For at least one week, the No. 14 Washington Huskies proved the hype was warranted coming into this season. Despite finishing 6-6 in the regular season in 2015, many analysts declared the Huskies the favorite to win the PAC 12 North this season to the surprise of many. With a rather weak schedule for the first third of the season, it will be a while until we see how good this team is and it will likely keep rolling over lightweights until then. Next up for the Huskies are the Idaho Vandals in Week 2 College Football.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 2 game is set for Saturday, September 10, 2016, at 5 p.m. ET at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium on the PAC 12 Network.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Washington -36.5
Idaho +36.5
Odds Analysis
The spread for this game has slowly crept upwards since the opener of 35. The Huskies haven’t been this big of a favorite in a game since they played Idaho State back in 2013 and covered a 50 point spread there.
Matchup to Watch
The Huskies have one of the best defenses in college football and it will be interesting to see how Idaho tries to attack them. Idaho doesn’t have a bad offense for a Sun Belt team and was able to drop 34 on Auburn last season, but Washington is a completely different beast than the teams the Vandals have played in the past. If the Vandals can manage even 300 yards of offense, that will be considered a victory.
Washington is just dripping with talent defensively and the Huskies don’t really have a weak link. The run defense has been strong since last season and allows just a shade over three yards a carry, while the pass defense has completely shut down opponents since last year. Budda Baker is an All-America caliber safety and as long as he is patrolling the secondary it will be tough to throw the ball effectively on this team.
Key Stat
How good is the Huskies’ defense? One of the best measures for gauging a unit is how well it does at limiting opponents’ drives and Washington was great against Rutgers in the first week. The Scarlet Knights managed just two drives of more than 30 yards while the game was still close and only late in the game were they able to effectively move the ball. The Huskies also forced three turnovers and turned two of those three takeaways into points.
Idaho didn’t show an ability to sustain long drives against FCS Montana State last week and that’s something it must do against Washington to have any shot of winning. The Vandals mustered just 15 first downs and quarterback Matt Linehan completed just 36.8 percent of his passes.
Free ATS Pick
Washington can name its score here and just might with an eye towards the College Football Playoff. Chris Petersen is used to making statements against inferior opponents from his time at Boise State and the more the Huskies rise in the rankings now means the bigger cushion they will have just in case they drop a game.
The Huskies are also still trying to figure out how good their backfield is with a pair of sophomores in Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin. Gaskin is already seen as a very talented running back who will be playing in the NFL one day, but the jury is still out on Browning. Most of his stats came against pretty bad defenses last season and he has to prove he can beat a quality defense.
This feels like a big win for the Huskies. Washington dominated a far better Rutgers team in every aspect of the game last week and should do even better against Idaho.
College Football Odds: Huskies 48, Vandals 3
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