What Team Has The Best Chance To Go Undefeated in the 2017 Regular Season?

[Great Dayne]

I'm going with the Washington Huskies as their schedule is even easier than it was last season. As hard as it is to believe it's true. They lost 4 players in the secondary to the NFL. However their last two classes had 5 four star DB's so I don't expect too much of a drop off. Their offense should remain as potent if not even better than last season.

Washington Huskies Schedule

@ Rutgers
vs Montana
Vs Fresno St
@ Colorado
@ Oregon State
vs Cal
@ AZ St.
vs UCLA
vs Oregon
@stanford
vs Utah
vs WSU

Their toughest game is probably UCLA at home. They were predicted to be great last season but ended up being average. Colorado lost a ton of defense and Utah isn't a great road team. Honestly I don't see a game where I wouldn't at least have them as a TD favorite. On average they should be a 12 point favorite throughout the season.

The other two I considered was Bama and Wisconsin. Bama still has to face FSU, LSU, @ Aurburn and @ Texas A&M so I can see them at least dropping one of those games.

Wisconsin keeps their entire D-line, replaced bother OLB's with 3 4 star transfers/recruits and replaced 2 guys lost in the secondary with a transfer CB and a 4 star Safety in his second year. Their O-line is the same except LT and their RB's, WR's and TE's have been upgraded. The QB position is a ? with an extremely talented freshman coming in that could compete with the redshirt sophomore. The QB position was the reason for the 2 losses in the regular season last year so if it doesn't improve the could lose one more this season. Now their schedule was really tough last season but this year it looks like a cake walk in comparison. Not quite as easy as the Huskies but fairly easy IMO.

Wisconsin Schedule

vs Utah
vs Florida Atlantic
@ BYU
vs Northwestern
@ Nebraska
vs Purdue
vs Maryland
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
@iowa
vs Michigan
@ Minnesota

Their 2 tough games are vs Michigan and @ Nebraska. Michigan is supposed to be down this year and this time it's at Wisconsin. Badgers seem to have Nebraska's number

2 semi tough games @ BYU and vs Northwestern. BYU is always tough at home and Northwestern always plays the Badgers tough and had a good recruiting class.

2 slightly above average teams in @ Iowa and @ Minnesota. Minn lost a ton of talent but have a new coach and Iowa is like the little brother of Wisconsin but can still compete.

Cupcakes after that. Even though I can see them being favorites in all the games I can see them choking in one game at minimum as they always due and it will probably be due to the QB play. Wilson come back WILSON!!!!!

Let me know if you guys think another team has a good chance to go undefeated or if you agree that the Huskies have the best chance.

 

[7Samurai13]

In before AlaskaGuy bitches about how you guys canceled a game against Washington.

 

[Great Dayne]

In before AlaskaGuy bitches about how you guys canceled a game against Washington.

He'll never let that go. Honestly I was disappointed and still don't know why they just couldn't cancel one of the cream puff games and stick with playing Washington just because of some stupid BIG schedule conflicts. It is what it is and now we're stuck with BYU home and away instead of the Huskies. At the time BYU was probably the better team when they first schedule the series but not anymore. Oh well.

 

[Deep Creek]

I'm going with the South Florida Bulls.

 

[Acrux.v2]

Vanderbilt

 

[AlaskaGuy]

I'm going with the Washington Huskies as their schedule is even easier than it was last season. As hard as it is to believe it's true. They lost 4 players in the secondary to the NFL. However their last two classes had 5 four star DB's so I don't expect too much of a drop off. Their offense should remain as potent if not even better than last season.

Washington Huskies Schedule

@ Rutgers
vs Montana
Vs Fresno St
@ Colorado
@ Oregon State
vs Cal
@ AZ St.
vs UCLA
vs Oregon
@stanford
vs Utah
vs WSU

Their toughest game is probably UCLA at home. They were predicted to be great last season but ended up being average. Colorado lost a ton of defense and Utah isn't a great road team. Honestly I don't see a game where I wouldn't at least have them as a TD favorite. On average they should be a 12 point favorite throughout the season.

The other two I considered was Bama and Wisconsin. Bama still has to face FSU, LSU, @ Aurburn and @ Texas A&M so I can see them at least dropping one of those games.

Wisconsin keeps their entire D-line, replaced bother OLB's with 3 4 star transfers/recruits and replaced 2 guys lost in the secondary with a transfer CB and a 4 star Safety in his second year. Their O-line is the same except LT and their RB's, WR's and TE's have been upgraded. The QB position is a ? with an extremely talented freshman coming in that could compete with the redshirt sophomore. The QB position was the reason for the 2 losses in the regular season last year so if it doesn't improve the could lose one more this season. Now their schedule was really tough last season but this year it looks like a cake walk in comparison. Not quite as easy as the Huskies but fairly easy IMO.

