 Petersen accepted the head coaching position at the University of Washington of the Pac-12 Conference on December 6, 2013.The vacancy was created when the Huskies' Steve Sarkisian left to take the head coaching position at USC.Petersen finished his eight seasons as head coach of Boise State with a record of , with three top 10 finishes, seven seasons with ten or more wins, six top 25 finishes, two Fiesta Bowl titles, five bowl wins, and five conference titles.