Washington football could return to greatness by upsetting Oregon

Sean Reynolds, Block U: Elite in what regard? I think there are two elite teams right now - Oregon and Washington. The Huskies are on the cusp, but I think, until they win a game like this, which might come this weekend against the Ducks, they're still not elite. IMO, an elite team is one capable of winning the conference. I'm not so sure they are right now.

Chris Landon, UW Dawg Pound: Clearly, they are a legit top 15 team if that is what is meant by "arrived". There really are not any fluky performances in there. The Defense and the Offense have asserted their dominance in each game they have played in. However, Special Teams and Penalties are areas that are glaring gaps and these issues cost them the Stanford game.

Jack Follman, Pacific Takes: I wouldn't go that far yet. I made the mistake of thinking that last year after they beat Stanford and then they immediately got destroyed by Oregon and lost three straight. Something that could very easily happen this year too.

Jason Bartel, Arizona Desert Swarm: When the Huskies win one of these games, then maybe you can call them an elite team in the conference. But for now, they are still in the second tier behind Oregon and Stanford. Close, but not quite.

Noah Smith, Addicted to Quack: I wouldn't call them an "elite" Pac-12 team until they win a Pac-12 title and/or play in a BCS game. The defense is much improved under Justin Wilcox, and the offense has a lot of weapons. I think they are the third best team in the Pac-12 this year but to be elite you have to beat the elite. They'll get another chance this weekend when Oregon comes to town.

Josh Schlichter, Pacific Takes: Not just yet. Although Washington has obviously made plenty of improvements this season, they have yet to actually prove much of anything. Keeping up with top tier opponents is one thing, but actually beating a team like Stanford or Oregon requires even more from the team. We really have to curb our opinion of the Huskies until they actually pull off one of those wins. If Washington ends up knocking off Oregon and keeps themselves in the Pac-12 North title chase for the rest of the year, we can start grouping Washington with the Cardinal and Ducks.

Connor Pelton, Building the Dam: I think so. I always thought Keith Price was the key to this team, and now that he has it going, the Huskies are for real. The key will be their next two games. If they get a split, a BCS Bowl is still in play.

Phil Fraser, Ralphie Report: I wouldn't say that. They still lost. As Ric Flair said, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man." Then he said, "WOO!" a lot, which I attribute to some low grade Tourette's. Right, now, Oregon and Stanford are elite, and everyone else is trying to get on their level.