There will be no West Coast revolt against the current College Football Playoff structure, not after Pac-12 champion Washington made the four-team field on Sunday. But with fearsome top-seed Alabama waiting in Atlanta, Pac-12 fans might end up wishing the conference had been left out if the Crimson Tide do to the Huskies what they have done to every other team they've played this season.
Nobody outside of Seattle is going pick Washington to win the national championship, but here are the top three reasons it can happen:
Chris Petersen
Give Petersen four weeks to prepare and he'll come up with a masterful game plan. Petersen's tenure at Boise State was filled with memorable performances in season openers and bowl games, including wins over Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU, Virginia Tech, and Georgia. Those games featured not only an arsenal of brilliant trick plays but the ability to maximize the Broncos' strengths and minimize any weaknesses.
Petersen can figure out ways to protect surprisingly skittish quarterback Jake Browning from the ferocious Alabama pass rush. Petersen can figure out ways to get the running game going with Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman against Clemson or Ohio State. Petersen can figure out ways to make Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts one-dimensional.
The plan will be in place for Washington to have success. It will just come down to whether the Huskies have enough quality players to execute that plan.
Washington's Secondary
Led by Budda Baker, the superb collection of defensive backs Washington will unleash on Dec. 31 is capable of locking down a suspect passing attack for Alabama. It can certainly match up against the Tigers' collection of perimeter weapons in a potential title game. Washington had 19 interceptions this season, including three vital picks against Colorado to break open the Pac-12 title game.
Corners Kevin King and Sidney Jones have good size to get physical with receivers coming off the line, solid recovery speed, and fine ball skills to create takeaways. Baker can be unleashed anywhere on the field, with nine tackles for loss and a pair of interceptions this season. Freshman Taylor Rapp was a difference-maker against the Buffaloes.
Washington can play stout man coverage, freeing up extra bodies to blitz. Finding ways to manufacture pressure will be critical since linebacker Joe Mathis (foot) is out for the year and his backup, Connor O'Brien, did not play against the Buffaloes because of a knee injury.
John Ross
Washington was shaky in pass protection against Utah, USC, and Colorado, but one of the easiest ways to address that is with quick strikes. No one delivers the big plays for Washington like the speedy Ross, who has five touchdowns of 50 yards or longer this season among his 19 total touchdowns.
Expect a heavy dose of screen passes, quick three-step patterns, or even reverses and end-arounds for Ross, simple plays that he is more than capable of turning into long touchdowns. Washington must manufacture low-risk, high-reward touches for Ross and connect on the deep ball on those rare opportunities when it is available.
If Ross can break a kick return or two to create a short field, it will dramatically improve Washington's chances of claiming its first national title in 25 seasons.