Huskies cornerback Tacario Davis, who's was out for three weeks with a rib injury, has been one of the key defensive players for the team
The Washington Huskies football team are on the cusp of earning their first placement on the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll.
The Huskies have won two consecutive Big Ten games: a 24-20 result against Maryland on Oct. 4 that included 24 unanswered points by Washington; and a 38-19 win against Rutgers on Oct. 10, in which the Huskies outscored the Scarlet Knights 38-6 after falling behind 13-0.
Washington has received votes in the last two AP Top 25 polls, and a third consecutive win could be what opens the door for the Huskies.
Washington will look to earn another statement Big Ten win against Michigan at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. And one of the team's best defensive players will look to continue to make an impact.
Senior cornerback Tacario Davis was set to be one of the featured players on defense for the Huskies going into this season. He transferred to Washington before this season after being named second-team All-Pac-12 and second-team All-Big 12 with Arizona in 2023 and '24, respectively.
Davis played the first two weeks of the season against Colorado State and UC Davis. In those games, Davis had a tackle, an interception and two passes defended.
Davis exited the game against UC Davis with a rib injury, which kept him out for the next three weeks against Washington State, Ohio State and Maryland.
Davis returned against Rutgers and immediately made his impact felt again. He totaled four tackles (three solo, one assisted) and defended a pass.
Davis has only been on the field in a limited capacity due to his injury, but he's one of the most efficient defensive players on the team.
According to a post on "X" from PFSN's Cam Mellor, Davis has been targeted 14 times in the passing games. He has a catch rate allowed of 35.7%, forced incompletion rate of 28.6%, has allowed 0.7 yards per snap in coverage and has allowed a passer rating of 23.2 when targeted.
Davis hasn't received enough playing time to qualify among PFSN's grading scale, but his cornerback impact grade of 97.6 would rank second in the country.
The Huskies offense has consistently been one of the best in the Big Ten this season. The defense, despite playing well in the second halves of the last two games, hasn't performed as well. Washington has allowed 235.7 passing yards per game this season, which ranks 13th in the 18-team conference. The defense has also allowed 1.5 passing touchdowns per game, which ranks 12th in the conference.
With Davis back in the fold, the passing defense could take a massive step forward, which will only help Washington be a factor in the Big Ten as the regular season progresses.
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WASHINGTON WIDE RECEIVER HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY CONSISTENT: Denzel Boston has been one of the most reliable passing targets in the country this season. CLICK HERE
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