Washington Gets Back Into Character to Ruin Washington State and the Pac-12's Fun

Washington’s playoff path at the beginning of the season was clear. If it could beat Auburn in the season opener, its talent advantage might be enough to dominate the less-than-stellar Pac-12 and force the selection committee to slot the Huskies—and thus, the Pac-12—into the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. But the Huskies lost to Auburn, then proceeded to lose in overtime to Oregon and in regulation to Cal, with four-year starting quarterback Jake Browning briefly benched in Berkeley.

Like they planned in August, the Huskies will play for a conference title on Nov. 30 in Santa Clara, but thanks to the timing of one of their best performances of the year, the…