Analysis:
Coach Fletcher’s 1* Saturday CFB 3
Pack
2:00 pm Utah State at Washington
The Pick 1* Washington -5.5
William Hill
The 1-1 Washington Huskies host Utah State Saturday
night. Utah State also arrives with a
1-1 record.
The Huskies played Boise State in their opener. They went in as a 13 point dog and lost just
16-13. Last week the Huskies took a
breather and played FCS school Sacramento State in what was really a scrimmage
given the talent differences in the two schools. Washington won that one 49-0 as 30.5 point
favorites.
The Sacramento State game gave them a chance to work on their
running game which was non –existent against Boise. The Huskies rushed for 29 yards on 22 carries
against Boise. Going against Sac State,
the Huskies tallied 218 yards on 36 carries.
While throwing for 150 yards versus Boise, the Huskies tossed for 326
against Sac St.
The Washington pass defense was impressive against
Boise. The Huskies held them to 17-27
for 152 yards and picked off 2. Against
Sac State, with a plethora of back-ups seeing time, the Huskies gave up 201
yards passing and picked off 1. Washington
stymied the Sac State running game giving up only 11 yards on 26 carries. Even though they allowed 185 on the ground to
Boise, it took 53 tries to get there. That’s just a little less than 3.5 per
carry.
Utah State has played a good team as well when they took on
Utah last week. The Aggies lost that one
24-14 after beating Southern Utah 12-9 in week 1. Clearly the Utes offense is having problems. Against Southern Utah the Aggies threw 33
passes and completed 16 for 110 yards.
Not impressive. They did run 35
times for 140 yards, a 4.0 per carry average.
Against Utah they ran 32 times for 117 yards, a 3.7 average. They threw for 256 yards but were picked 3
times.
Defensively, the Aggies were not bad. Southern Utah proved no problem. They only gained 52 yards in 30 carries and
passed for only 111 yards. Utah kept the
ball on the ground running for 195 yards in 44 carries, 4.4 yards per carry,
and threw only 22 passes, completing 17 for 132 yards.
It’s hard to put a solid number on the Washington offense
due to the game against Sac State. QB
Jake Browning has completed 63.8% of his passes for 476 yards and 1 pick. Myles Gaskin is the leading rusher averaging
a healthy 7.9 yards per carry. Dwayne
Washington is the leading receiver with 9 catches while Josh Perkins has
7.
The Husky defense is only allowing 8 points per game, not
bad for playing against Boise, but not surprising due to Sac State. They have recorded 3 sacks, 1 fumble
recovered, and picked off 2.
The offensive match-up goes to Washington. Here’s why.
The Aggies are averaging just 13 points a game and 311.5 yards. QB Chuckie Keaton has completed 55.9% of his
passes for 366 yards with 2 TD’s and a pick.
The ground game isn’t too hot either.
The leading rusher is averaging 3.2 yards per carry. The Aggies leading receiver has 9 receptions.
But the Aggie defense is strong. They’ve allowed 16.5 points per game and 245
yards. They have 5 sacks but no
takeaways.
The Huskies are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games
and 19-9 against the spread in their last 28 home games. Utah State is 12-4-1 against the spread after
a loss and 35-17-2 in their last 54 road games.
However, they are just 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 September
games.
The does have the look of a close game. But Washington’s offense should be able to
put enough points to cover. Sagarin, for
those who care, has Washington ranked #26 and Utah State 77. He’s got Southern Utah at #166 and Sac State
at #181.
Coach’s Conclusion:
Utah State plays in the Mountain West Conference. Washington plays in the Pac-12. That alone gives Washington an edge. They are able to draft better players. The Husky offense should be able to pierce
that stout Utah State defense and put up some points. Utah State is another story. They will struggle to get more than 17 which
means the Huskers just need 23 to cover.
I like Washington.
The Pick 1*
Washington -5.5 William Hill
Pick Made: Sep 17 2015 2:18PM PST