A game played on November 12, 2016, is the prime reason why USC is considered the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff favorite in 2017. On the same day Pittsburgh upset undefeated Clemson and Iowa stunned undefeated Michigan, 7-3 USC went to Seattle and handed Washington its first loss, 26-13.

Never mind the fact Chris Petersen’s Huskies turned around and won the Pac-12 championship and reached the College Football Playoff. USC, which won its final nine games following 1-3 start and topped Big Ten champ Penn State in a Rose Bowl thriller, would forever be known as the “best” team in the conference that season.

And in turn, the Sam Darnold-led Trojans have soaked up nearly all the attention paid to West Coast football ever since.

No question, USC should be very good this season, thanks not only to its decorated sophomore quarterback but also potentially its strongest front seven in many years. Cam Smith, Porter Gustin and Uchenna Nwosu highlight one of the best linebacker groups in the country.

But I’ll still take Washington as my Playoff representative from the Pac-12.

The Huskies, lest we forget, won 12 games last season and beat Colorado by 31 points in the conference championship before falling 24-7 to Alabama in their Playoff semifinal matchup. And after visiting Washington during spring camp, I came away convinced the Huskies will be even better.

Much of the skepticism toward Washington nationally is specifically centered around Jake Browning. After posting Heisman-caliber production over the first two-thirds of last season, Browning unquestionably struggled down the stretch against USC (47.2 percent completions), Colorado (37.5 percent) and Alabama (52.6 percent).

Taken as a whole, however, Browning still had a highly efficient sophomore season, throwing for 3,430 yards, 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith this spring seemed fairly unconcerned about any apparent regression.

“As a whole, shoot, he played awesome,” said Smith, noting Washington’s remarkable red zone efficiency (a 94.9 percent conversion rate). “There’s not something that’s glaring in his game right now that’s not good at, in our opinion.”

Browning, who appears fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, will be without his favorite target from last season, Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick John Ross. There again, the Huskies’ staff seems unconcerned. Senior Dante Pettis averaged an FBS-best 1.7 points per reception last season, while junior Chico McClatcher led the Pac-12 at 18.5 yards per catch.

USC’s Darnold lost his two favorite receivers as well, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Darreus Rogers, and the Trojans’ receiving corps as a whole is less experienced.

Defensively, Washington lost three outstanding defensive backs — safety Budda Baker and cornerbacks Kevin King and Sidney Jones — selected in the second round of the NFL draft. That would seemingly not bode well for last season’s No. 4 defense in the country in yards per play allowed (4.61).

But the Huskies may not slip much at all in the secondary. Safety Taylor Rapp, who notched two interceptions in the conference title game, was the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. Redshirt freshman cornerback Byron Murphy has been one of the brightest stars of Washington’s spring and preseason camps. Former walk-on Myles Bryant has emerged as an impactful cornerback, and Petersen has said four-star DBs Elijah Molden, Keith Taylor and Brandon McKinney will play as true freshmen.

With dominant linemen Vita Vea and Greg Gaines up front and AP first team preseason All-American linebacker Azeem Victor back from injury, U-Dub should field another elite D. (Victor is suspended for Friday night’s Rutgers game for an undisclosed violation of team rules.)

“Since we’ve been here, I feel like we’ve gotten a better athlete the more we’ve won — the Byron Murphys, Taylor Rapp,” said Washington co-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. “There’s some guys coming in this year — Elijah Molden, maybe five years ago he’d go to Oregon.”

If there’s one area that could derail the Huskies, it’s their offensive line, which played a prime role in last year’s late-season issues. Browning was superb with protection but according to Pro Football Focus, had an adjusted completion percentage of just 54.2 under pressure. This unit will be more experienced, but starting guards Nick Harris and Andrew Kirkland will need to bring more consistency.

It just so happens that one of USC’s biggest questions marks is its own rebuilt O-line.

This year, the Trojans and Huskies don’t play during the regular season. Last November’s meeting will be a long-distant memory if by chance the two meet in Santa Clara this December. A Friday night road game at No. 14 Stanford in mid-November figures to be Washington’s toughest test along the way.

It may be that both USC and Washington are Playoff-caliber. But even if everything else is equal, I’ll take the team that’s coached by Chris Petersen.

Photo of Washington’s Jake Browning and Lavon Coleman by Jennifer Buchanan, USA TODAY Sports

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