:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60706205/usa_today_10984408.0.jpg)
Coach Pete loves himself some preseason rankings (note: this is false). And the first official one of the batch is here. The Amway Coaches’ Poll was released this morning and the Huskies have come out at #6 in the initial rankings. Washington ended at #15 last season and so have moved up considerably given the pieces they brought back last year relative to others.
The big non-Husky news is that the Auburn Tigers are #10 and that means the game between them on September 1st is officially a top-10 matchup which I’m sure we will hear in all of the advertising leading up to the contest.
Unsurprisingly, the Huskies were the most highly rated team in the Pac-12. Only 2 other conference members received recognition: #13 Stanford and #15 USC. However, Oregon, Utah, Washington State, and Arizona all appeared in the Others Receiving Votes category. It’s not totally correct to say but if you assume the next highest “others” vote total is 26th then Oregon would essentially be 28th and Utah 29th. It’s not unreasonable to think that both will be ranked at the time the Huskies play them.
No, I am not going to speculate on what this means for the Huskies’ playoff chances. A few more hurdles to clear before we get there...