What they’re saying: Analysts chime in on epic Auburn-Washington showdown
By Rob Maxwell
The first weekend of college football is littered with big games, from Michigan-Notre Dame to LSU-Miami, but none is bigger than the top-10 matchup between the No. 9 Auburn football team and No. 6 Washington.
People have been talking about the game for months because of what it could mean early in the season to the College Football Playoff discussion.
For Auburn, it’s the first of three games this season against top-10 teams away from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
For Washington, which made the playoff in 2016, it’s a huge opportunity to make a statement nationally against a top-tier SEC team and could give the Pac-12 a significant boost in the eyes of voters and playoff committee members.
The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday and you can find more game details here.
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Larry Stone, Seattle Times columnist
"This is the Daytona 500 of season openers, the Academy Awards starting out with the Oscar for Best Picture, the World Series being played in April. Washington needs to be in mid-season form on Sept. 1 in Atlanta, or its chance of having a late season worth savoring takes a huge hit.It’s the biggest, baddest, most impactful opener in Husky history. Coach Chris Petersen won’t like to hear it, not one bit, but all the hype is warranted. It’s huge for Petersen’s program, huge for the Huskies’ 2018 aspirations, huge for quarterback Jake Browning’s legacy, huge for the Pac-12’s reputation."
Wow, no pressure on the Huskies, right? That’s a lot to place on Washington, but Stone is right. The outcome of this game will go a long way in shaping the perception on the Pac-12 this season.
Kirk Herstreit, ESPN college football analyst (via Montgomery Advertiser)
"“To come all the way across country. Basically, play Auburn in their backyard. It’s going to be an away game and what a real opportunity for both of these teams to go against each other, but especially for Washington to show, ‘Hey guys, the Pac-12 can play football and we can go to the SEC and play.’”"
That’s the mantra for Washington: Show the Pac-12 can play against the SEC. Chris Petersen said earlier this week that it’s not the Pac-12 against the SEC, that’s it’s one team vs. another team. He’s right to minimize it. He knows that and Gus Malzahn knows that and the players know it. But that doesn’t change the fact that the national perception will be shaped this week and reshaped along the way. And let’s get this out of the way: We’re pretty certain that the Huskies can play football with the best programs in the country.
"The opener against Auburn is looking more and more like a must-win. The Huskies don’t have another (currently ranked) top-10 opponent on the schedule. Lose to the Tigers, and it’s going to be a problem presenting a stout resume to the playoff committee."
Dodd put together a list of 10 teams that can win the national title. He includes Washington and Auburn. His emphasis on this game being close to a must-win for the Huskies makes sense because running through the Pac-12 schedule won’t be viewed the same as if Auburn runs the table in the SEC (or even loses one league game). Washington needs opponents like UCLA, Oregon and Stanford to win a lot of games and rise in the rankings if the Huskies lose Saturday.
Auburn, on the other hand, still has road games at the end of the season against No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama.
Tony Barnhart, SEC Network/TMG College Sports
"This is a monster game for Auburn. Consider this: Auburn has to play Georgia and Alabama, both top five teams, on the road this season. Let’s say Auburn beats Georgia but loses to Alabama in the season finale to finish 11-1. The Tigers could be in the same position Alabama was in last season with the best “loss” of the teams being considered. The committee was looking for a fourth team and Alabama was there with only one loss."
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Barnhart also said pretty much the same others are stating about Washington and the significance of the outcome for the Pac-12. So we focused on what he said about the Tigers for this one because that does get lost in the mix. He makes a great point about where Auburn could be (11-1) and how similar that is to Alabama’s situation last season that got the Crimson Tide into the College Football Payoff. We said the same thing in our game-by-game predictions for Auburn this season and what the end of the regular season could bring for the Tigers.