CFB: An Underrated Career
Jake Browning was born on April 11th, 1996 in Folsom, CA, and quickly became a top tier quarterback in the state of California. He was a four-star recruit and threw 91 passing touchdowns, a national record, in his senior season. Browning then committed to the University of Washington, and entered his freshman year with the Huskies in 2015. In his first season, Browning led the Huskies to a 7-6 record with 2,955 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on 63.3 percent passing. It was a solid first year at the helm, but his second year would be something for the history books. Browning and Washington came into 2016 with heightened expectations, and yet they somehow still exceeded them. And at the same time, Browning was one of the best players in the country.
Washington won the Pac-12 championship over Colorado, and advanced to the College Football Playoff following a 12-1 campaign that involved wins over 7th ranked Stanford, 17th ranked Utah, and 23rd ranked Washington State. Although the year ended with a 24-7 loss in the Peach Bowl to Alabama, it was clear that Chris Petersen was getting the Huskies where they wanted to be for a long time, and a major reason for that was their star quarterback. Browning finished his sophomore season with 3,430 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions. He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy race. Heading into 2017, Washington had another chance to compete with the top tier programs in the country, but unfortunately, they slipped up twice on the road to: Arizona State and Stanford.
The season ended with another New Year's Six appearance, this time a 35-28 loss to 9th ranked Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. One year later, and the Huskies are in their third straight major bowl game, this time the Rose Bowl against another Big Ten opponent: 6th ranked Ohio State. As impressive as Browning has been in his career, he's just 1-2 in bowl games and a Rose Bowl victory would be the perfect way to cap off his tenure in Seattle. With that said, Browning has already cemented himself as one of the best players in Washington history with 11,983 passing yards and 110 total touchdowns (94 through the air). Browning has a 4-0 record versus Washington State, while also giving the school a pair of Pac-12 titles. Now, all he has to do is beat Ohio State to end his underrated career on a high note.
Photo Credit: Sporting News.
