Washington Football to Honor Historic 2016 CFP Team During Apple Cup

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2026 will mark the tenth anniversary of one of the most historic teams in Washington Huskies history. The 2016 team, led by head coach Chris Petersen, won the program's first outright Pac-12 Championship since 1992 en route to a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.

On Wednesday, the university announced it will welcome back numerous members of the team to Montlake for Sunday's Apple Cup.

In his third season as head coach, Petersen led his team to a 12-2 record, ultimately falling to Alabama in the Peach Bowl CFP Semifinal. The monumental year was the program's first ten-win season since 2000, when they went 11-1. On their route to the first playoff appearance in program history, the Huskies also knocked off their arch-rival Oregon in dominant fashion, winning 70-21 and ending a 13-year drought against the Ducks.

Offensively, the Huskies were led by the program's all-time leading passer, Jake Browning, and his counterpart, UW's all-time leading rusher, Myles Gaskin. That season, the signal caller threw for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns, throwing to wide receivers Dante Pettis and John Ross, along with tight end Will Dissly, while the legendary running back exploded for over 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns.

There was no shortage of talent on the defense either, led up front by sophomore defensive tackles in Greg Gaines and Vita Vea, both of whom are still playing in the NFL at a high level. The linebacking corps consisted of a tenacious rotation including Azeem Victor, Keishawn Bierria, and Ben Burr-Kirven.

As for the secondary, it might be the most talented room in recent memory. Led by Budda Baker, the back end of the defense had four second-round NFL draft picks, along with Sidney Jones, Kevin King, and Taylor Rapp.

In the years after, Washington made its way to a Fiesta Bowl, a Rose Bowl, and most recently a trip back to the CFP in 2023. The 2016 season marked a return to national prominence for the Huskies, who had struggled to find consistent success as a program in the years prior.

Fast forward to present day, Jedd Fisch has found himself in a very similar circumstance to Petersen at the time: a third-year head coach looking to get his team to turn the corner into a national contender. With Fisch's roster full of blue-chip youngsters and returning talent at key positions, this year's team will try to follow in the footsteps of those who came before them a decade ago.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football to Honor Historic 2016 CFP Team During Apple Cup

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