The 2016 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by Chris Petersen in his third season as head coach of the Huskies. Washington competed as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference and played their home games on campus at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
Washington finished the season with a 12–2 overall record and went 8–1 in conference to win the Pac-12 North Division, the program's first division title since the Pac-12 expanded and split into divisions in 2011. The Huskies earned a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game where they defeated Colorado to win their first conference title since 2000. They were selected as the #4 seed in the College Football Playoff and played in the Peach Bowl, where they lost to #1 seed Alabama. Washington was ranked #4 in the final AP Poll of the 2016 season.
The Huskies finished the 2015 season 7–6 overall and 4–5 in conference, tying for fourth place in the Pac-12 North. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they defeated Southern Miss.
During the offseason, defensive line coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Choate left Washington to accept the head coach position at Montana State. Former Husky defensive back Ikaika Malloe was hired from Utah State to coach the defensive line in 2016, while linebackers coach Bob Gregory took over special teams.
Wide receivers coach Brent Pease did not have his contract renewed following the 2015 season. Pease was replaced by offensive quality control coach Bush Hamdan, who also took on the title of passing game coordinator.
Coming off of a 44–6 win against No. 7 Stanford at Husky Stadium, No. 5 Washington traveled to Autzen Stadium to face a 2–3 Oregon team. Prior to this game, Oregon had beaten Washington twelve straight times, ten of which were by a margin of 20 points or more. This was the longest winning streak by either team in the Oregon-Washington football rivalry.
The Oregon winning streak was finally snapped after a 70–21 Washington rout. On the first play from the line of scrimmage, Washington safety Budda Baker, a one-time commit to the Oregon Ducks, intercepted the pass from Oregon's true freshman Justin Herbert. The Huskies took the lead on a Jake Browning touchdown run with 13:23 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Huskies led 35–7 by halftime, 42–7 after the first possession of the third quarter, and 70–21 with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter.
The Washington offense racked up 682 yards of total offense, averaged 10.1 yards per play, amassed 6 passing touchdowns by quarterback Jake Browning, and scored 70 points, the most scored by either team in the rivalry. The Huskies’ 70 points were the second-most an opponent has ever scored on Oregon in Eugene.
Seven members of the 2016 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine held between February 28 and March 6, 2017 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 2017 NFL Draft was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia on April 27 through April 29, 2017. The following Washington players were either selected or signed as free agents following the draft.
^ "2016 Washington Huskies Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
^ "Washington's 70 points leaves Oregon searching for answers on defense". The Seattle Times. 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ "UW game report: Huskies end 12-year losing streak to Oregon with emphatic 70-21 blowout". The Seattle Times. 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
"2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.