Division
2015 Record – 7-6
ATS – 8-5
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
North Division #1
Conference #1
2015 Recap
Year two of the Chris Petersen era went pretty well considering the youth they had on both sides of the football. They picked up seven wins along the way including a road upset of USC as 17-point underdogs, pulverized Washington St in the Apple Cup and then went on to win their bowl game vs Southern Miss. Bigger things are expected this season.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
The Huskies appear set at QB with Jake Browning returning for his sophomore season. Last season he threw for almost 3,000 yards and 16 TDs and looked very poised for a freshman. This season Browning will have a much more experienced offensive line to work behind as well as a star RB to rely upon to carry the load if needed. The pass protection needs to get a lot better as Washington has allowed over 60 sacks the last two seasons combined.
Myles Gaskin was fantastic as a freshman rushing for 1,300 yards and 14 TDs while averaging 5.7 yards a carry. This running game has the potential to be really good and we see them being a lot more balanced this season.
The question mark on offense is the WR corps as the Huskies lose their top two receivers from the 2015 campaign. A more experienced QB will help, as will the fact that opposing defenses are going to have to focus on stopping the run this year.
JUGGERNAUT ALERT – WR John Ross returns this season after missing 2015 with a knee injury. In 2014 he was a big play machine averaging over 21 yards per catch with 4 TDs in just over half of season of work at WR. He had to be moved to DB during the season to fill in for some injuries. What else can he do ? Well, if the Huskies choose to use him at KR that might be a good idea, and that is because two years ago he also returned two kickoffs for TDs. MEGALOCKS PAC 12 INSIDERS tell us that he can run a 4.25 40 yard dash. Whoa.
DEFENSE
How about that Husky defense ? They returned only four starters to the unit last season and led the PAC 12 in total defense (#31 FBS). They were especially stingy against the run giving up only 125 yards per game while holding opponents to 3.3 yards per carry.
We feel that the Washington defense will once again be ranked #1 in the conference. The DL looks solid. The linebacker corps returns all 4 (!) starters. They also feature two 1st Team Pac 12 defenders in the secondary in CB Sidney Jones and FS Budda Baker. To say that this defense is loaded may be an insult to things that are loaded.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Scary good. Yup. PR Dante Pettis was ranked 4th in the FBS in punt return average (16.9) and took TWO to the house for TDs. Now imagine if John Ross comes back to form and returns kicks ? FGs are in good shape with Cameron Van Winkle but they do need to break in a new punter.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 9.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Things appear to be setting up for a great season. The first three games (Rutgers, Idaho, Portland St) should provide a nice opportunity for the Huskies to build some confidence. If they can find a way to beat Oregon for the first time in 380 years we feel they can win the PAC 12 North and then who knows what ?
Overall, we give the HUSKIES a 9.0 ATS Value Rating (Excellent) this season. As a refresher for our ATS Value Ratings, just a friendly reminder that it is a combination of how likely they are to have a winning record ATS, combined with our predicted record against the number at the end of the season. We feel that it is extremely likely that the Huskies have a winning ATS record and also feel they will finish two or three games over .500 against the line. It is all a guessing game at this point, but the important thing is to just put these guys on a watch list, and look to play on them most weeks if you see value in the number. Things can change quickly, but that is the general idea.
Chris Petersen is one of our favorite coaches of all-time so maybe we are biased. They have stars and potential stars all over the roster, while at the same time, do not yet have the attention that programs such as Oregon, USC and UCLA receive among media types and handicappers alike. Petersen started out with a 15-12 ATS record and two bowl appearances in his first two seasons. We recommend that you at least consider them for your card every week.
Want more Washington Huskies Football?
Website
http://www.gohuskies.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
http://www.scout.com/college/washington/forums/5448-husky-football
http://washington.247sports.com/Board/Washington-Huskies-Message-Board-Forum-59463
http://hardcorehusky.com/forums/#/categories/hardcore-husky-board
News
http://bleacherreport.com/washington-huskies-football
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/washington-huskies
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/college/pac-12/university-of-washington/
https://twitter.com/UW_Football @UW_Football
https://twitter.com/A_Jude @A_Jude Adam Jude
https://twitter.com/ChristianCaple @ChristianCaple Christian Caple