The Washington Huskies have started the season undefeated, with a massive win against the Oregon Ducks to ascend them into the fifth spot in the A.P. poll. The win extends the huskies winning streak to a whopping thirteen games, the second longest active winning streak in all of college football. Washington’s top ten victory is drawing massive amounts of media attention, forcing poll voters to question their evaluations on the huskies. The narrative being pushed by media appears to be the huskies are the team to beat in the PAC 12.

Therefore bringing up the question, are the Washington Huskies national championship contenders?

Yes, here’s why. The huskies have a heisman trophy favorite in Michael Penix Jr. So far in six games, Penix has 2,301 yards, 20 touchdowns, and a 72% completion percentage. When asked about Penix’s impact, Hayden Brawley a major husky fan exclaimed, “Michael Penix has led them to having the best offense in the country.” The huskies offense features a heavy usage of passing plays while still maintaining a balance between run and pass. Just enough to avoid the title, air raid offense. However Michael Penix alone hasn’t carried this offense to number one, he has an elite trio of wide receivers.

Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’Lynn Polk have combined for 1,633 of Michael Penix’s 2,301 yards. The trio of receivers has caught the attention of many, in this case, Hayden mentioned them when describing the team’s greatest strength. “The wide receivers are probably the biggest strength of the team.” Yet not everything is perfect, every team has its weakness. The biggest glaring deficiency to this team is the rushing defense. Oregon ran for 204 yards on what was thought to be a good run defense. The run defense concerns paired with obvious depth issues on the defensive side of the ball, raises red flags and poses legit questions whether the defense can hold up against top level competition.

With an incredibility difficult upcoming schedule and injuries the team is facing, the huskies have to continue winning for a shot at the national championship game. If the defense can improve over the next seven games, the sky’s the limit for Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies.