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Our 2014 season Pac-12 team-by-team grades continue. If you want to check out last season's reviews, click here. Washington Huskies  Offense: First-year head coach Chris Petersen is widely considered one of the most creative offensive minds in the nation, but the Huskies offense struggled in 2014 under coordinator Jonathan Smith, the one-time overachieving Oregon State quarterback. While Washington QB Cyler Miles did a good job of protecting the football, the Huskies didn't produce much in the downfield passing game and ended up ranked eighth in passing efficiency, 10th in yards per play (5.4) and ninth in points per game (30.2) in the conference. The Huskies entered the season with high expectations on offense -- a veteran line and promising skill players -- but the production just wasn't there. Grade: D
Defense: The defense started the season with four bona fide superstars: LB Shaq Thompson, DT Danny Shelton, OLB/DE Hau'oli Kikaha and CB Marcus Peters. While the secondary after Peters was a significant question, owning one of the nation's most talented front sevens is a heck of a way to start. Yet Peters got kicked off the team for a poor attitude, and the defense ended up solid but not dominant. Shelton and Kikaha put up huge numbers and rightfully earned All-America honors. Thompson, despite also seeing significant time at running back, also earned postseason notice. As a unit, yielding 24.8 points per game (third in conference) and 5.4 yards per play (fifth in conference) is solid but certainly not elite. Grade: B- Special teams: Kicker Cameron Van Winkle and punter Korey Durkee were above average, while the coverage teams and return teams were mostly mediocre, though it's worth noting the speedy John Ross returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Grade: B Overall: Petersen's first season certainly fell short of expectations. He inherited a talented roster and, well, he's Chris Petersen. The thought was his detail-oriented management would be a key ingredient in getting the Huskies over the good-but-not-great hump. Didn't happen, at least in Year One. It's possible -- likely? -- that such a drastic change in management styles from Steve Sarkisian to Petersen requires more than a year of acclimation. No one is seriously doubting Petersen's abilities, but an 8-6 finish that included a horrible effort against an inferior team in the bowl game was pretty deflating after the euphoria folks felt upon Petersen's hiring. Grade: C- Other Pac-12 reviews: Washington State
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