The Washington Huskies were undefeated this season, compiling a 13-0 record which included a Pac-12 championship victory over Oregon.
Despite having been unbeaten and ranked higher than Oregon at the time, Washington entered that game as underdogs. Fast forward to now and the Huskies find themselves in the same position.
On New Year’s Day, Washington will square off against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns (12-1) with a chance to play for the National Championship. But with their perfect record and No. 2 ranking aside, the Huskies are once again underdogs, opening at +4 against Texas.
The doubt is something that doesn’t sit particularly well with Washington. It does, however, help motivate them.
“I think it’s crazy,” edge rusher Bralen Trice said, via ESPN. “Just the level of disrespect we get, I can’t really understand it, but it helps us because it makes us have our backs against the wall as we go into these games, ready to play even harder because we are the underdogs. You don’t take anything for granted out there. We’re grateful to be in the position we’re at because of the hard work we put in. We can be the underdog. We can be on top, and we’ll come out with the win.”
Trice added that he wants to go out there and completely dominate Texas, effectively sticking it to their doubters and critics.
Washington is the first-ever Pac-12 team to appear in the Sugar Bowl, which may be part of the reason the Huskies are viewed as underdogs.
“We’ve been in that position all year, and we’ve just got to go out and prove it again,” cornerback Dominique Hampton said.
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