A TIDAL WAVE
Huskies face long odds in quest for a colossal upset
ATLANTA — In Saturday’s first College Football Playoff semifinal, Washington isn’t just playing against the undefeated, defending national champions and top-ranked team in the country. The Peach Bowl also pits the Huskies against the aura of every Nick Saban machine that has come before, against the sentiment Alabama is unstoppable.
For 25 straight games, the Crimson Tide have been victorious, a conclusion that seems increasingly inevitable with each win added to the streak.
But even a team without weakness can be beaten.
“No team is perfect,” Huskies linebacker Psalm Wooching said. “I mean, if they were perfect, they would score on every play. They’d pick the ball, get a sack on every play and that’s not the case. So, I’ll leave it at that. No team is perfect.”
No, No. 1 Alabama (13-0) isn’t perfect, but No. 4 Washington — a twotouchdown underdog — may have to be in order to pull off one of the biggest upsets in modern bowl game history. The Huskies (12-1) haven’t been an underdog all season, but the Pac-12 champions have yet to face the nation’s top-ranked defense, or the SEC Offensive Player of the Year (quarterback Jalen Hurts) or perhaps the greatest coach in college football history.
“[We’re] playing the best team we’ve played so far,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “There’s not any one challenge. It’s just a complete team we’re playing, so we’ll have to be a complete team to answer.”
Washington’s challenge includes overcoming a Crimson-dominated crowd making the short trip to the Georgia Dome, likely to transform into Tuscaloosa East.
“I want a hostile environment,” Huskies linebacker Keishawn Bierria said. “I want it all. I want to experience SEC football this way.”
Other SEC teams could warn the Huskies how such experiences usually end, with Florida most recently flattened, 54-16, in the conference title game at the Georgia Dome.
Though Alabama is the only team to reach the College Football Playoff each year since it debuted in the 2014 season, Washington is searching for its first national championship since 1991, reaching the semifinal just one year after finishing one game over .500.
Though Washington’s players know that few people outside of their locker room and bloodlines believe Alabama will lose for the first time since Sept. 19, 2015, the Huskies were excited to become the most popular team in the country, noting how often they’ve heard they have to “Beat ’Bama.”
“If you’re not an Alabama fan, you’re a Huskies fan this week,” center Coleman Shelton said. “It’s great to have more fans. It’s one of those things, people always want to see someone else on top.”
But can Petersen achieve the unthinkable again, one day shy of the 10-year anniversary of the former Boise State coach beating Oklahoma with multiple trick plays in the Fiesta Bowl?
Having the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country will help. Having the eight-ranked defense in the country brings balance the Crimson Tide usually only see in practice.
“Sometimes teams can have a good record … and they lucked out in games, [but] these guys blew a lot of people out,” Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said. “These guys are really explosive on offense. They don’t give up any big plays on defense. They don’t give up a lot of points.
“A lot of people think we’re going to walk in and win by three touchdowns and all that. That’s not going to happen unless we play great, so we’re going to have to play really good just to win the game.”
Even with all of Alabama’s success, overconfidence can’t be found on its experienced roster.
“They’re here for a reason,” tight end O.J. Howard said of Washington. “They’re not here because they were picked out of a hat.”
Washington earned its spot to be here, earning the right to make history.
One year ago, Michigan State did, too — then lost 38-0 to Alabama.
“Because of how underrated we are, none of us get respect, really,” Huskies receiver John Ross said. “I think it’s going to be a good game for a lot of us if we just come in and make no mistakes and have fun.”
Make no mistakes? Have fun? Sounds like a team that never has faced Alabama.