Huskies Finish as Top 10 Team in Final Associated Press Ranking
Crazy eights.
Over a matter of a dozen months, consider that a resurgent University of Washington football team transformed itself from an eight-game loser in 2021 to the nation's No. 8-ranked entry in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll for this season.
What a difference a coaching change, more physically fit players and an unstoppable offense can make.
By finishing 11-2, the Huskies demonstrated a seven-game uptick that was second in college football turnarounds only to TCU, which went from 5-7 to 13-2 and claimed a berth in the CFP national championship game.
All of this enabled Kalen DeBoer's first UW team to enter the AP's top 10 and now stay there throughout the offseason, with most pundits in their mock polls projecting the Huskies as the eighth-best entry entering the 2023 season.
"I only play for championships, that's all I really know," DeBoer famously said as he embarked on putting life back into a once-proud Montlake football program.
This was the UW's highest AP ranking to finish a season since 2016, when it stood No. 4 after advancing to the CFP and losing to Alabama.
In this most recent AP poll, the Huskies finished slotted between Penn State (11-2) and Tulane (12-2). They were surpassed in the final poll by three SEC teams, three from the Big Ten and TCU from the Big 12. They also finished as the highest-ranking Pac-12 team of the six that were pegged No. 21 and higher.
In 2023, the challenge for the Huskies and the rest of the 130-plus FBS teams will be to see if anyone can slow down or even displace now two-time national champion Georgia, which made a mockery of the CFP title game with a 65-7 beating of TCU.
In this final AP poll, just five teams finished with a better record than the Huskies in Georgia (15-0), Michigan (13-1), TCU (13-2), Tulane (12-2) and Troy (12-2).
Which should be incentive enough for the UW to see if it can use its newfound momentum to exceed its No. 8 ranking, 11-2 record and current seven-game winning streak.
The Husky battle cry, borrowing from that 1970s TV sitcom, should be "Eight is Not Enough."
FINAL AP TOP 25 POLL
1. Georgia (15-0), 1,575 votes (63 first place)
2. TCU (13-2), 1,484
3. Michigan (13-1), 1,438
4. Ohio State (11-2), 1,394
5. Alabama (11-2), 1,303
6. Tennessee (11-2), 1,294
7. Penn State (11-2), 1,200
8. WASHINGTON (11-2), 1,097
9. Tulane (12-2), 1,025
10. Utah (10-4), 876
11. Florida State (10-3), 814
12. USC (11-3), 795
13. Clemson (11-3), 791
14. Kansas State (10-4), 784
15. Oregon (10-3), 758
16. LSU (10-4), 757
17. Oregon State (10-3), 742
18. Notre Dame (9-4), 535
19. Troy (12-2), 322
20. Mississippi State (9-4), 320
21. UCLA (9-4), 243
22. Pittsburgh (9-4), 233
23. South Carolina (8-5), 180
24. Fresno State (10-4), 164
25. Texas (8-5), 95
Others receiving votes: Duke 49, USTA 45, Air Force 40, Boise State 38, Minnesota 35, Texas Tech 19, North Carolina 8, North Carolina State 8, Iowa 4, Louisville 3, Purdue 3, Maryland 2, Marshall 2, Cincinnati 1, Illinois 1.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12
Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3
Have a question, direct message me on Facebook or Twitter.
