There’s a feeling in Seattle that the Washington Huskies blew a chance at something really special last season. Boasting one of the best offenses in the country, the Huskies won 10 regular season games and finished off the campaign with an Alamo Bowl victory over Texas matching the program record for second-most wins in a season. And it was quite a turnaround since they won just four games the season before. Oddsmakers are bullish on U-Dub with Bitcoin Betting having their 2023 win total set at 9.5.
College Football Season Wins Odds
Regular Season Wins for the Washington Huskies
Over 9.5 ( +119 )
Under 9.5 ( -135 )
Only two teams in program history had more wins than the 2022 Huskies, who finished 11-2 overall. The 1991 squad went 12-0 claiming a national championship and the 2016 edition finished 12-2 reaching the College Football Playoff. So, what does Kalen DeBoer do for an encore in his second year? I guess avoiding a loss to team like Arizona State is a start. That setback cost Washington a berth in the Pac-12 title game and was the only blemish on an otherwise successful season.
Roster
Winning three NAIA Championships in a four-year span says something about the kind of coach DeBoer is. He had a short but successful stint at Fresno State before turning heads last year. And the program needed a boost after a disastrous 4-8 season in 2021 when the offense was nowhere to be found. Spending most of his time working on the offensive side of the football, DeBoer helped transform the Huskies from one of the worst teams offensively into one of the best. In 2021, U-Dub ranked 115th in the FBS in total offense and 107th in points per game. The addition of Michael Penix Jr. along with several others was the reason.
With most of the pieces returning from a group that boasted the best pass offense in the country averaging nearly 370 yards and finished second to Tennessee in total yards with 516.2 per game, the Huskies will be involved in a number of shootouts again. Hampered by injuries during his time at Indiana, Penix Jr. found new life once he was reunited with his former OC. Staying healthy was the biggest thing and Penix Jr. was marvelous throwing for 4,641 yards and 31 TDs with only eight interceptions in 554 pass attempts.
With a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan also returning, the Huskies should thrive through the air and could potentially exceed their seventh-best scoring average of 39.7 points from a season ago. The offense worked thanks to a line that allowed the second fewest sacks in the country keeping Penix Jr. upright. There could be some regression with three starters done, but the portal landed some nice pieces that should slide into place.
The Huskies weren’t great stopping opponents last season, but they were good enough allowing an electric offense to come through. The group conceded 40 points to UCLA and 45 to ASU, both losses, and also had some issues against Arizona, Oregon and Washington State. There was some luck involved as well with three conference wins by seven points or less. The pass rush should be strong with 9-sack EDGE Bralen Price back, however the secondary allowed a number of big plays, mainly because teams were chucking the ball around the yard trying to keep up.
Schedule
From the looks of it the schedule seems a bit more difficult than last year. And the Huskies aren’t sneaking up on anyone like they did a season ago. There is no UCLA on the slate taking off a team that handed them one of their losses. And the Huskies get Oregon, Utah and Washington State at home. Boise State is no pushover and a trip to Michigan State will be much different than last year’s meeting. The last two road games are against USC and Oregon State with landmines throughout the schedule.
Prediction
I’m just not as high on the Huskies as some other folks. Sure they’re good, but another 10-win regular season is asking a lot now that they have a target on their back. And you can’t overlook the injury history of Penix Jr., who played a full season for the first time last year. If he goes down for any length of time the season is ruined. And if plays the entire year, UW will have a potent offense with fewer wins which is why the UNDER is the best bet.
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