Washington Huskies

ESPN analyst Brock Huard takes a look at programs that will rise and fall in 2013 and places Washington among the risers.

Click here to get his breakdown on the Huskies' chances next year and to read the rest of the list.

A few storylines to keep an eye on this week:

1. And the winner in the North is ...? Could be Oregon. If the Ducks can get past visiting Stanford this week, they'll lock up the division and earn a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. They still have to go through Oregon State next week -- but wins over both of those clubs should help them in the BCS standings. Well, at least on the computer side. The Ducks hold the No. 1 spot in both human polls. So if they win out, they will be in the national championship game. The North Division winner could be Stanford, too. If the Cardinal win this weekend and close out with a victory at UCLA next week, Stanford and Oregon will each have one conference loss, with the Cardinal holding the tiebreaker.
2. And the winner in the South is ...? We'll see Saturday, but we know it will be from Los Angeles. The USC-UCLA rivalry hasn't been one of late. UCLA's last victory over the Trojans came in 2006 -- a 13-9 win that snapped USC's NCAA record of 63 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points and also cost the Trojans a spot in the BCS title game. The scenario is winner-take-all -- regardless of what happens next week.
3. On the bubble: Arizona State and Utah are both trying to make the postseason. ASU has the easier road, needing just one win to lock up bowl eligibility. And it hosts a Washington State team that is winless in conference play. Utah has to first beat Arizona at home this week, then win at Colorado next. The Utes are yet to win a road game this year.
4. QB carousel: Seems like it wouldn't be a normal week in the Pac-12 if there weren't quarterback issues. Almost half of the league has uncertainty at the position heading into this weekend. Arizona's Matt Scott might not be able to go again this week; same for Cal's Zach Maynard. Nick Hirschman suffered a concussion last week for Colorado, Jeff Tuel was injured for Washington State, opening the door for Connor Halliday's five touchdowns. And the Sean Mannion-Cody Vaz back-and-forth continues at Oregon State, pending Vaz's health.
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   Rick Scuteri/US PresswireUtah's chances at the postseason hinge on doing a better job stopping Ka'Deem Carey than Colorado.
   Quality matchups: If the Utes do want to get into the postseason, they'll have to find a way to slow down Arizona running back Ka'Deem Carey, who rushed for a Pac-12 record 366 yards and five touchdowns in last week's victory over Colorado. It's Utah's strength as a defense versus Arizona's strength as an offense. You can say the same for the Oregon-Stanford matchup, which pits Oregon's league-best rushing attack against Stanford's conference-leading rush defense.
6. Gone in 60 seconds: Per the folks at ESPN Stats & Information, Stanford is the only FBS team that hasn't allowed a touchdown drive of three plays or fewer; it is also one of only five teams that has not allowed a touchdown in less than a minute. Oregon, of course, leads the FBS in touchdown drives that last one minute or less. Stopwatches at the ready.
7. The SoCal tight-end factor: More super-cool stuff from the Stats & Info group: Matt Barkley and Brett Hundley have combined to throw 17 touchdowns and zero interceptions when targeting their tight ends. Hundley completes 75.6 percent of his passes when targeting a tight end; Barkley is at 67.2 percent. Could make for an interesting sidebar to Saturday's matchup.
8. Off and running: Washington's Bishop Sankey heads to Colorado as one of the hottest running backs in the conference right now. He ha rushed for 351 yards and four touchdowns in his past two games and last week became the 11th player in UW history to reach the 1K milestone. Expect him to add to that total. Colorado ranks last in the conference against the run, yielding 227.6 yards per game on the ground to go with a conference-worst 25 rushing touchdowns allowed.
9. Decisions, decisions: When California coach Jeff Tedford gets back to the Bay Area following the Bears' trip to Oregon State, he'll have sit down with athletic director Sandy Barbour to discuss the future of Cal football and what role -- if any -- he plays in it. Walking into that meeting with a victory over the No. 16 Beavers would probably go over better than closing out the year on a five-game losing streak.

In the preseason, if you penciled in Washington at 6-4 heading into the season's final two weekends, you would have been branded an optimist. The Huskies faced a brutal schedule, perhaps the toughest in the nation, and it's become even tougher than it looked in August as the season played out.

Anyone project San Diego State as an 8-3 team? Or Oregon State as a top-10 team much of the season?

The Huskies posted wins over both those teams, and when you toss in a victory over Stanford, you have three wins over teams that are presently a combined 23-7.

The only true hiccup this season was at Arizona, a listless 52-17 defeat. But the Wildcats, also 6-4, are pretty darn good. They have wins against Oklahoma State and USC and nailbiting losses to Stanford and Oregon State.

While the Huskies haven't been strong on the road this year, they will be favorites in their final two regular-season games, at Colorado on Saturday and at Washington State in the Apple Cup on Nov. 23. That means they have a good shot at an eight-win regular season, with a chance at a ninth in a bowl game.

The last time the Huskies won eight games? That would be 2001. That means most of the current Huskies can't even remember the last time it happened.

And, yet, during a three-game midseason slide, some people were questioning the trajectory of the program under coach Steve Sarkisian.

People! Don't they just drive you crazy?

You get the feeling that a lot of those same people came around at some point last Saturday during the Huskies 16-play, 82-yard, fourth-quarter TD drive, which lasted 8:43 and put a dagger into Utah.

Sarkisian called the 34-15 victory the Huskies' most complete performance. The defense under new coordinator Justin Wilcox is astronomically better than a year ago, and QB Keith Price has started to look like his old self, completing 24 of 33 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for a TD.

"I thought that was by far and away [Price's] best game of the year," Sarkisian said, then added. "I just think from a mental standpoint he is healthy. He's back to Keith Price as I know him, which is fun to be around... He is exuding a tremendous amount of confidence and leadership, and in the end I think our team feeds off of him."

Of course, there are other schools of thought, ones that hear about playing well in all three phases and yawn. These people prefer the "Hat Over Visor Theory."

Sarkisian is a visor guy, like Steve Spurrier. But it seems the Huskies are now 4-0 when he wears a hat. This has become a fairly big deal in Seattle. Really.

"I haven't spent that much time delegating over what to wear in the game," Sarkisian said. "But now, it's pretty clear to me the hat, it's just unbelievable the success we have with me in the hat. So we'll continue with the hat."

Sark is laughing at the question, but here's a guess that he will be wearing a hat until the magic -- and it is clearly hat magic -- goes away.

And, with a 9-4 finish with a bowl victory as a potential outcome, which could earn the Huskies a top-15 2013 preseason ranking as they move back into a fancy new Husky Stadium, hat magic is just fine.