Washington Huskies Links: AP Preseason Poll Drops

The AP — Preseason Top-25 Poll

As expected, the Washington Huskies will debut this season as a top-10 team this season, coming in at No. 6 in the AP’s preseason poll. (According to Tom Fornelli, the Huskies received votes as high as No. 3, and as low as No. 12.) They’ll demonstrate the worthiness of their ranking right off the bat when they take on No. 9 Auburn in Atlanta on Sept. 1, in the first game of the season for both programs.

The Athletic — How accurate is the preseason AP Top 25?

Matt Brown examines the historical accuracy of the AP preseason poll, finding that teams ranked in the top five are vastly more likely than not to win that year’s national championship.

The Seattle Times — Newlywed Drew Sample the ‘old soul’ of UW Huskies’ offense at tight end

With underclassmen phenom Hunter Bryant out for an indeterminate amount of time to start the 2018 season, Adam Jude writes that the Huskies will look to fifth-year senior Drew Sample to lead the Washington tight ends.

USA Today — The top 10 contenders for the 2018 Heisman Trophy

Jake Browning made Paul Myerberg’s cut for the nation’s college football players most likely to win the sport’s most prestigious individual award. His competition in the list includes fellow Pac-12 athletes such as Stanford running back Bryce Love, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert and Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate.

USA Today — Ranking head coach job security in each college football conference

Relatedly, Myerberg says that Petersen’s job at Washington is presently the safest in the Pac-12, adding that David Shaw and Kyle Whittingham at Stanford and Utah are similarly well positioned. Conversely, he singles out Colorado’s Mike McIntyre as occupying the Pac-12’s hottest seat, based on the Buffaloes inability to capitalize on their appearance in the conference championship game in 2016.

The Athletic — Do the Huskies need to expand their recruiting reach to win a national title?

In his latest mailbag, Christian Caple considers the strengths of Washington’s recruiting, which position groups are home to the stars of future seasons, and what game day is like for someone with a press pass, among other questions.

The Seattle Times — Former UW Husky C.T. Pan ties for 2nd in PGA Tour event after a double bogey on final hole

Pan, who became a star during his time on the Washington golf team, posted the best finish of his professional career yesterday when he tied for second place in the Wyndham Championship. He finished the tournament 21 strokes under par, despite a disappointing double-bogey on the final hole, and earned a cool $528,000 for his troubles.