The Washington Huskies are looking like the best team in the PAC 12 once again in 2017. Last year, Washington went 12-1 and easily won the PAC 12 title over Colorado before getting waxed by Alabama in the College Football Playoff. Despite prognosticators picking USC to win the PAC 12 at the start of the season, the Huskies are the best team in the conference through September. They are 5-0 and haven’t been tested all season, but haven’t faced an offense like the California Golden Bears yet either.
This contest in Week 6 of the regular season will go down Saturday, October 7, 2017, at 10:45
p.m. ET at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
California +27.5
Washington -27.5
Over/Under 56.5
Odds Analysis
Washington has won every game by at least 16 points this season. The Huskies might be just 3-2 ATS, but should be 4-1 ATS. They were up 48-7 on Fresno State early in the third quarter as a 34.5-point favorite, but the Bulldogs kicked three field goals to get the cover.
The Golden Bears are 3-2 ATS and have been pretty impressive all things considered. This was supposed to be one of the worst teams in the PAC 12, but they have been a nice surprise and went undefeated in their non-conference slate with wins over North Carolina and Ole Miss.
Under is 7-1 in the last eight meetings between these two teams, but this is one of the lowest totals we have seen in this game in some time. Cal is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games in Husky Stadium.
Coaching Angle
Justin Wilcox has done what few thought was possible. He has given this defense a shot in the arm since coming to Berkeley. Although the Golden Bears have given up 75 points so far in PAC 12 play, they have played significantly better than they have in the past.
Under Wilcox, this is no longer a Cal team that aims to outscore you and win a shootout. The Golden Bears are more concerned about possession than they have been in year’s past, with the thought of making sure the defense has fresh legs.
This is a bit of a homecoming for Wilcox. He was a defensive coordinator at five schools before he took the head coaching job at Cal, and one of those schools was Washington. He was the defensive coordinator for the Huskies in 2012 and 2013, and followed former Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian to USC.
Player to Watch
Dante Pettis is one of the most exciting players in college football. Pettis is electric every time he touches the ball. He tied the NCAA record for career punt return touchdowns earlier this year in a rout of Fresno State, when he found the end zone off of a punt for the third straight game in 2017.
Special teams aren’t the only facet of the game where he has an impact either. He caught three touchdown passes against Fresno State in that game and caught three touchdown passes this last week in a rout of Oregon State too. He doesn’t see a lot of passes thrown his way, but makes the most of every ball. Don’t be surprised if he finds the end zone more than once in this one.
Free ATS Pick
The total is pretty much spot on in this one. Cal won’t be able to score much against a defense that hasn’t allowed more than 16 points yet this season, while it should be able to rack up a decent amount of points.
For a side, Washington is a marginally better pick than California. The Huskies don’t have to worry about a trap game or a letdown game as its next tough foe isn’t until the end of the month, so they should be focused here. Chris Petersen is one of the best in the nation at making sure his players don’t take a game off and that will help Washington get the cover.
College Football Odds: Washington 42, California 10
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