Huskies Find Themselves in the Middle of a Bowl Scramble

The UW seems to rate consideration for up to five postseason games.

The red blazer stuck out among all the underdressed media members and game personnel in the Husky Stadium press box, which means the University of Washington football team is a desired bowl participant once more.

On Saturday night, Larry Baber of the Holiday Bowl showed up in his brightly colored jacket and circulated among everyone upstairs, letting them know his postseason game was interested in the rejuvenated Huskies (9-2 overall, 6-2 Pac-12).

"They play an exciting brand of football, which is what we love in our bowl game," Baber said before watching the UW totally dismantle Colorado 54-7. "Their quarterback [Michael Penix Jr.] is outstanding, the best in the country right now."

Yet should Kalen DeBoer's Huskies win their sixth consecutive game in the Apple Cup at Washington State (7-4, 4-4) next Saturday in Pullman, their choices should be seemingly endless.

Consider they're now tied for third in the Pac-12 standings with Utah (8-3, 6-2), trailing only USC (10-1, 8-1) and Oregon (9-2, 7-1), and in the running for the Holiday, Alamo, Cotton, Fiesta and maybe even the Rose Bowl should things really swing their way.

“We’re playing for a lot of stuff — not just for that (Apple Cup) trophy," DeBoer said following Saturday's game.

To get to Pasadena, the Huskies likely would need to beat WSU, have USC defeat Notre Dame and win the Pac-12 championship game to advance to the College Football Playoff, and Oregon lose to Oregon State.

Or the UW could advance to the conference title game itself against USC on Friday, Dec. 2, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and earn a Rose Bowl berth with either a win or a loss to the Trojans.

A 10-2 Husky team also would seem to rate consideration for the Cotton Bowl. The UW has never appeared in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The New Year's Day game has no conference tie-ins, rather it will take the top teams that don't qualify for the four-team CFP playoff. The Fiesta Bowl, where the UW lost 35-28 to Penn State in 2017, will be part of the CFP.

The Alamo Bowl in San Antonio has Pac-12 and Big 12 tie-ins, and at this point, if USC and Oregon are selected 1-2 from the conference for bowl games, that could bring the Huskies to San Antonio, Texas. They might face either Kansas State (8-3 overall, 6-2 Big 12) or Texas (7-4, 5-3), the latter guided by former UW coach Steve Sarkisian. 

The Huskies have played in the Alamo Bowl just once, with a Sarkisian team losing memorably 67-56 to the Baylor Bears and then-Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III in 2011.

As for the Holiday Bowl, which was canceled the past two years because of COVID and is anxious to host another game, it possibly could pair the Huskies against the likes of Notre Dame (8-3), Florida State (8-3 overall, 5-3 ACC) or North Carolina (9-2, 6-1).

The UW has appeared in the San Diego game four times, winning only its last appearance against Nebraska 19-7 with another Sarkisian team in 2010.

A lot still has to happen before the postseason pairings shake out.

"I think at this point it's probably about 50-50, even though there are about a half-dozen teams that are good and available, or somewhat available," Baber said of hosting the Huskies. "The next couple of weeks are to make the choice fairly easy at this point. Yes, we'd love to have them."

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