If college football’s national championship were awarded purely on the basis of preseason hype, the Washington Huskies would be top contenders. A frequent Pacific-12 also-ran, Washington returns more than a dozen starters from last year’s team, which was widely acknowledged as better than its 7-6 record. The team’s No. 14 ranking in the current Associated Press poll is the team’s highest since 2002.

Most important, Huskies Coach Chris Petersen — previously known for crashing the power conferences’ Bowl Championship Series as head coach of Boise State — is entering his third year leading Washington’s program. Which means that, if timing is everything, then Petersen’s time is right now.

“Of course, it’s going to take time when a new coach comes in and changes it completely — it’s going to take time for everyone to start buying into his message,” said the Washington senior Kevin King, a safety who was recruited by Petersen’s predecessor, Steve Sarkisian, and has watched the transition take place.

“But at the same time, we all embody Pete’s message,” King added, referring to Petersen. “We know that Pete knows what it takes to win.”