During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, fans of the Washington Huskies watched their program take on teams in Alabama and Penn State that possessed decidedly superior rosters, and were frustrated to see that the talent disadvantage was simply too great to overcome in either game. In 2018, they were concerned that the same scenario would play out against an Ohio State team with as much talent as any program in the nation, but whose one stumble against an average-at-best Purdue team conspired to keep them out of the College Football Playoff.
They were right to worry.