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Welcome to the Hotline's predictions for each Pac-12 game of the 2022 season. The 12-part series will be published in six installments, with teams grouped by travel partners. Links to prior articles at bottom …
Washington Huskies
Coach: Kalen DeBoer (first season)
Offensive coordinator: Ryan Grubb (first season)
Co-defensive coordinators: William Inge and Chuck Morrell (first seasons)
2021 record: 4-8/3-6
Washington's five-year win totals: 12-10-10-8-4 (2020 season excluded)
Last postseason appearance: 2019 Holiday Bowl (beat Boise State)
Best-case 2022 scenario: 10-2
Worst-case 2022 scenario: 6-6
Projected starting quarterback: Michael Penix Jr.
Key question: Did the Huskies underachieve last season simply because of poor coaching, or is the roster stocked with second-rate talent?
Here we go …
Sept. 3: vs. Kent State
Result: win
Record: 1-0
Comment: Given the Week One implosion last year — and this being Kalen DeBoer's debut — we expect a first-rate effort from the Huskies, even if the execution is a bit spotty.
Sept. 10: vs. Portland State
Result: win
Record: 2-0
Comment: Home favorites are vulnerable to a look-ahead sinkhole, but Portland State lacks the personnel of, say, Montana.
Sept. 17: vs. Michigan State
Result: win
Record: 3-0
Comment: The Spartans are loaded on defense and will attempt to exploit any physical weakness along UW's lines of scrimmage. But the Huskies respond with a performance from a previous era (2016-18) and outmaneuver the visitors with pages from the playbook kept under wraps in Weeks One and Two.
Sept. 24: vs. Stanford
Result: loss
Record: 3-1/0-1
Comment: The September road takes a detour through Letdown City as Stanford, which is coming off a bye, takes full advantage of the extra prep time and UW's lingering euphoria.
Sept. 30 (Friday): at UCLA
Result: loss
Record: 3-2/0-2
Comment: Knocked for a loop by Stanford, the Huskies are unable to regain their footing against an opponent that has the offensive balance to take whatever UW's defense gives.
Oct. 8: at Arizona State
Result: loss
Record: 3-3/0-3
Comment: So much for that 3-0 start. But at least receivers aren't running six-yard patterns on third-and-nine. This skid is about personnel, not scheme.
Oct. 15: vs. Arizona
Result: win
Record: 4-3/1-3
Comment: It's not easy or clean, but the Huskies take advantage of Arizona being in a vulnerable spot following a home showdown against Oregon.
Oct. 22: at Cal
Result: win
Record: 5-3/2-3
Comment: The past three head-to-heads have produced one-score results, and we expect the same here. First team to 18 wins.
Oct. 29: idle
Comment: No competitive advantage; the Beavers are also idle.
Nov. 4 (Friday): vs. Oregon State
Result: win
Record: 6-3/3-3
Comment: Whether it's a bad fourth-down spot or a busted play on special teams, something screwy in the fourth quarter will make all the difference.
Nov. 12: at Oregon
Result: loss
Record: 6-4/3-4
Comment: The difference is speed — speed at scrimmage, speed on the perimeter, speed in the backfield, speed on special teams. The Ducks have more of it, everywhere.
Nov. 19: vs. Colorado
Result: win
Record: 7-4/4-4
Comment: Remember the absolute clunker in Boulder late in the 2019 season? This is the opposite. UW rolls.
Nov. 26: at Washington State
Result: win
Record: 8-4/5-4
Comment: What a difference a year makes. Also helpful: a real offense.
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Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP Top 25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree. You can follow him on Twitter @WilnerHotline or send an email at jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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