The 2023 Washington Huskies are pursuing the College Football Playoff. Barring a collapse, they will be in the hunt for the playoff in late November.
USC was in the playoff hunt all the way into early December last season. That’s just one of several parallels between this year’s Huskies and last year’s Trojans, which is part of the backdrop to this Saturday’s game between UW and USC.
One can make some other clear connections between 2023 U-Dub and 2022 USC.
Consider: Both teams have coach-quarterback combinations which existed at other schools. Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams were together at Oklahoma before they reunited at USC. Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Michael Penix were together at Indiana before they reunited in Seattle.
2022 USC was a veteran-laden team with upperclassmen such as Andrew Vorhees, Brett Neilon, Travis Dye, and Tuli Tuipulotu. 2023 Washington is stuffed with veterans who came back for one more season instead of going into the NFL draft. Washington had zero players picked in the 2023 draft, because all the NFL-quality players wanted to make one more run at Pac-12 and national championships.
Last year was a unique opportunity for USC. The Trojans missed, and now their status in the college football world is uncertain due to continued defensive failures under Alex Grinch.
This year is a unique opportunity for Washington. The end of the DeBoer-Penix marriage means Washington can’t count on being an elite program in 2024 and beyond.
We will see if Washington makes the most of its opportunity, or if USC can spoil the party.
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