It's impossible to ignore the "maybe" that looms over Washington's football program as the Huskies eyeball spring practices that begin in a week. Oh, something resembling that "maybe" appeared previously -- under coaches Tyrone Willingham, under Steve Sarkisian -- but this one is more tethered to logic than wishful thinking.
Washington has the proven coach, with Chris Petersen entering his third season. The Huskies have 15 position player starters returning from a team that won its final three games of 2015 to finish 7-6, including sophomore QB Jake Browning, 1,000-yard rusher Myles Gaskin and seven starters from the Pac-12's best defense.