SEATTLE (AP) – Washington’s nonconference schedule clouded the Huskies’ candidacy for the College Football Playoff for weeks.
It was at the forefront of the debate again on Sunday when the Huskies landed the No. 4 seed and a spot in the national semifinals against top-ranked Alabama .
The weak competition Washington rolled through in the nonconference season became an argument against the Huskies’ inclusion despite a 12-1 record and a Pac-12 championship. But it also raised the question of how nonconference games should be examined by the playoff committee when those games are often scheduled years in advance.
“That’s what’s so hard about it,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “Everyone wants to criticize on strength of schedule, but that schedule was made long before I ever got here, for sure.”
No matter how impressive the rest of Washington’s resume, the decision to include the Huskies left the committee open for criticism and some administrators scratching their heads about how to move forward after a team was rewarded for a nonconference schedule that included wins over Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State.