The most obvious implication from this history is that a top 10 ranking means more than nothing, but far less than any guarantee of ultimate glory. I'm tempted to say that we already knew that, but preseason optimism turbo-charged by a high ranking can zap our ability to temper expectations.
We did win 2 national championships out of the 11 preseason top ten rankings, and that seems like a pretty decent rate. Is 12 preseason top ten rankings in 73 years a good record for a prominent, next-tier (non-Blue Blood) program? I have no idea; I don't know who to compare us to. I only know, as every good Husky fan knows, that we have two more national championships than the Ducks...
Damn, I wasn't expecting you to look it up, brother. You're, like, full service! I agree, that feels about right. In fact, when I was musing about it, UCLA was one of the schools that occurred to me.
Thanks for taking us back through all those years--celebrations and heartbreak alike. It is interesting that many of their better years came when expectations weren’t the highest.
I’ve never given much weight to preseason polls. They seem to put too much emphasis on the previous year. I always like it when it works in our favor, but it’s still hard to put much weight on it.
A really fun piece - thanks, CC.
The most obvious implication from this history is that a top 10 ranking means more than nothing, but far less than any guarantee of ultimate glory. I'm tempted to say that we already knew that, but preseason optimism turbo-charged by a high ranking can zap our ability to temper expectations.
We did win 2 national championships out of the 11 preseason top ten rankings, and that seems like a pretty decent rate. Is 12 preseason top ten rankings in 73 years a good record for a prominent, next-tier (non-Blue Blood) program? I have no idea; I don't know who to compare us to. I only know, as every good Husky fan knows, that we have two more national championships than the Ducks...
Their 13 preseason top-10 appearances are tied for 20th-most with UCLA, which feels about right, given UW’s history.
Damn, I wasn't expecting you to look it up, brother. You're, like, full service! I agree, that feels about right. In fact, when I was musing about it, UCLA was one of the schools that occurred to me.
Thanks for taking us back through all those years--celebrations and heartbreak alike. It is interesting that many of their better years came when expectations weren’t the highest.
Great recap. Love the historical articles as I've lived thru most of those seasons.
I wish the Huskies went 10-2 in 1992. Alas, there was that awful frozen debacle in Pullman.
D’oh. It’s fixed now.
Ok. Can UW stop losing to ASU please? So frustrating to let a perennially below average team muck up so many seasons
I’ve never given much weight to preseason polls. They seem to put too much emphasis on the previous year. I always like it when it works in our favor, but it’s still hard to put much weight on it.