Wisconsin Schedule

vs Utah
vs Florida Atlantic
@ BYU
vs Northwestern
@ Nebraska
vs Purdue
vs Maryland
@ Illinois
@ Indiana
@iowa
vs Michigan
@ Minnesota

Their 2 tough games are vs Michigan and @ Nebraska. Michigan is supposed to be down this year and this time it's at Wisconsin. Badgers seem to have Nebraska's number

2 semi tough games @ BYU and vs Northwestern. BYU is always tough at home and Northwestern always plays the Badgers tough and had a good recruiting class.

2 slightly above average teams in @ Iowa and @ Minnesota. Minn lost a ton of talent but have a new coach and Iowa is like the little brother of Wisconsin but can still compete.

Cupcakes after that. Even though I can see them being favorites in all the games I can see them choking in one game at minimum as they always due and it will probably be due to the QB play. Wilson come back WILSON!!!!!

Let me know if you guys think another team has a good chance to go undefeated or if you agree that the Huskies have the best chance.

8 teams that could ride favorable schedules to the 2017 College Football Playoff | FOX Sports

3. Wisconsin Badgers
Last season, Wisconsin had a murderer’s row schedule that opened with LSU and included a four-game stretch where the Badgers faced three Top 10 teams (Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State). Yet, the Badgers still won the Big Ten West. This season, however, the schedule-makers have been much kinder to Paul Chryst’s club.

After three straight years of opening the season against either LSU or Alabama, the Badgers have a much more manageable out-of-conference road; the toughest game is against a good-but-not-elite BYU team. Also, they avoid two of the three Big Ten East heavyweights (Ohio State and Penn State) and get the other (Michigan) at home.

It by no means guarantees Wisconsin a spot in the playoff. But boy, is the road much more manageable this year than last.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

@ Stanford will most likely be Washington's toughest game of the season unless they make it to the PAC Championship game vs USC.

8 teams that could ride favorable schedules to the 2017 College Football Playoff | FOX Sports

1. Washington Huskies
Last season, Washington rode an easy-breezy schedule into the College Football Playoff – and Chris Petersen’s club could do the same in 2017. The Huskies’ out-of-conference schedule is again soft, with matchups against Rutgers, Montana and Fresno State (although it’s hard to blame Petersen – most of those games were scheduled before he got there) and the Pac-12 schedule is about as manageable as it gets.

The Huskies won’t play fellow conference heavyweight USC in the regular season, and get this: The Huskies play four of their final five games at home, and leave Seattle only once after Oct. 14.

If you thought the chatter about Washington’s schedule was annoying last year, it will be nothing short of obnoxious in 2017. The Huskies again have a schedule built for a College Football Playoff run. And it will be fascinating to see if the Huskies can get back there.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

He'll never let that go. Honestly I was disappointed and still don't know why they just couldn't cancel one of the cream puff games and stick with playing Washington just because of some stupid BIG schedule conflicts. It is what it is and now we're stuck with BYU home and away instead of the Huskies. At the time BYU was probably the better team when they first schedule the series but not anymore. Oh well.

'The Battle of the 'W's'

 

[Great Dayne]

'The Battle of the 'W's'

I've always wanted this to be a Rose Bowl Game since I've been in Washington for nearly 2 decades but it never happened. Now I'm greedy and want it to be a championship match up which seems more likely than ever before with the combination of our schedules and talent level of each team.

 

[Great Dayne]

@ Stanford will most likely be Washington's toughest game of the season unless they make it to the PAC Championship game vs USC.

8 teams that could ride favorable schedules to the 2017 College Football Playoff | FOX Sports

1. Washington Huskies
Last season, Washington rode an easy-breezy schedule into the College Football Playoff – and Chris Petersen’s club could do the same in 2017. The Huskies’ out-of-conference schedule is again soft, with matchups against Rutgers, Montana and Fresno State (although it’s hard to blame Petersen – most of those games were scheduled before he got there) and the Pac-12 schedule is about as manageable as it gets.

The Huskies won’t play fellow conference heavyweight USC in the regular season, and get this: The Huskies play four of their final five games at home, and leave Seattle only once after Oct. 14.

If you thought the chatter about Washington’s schedule was annoying last year, it will be nothing short of obnoxious in 2017. The Huskies again have a schedule built for a College Football Playoff run. And it will be fascinating to see if the Huskies can get back there.

If the Huskies win out and beat USC in the Championship people won't complain about them making the championship quite as much as last season but you'll hear complaining all year long until that last conference game unfortunately.

 

[Great Dayne]

8 teams that could ride favorable schedules to the 2017 College Football Playoff | FOX Sports

3. Wisconsin Badgers
Last season, Wisconsin had a murderer’s row schedule that opened with LSU and included a four-game stretch where the Badgers faced three Top 10 teams (Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State). Yet, the Badgers still won the Big Ten West. This season, however, the schedule-makers have been much kinder to Paul Chryst’s club.

After three straight years of opening the season against either LSU or Alabama, the Badgers have a much more manageable out-of-conference road; the toughest game is against a good-but-not-elite BYU team. Also, they avoid two of the three Big Ten East heavyweights (Ohio State and Penn State) and get the other (Michigan) at home.

