Huskies Finish as Top 10 Team in Final Associated Press Ranking

Just five others had a better season record than Kalen DeBoer's Huskies.

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. 

#Pac12FB finishes with SIX teams in the final @AP_Top25 poll of the season. 👏

Tied for the most ever to end the season in conference history. pic.twitter.com/sXOyWGnrfc

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) January 10, 2023

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."

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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.

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