Huskies Get Rewarded for Apple Cup Win, Move Up AP Poll
As the wins continue to pile up, no matter how precarious, the rewards keep coming for the University of Washington football team, which moved up a spot to third in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll.
On Sunday, the Huskies (12-0 overall, 9-0 Pac-12) trailed only two-time defending champion Georgia and Big Ten powerhouse Michigan, which caused the rankings shuffle by beating previously unbeaten Ohio State 30-24. Georgia and Michigan drew all of the first-place votes with 52 and 10, respectively.
Kalen DeBoer's team remained unscathed by beating Washington State 24-21 on Grady Gross' final-play, 42-yard field goal in the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium and has won 19 consecutive games over two seasons.
The last time the UW was ranked third in the AP poll was at the end of the 2000 season, when Rick Neuheisel's team beat Purdue and quarterback Drew Brees 34-24 in the Rose Bowl and finished 11-1.
The Huskies now prepare for the final Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas in its current league alignment against fifth-ranked Oregon (11-1), giving the postseason a matchup of a pair of top 5 teams, with a possible College Football Playoff berth on the line.
DeBoer's team, which has won its past eight games by two to 10 points, began the season ranked No. 10 and has patiently moved up the AP listing.
ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
1. Georgia, 12-0, 1,540 (52 first-place votes)
2. Michigan, 12-0, 1,495 (10)
3. Washington, 12-0, 1,413
4. Florida State, 12-0, 1,358
5. Oregon, 11-1, 1,277
6. Ohio State, 11-1, 1,251
7. Texas, 11-1, 1,205
8. Alabama, 11-1, 1,125
9. Missouri, 10-2, 1,011
10. Penn State, 10-2, 961
11. Mississippi, 10-2, 936
12. Oklahoma, 10-2, 857
13. LSU, 9-3, 809
14. Arizona, 9-3, 712
15. Louisville, 10-2, 689
16. Notre Dame, 9-3, 592
17. Tulane, 11-1, 557
18. Iowa, 10-2, 458
19. Oklahoma State, 9-3, 407
20. Liberty, 11-0, 293
21. North Carolina State, 9-3, 269
21. Oregon State, 8-4, 269
23. Toledo, 10-1, 176
24. James Madison, 10-1, 121
25. SMU, 10-2, 108
Also receiving votes: Tennessee 98, Clemson 57, Kansas State 41, Utah 40, Troy 7, Kansas 6, New Mexico State 5, Kentucky 4, Memphis 1, North Carolina 1, Miami-Ohio 1.
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