It by no means guarantees Wisconsin a spot in the playoff. But boy, is the road much more manageable this year than last.

Most likely the Badgers will have to go undefeated and beat Michigan and OSU to make the championship. I'd rather play PSU again for revenge for the BS chuck fest 20+ point comeback in the second half which I didn't even get to see.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

If the Huskies win out and beat USC in the Championship people won't complain about them making the championship quite as much as last season but you'll hear complaining all year long until that last conference game unfortunately.

It was like that last season. It sucked. Everyone was saying how UW has a shitty OOC schedule and we do. I blame the AD on that one. It gets better after this year though. UW travels to Atlanta to play Auburn in the kickoff classic in that new Mercedes dome and then they play BYU the following weekend. After that the UW starts their home & away series with Michigan .. '19 and '20 and then a home & away with Ohio St. after that.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Most likely the Badgers will have to go undefeated and beat Michigan and OSU to make the championship. I'd rather play PSU again for revenge for the BS chuck fest 20+ point comeback in the second half which I didn't even get to see.

Wiscy will play either PSU or OSU in the championship game and Wiscy has a decent shot of beating either of those teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see Wiscy in the playoffs this year.

 

[Great Dayne]

Wiscy will play either PSU or OSU in the championship game and Wiscy has a decent shot of beating either of those teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see Wiscy in the playoffs this year.

It all depends on the QB play. The Freshman had 3 int's vs Michigan on the road and we lost that by just a TD late and he struggled the entire game vs OSU but we were winning the game in the first half but lost in OT. The new freshman QB looks better on tape and played well in the spring game with only a couple months of preparation. Our defense might even be better than last year but I'm still concerned about the QB position to take that next step but this is easily our best team and easiest schedule I've ever seen so there's a solid chance.

 

[Great Dayne]

It was like that last season. It sucked. Everyone was saying how UW has a shitty OOC schedule and we do. I blame the AD on that one. It gets better after this year though. UW travels to Atlanta to play Auburn in the kickoff classic in that new Mercedes dome and then they play BYU the following weekend. After that the UW starts their home & away series with Michigan .. '19 and '20 and then a home & away with Ohio St. after that.

Well again as you've stated multiple times the Badgers did pull out a few years ago for whatever reason but the Huskies did have some time to replace them with someone better than Rutgers. Hell, Iowa or Northwestern would have been respectable at least. Not sure if it was too late in the game or what.

Now they appear to be scheduling the top teir teams to never face the "weak schedule" argument anytime soon. Honestly, the only way you could make that schedule better is play Bama like we did but unfortunately we faced them with our worst team we've had in recent history and lost by 3 scores.

 

[Across The Field]

It all depends on the QB play. The Freshman had 3 int's vs Michigan on the road and we lost that by just a TD late and he struggled the entire game vs OSU but we were winning the game in the first half but lost in OT. The new freshman QB looks better on tape and played well in the spring game with only a couple months of preparation. Our defense might even be better than last year but I'm still concerned about the QB position to take that next step but this is easily our best team and easiest schedule I've ever seen so there's a solid chance.

Wow, really? That's an extremely bold statement.

 

[HuskerinBig10]

Even before I clicked on the thread just read the title, I thought to myself, Wisconsin and Washington.

I don't know much about the PAC, but I know a lot about the B1G.

Almost every B1G team on Wisconsin's schedule is under going turmoil, except Northwestern.

This is an EASY 9-0 schedule

vs Northwestern got them at home, Wisconsin wins
@ Nebraska Riley has yet to beat Wisconsin. Nebraska has a new offensive team and new DC
vs Purdue new head coach and still Purdue
vs Maryland in Madison, the crowd will crush the Terrapins
@ Illinois Right, that NFL coach is really, really bad. Lovie Smith
@ Indiana Another new coach and their best coach the RB coach left
@iowa good lord, did you see their QBs in the Spring Game? I bet I am better than them
vs Michigan their entire team graduated or used up their eligibility
@ Minnesota another new head coach.

OOC

Florida Atlantic give them 30 points and they still lose

That leaves the two Mormon schools.

BYU beat teams without a pulse in 2016, and lost to teams that knew how to play. Wisconsin wins by 10+

The Utah team is the toughest game. Luckily, it is week one.

A new OC at Utah with a new O line, not going to be pretty. Defense is pretty porous once you get past the D line. Take Wisconsin in the win. 14+


I think Washington's PAC 12 schedule is much much harder than Wisconsin's B1G schedule. Washington can rest the first stringers during their OOC games though. What a crappy three games that is.

 

[Olyduck]

Didn't we already have a thread about this?

 

[AlaskaGuy]

I've always wanted this to be a Rose Bowl Game since I've been in Washington for nearly 2 decades but it never happened. Now I'm greedy and want it to be a championship match up which seems more likely than ever before with the combination of our schedules and talent level of each team.

This was posted today in our Washington Huskies Facebook group.

 

[Wamu]

Didn't we already have a thread about this?

Not sure. But it never hurts to have another one.