Saturday features a battle of Pac-12 versus Big Ten as the Washington Huskies (0-1) take on the Michigan Wolverines (1-0). The Wolverines will host this one at Michigan Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
After finishing 3-1 overall last season, the Washington Huskies were hoping to get off to a strong start this season. Unfortunately, the season began in embarrassment as they lost 13-7 to Montana in their opener.
The Wolverines had a better start to the season as they beat Western Michigan 47-14 last week. It was a good start for Jim Harbaugh, who disappointingly went 2-4 last season.
Michigan is the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -275 to win while the Huskies’ moneyline sits at +230. The spread features Washington +7 (-113) and the over/under for total points is 48.5
More Odds
Michigan currently has the fifth-best odds of winning the Big Ten at +2500. Despite their opening loss, Washington has better odds to win the Pac-12 at +1000.
Michigan is currently +10000 to win the National Championship this season while Washington is +25000.
By The Numbers
Washington is 5-2 in their last seven games, but they are 1-4 against the spread. Of their last 20 games played in September, Washington is 17-3.
Especially after going 0-3 at home last season, it is not surprising that they are 1-4 against the spread in their last five when playing at Michigan Stadium. They are 18-2 in their last 20 games played in September, though.
Washington Trying To Get Over Week 1 Letdown
Given that they were over 20-point favorites against Montana last week, it would be an understatement to say that it was a shocker to see them lose. Head coach Jimmy Lake has to go back to the drawing board to get his Huskies back on track as they take the road for Michigan.
For a team that returned eight starters on defense, it was not shocking to see them hold Montana to just 13 points. Last season, they ranked 38th in the nation allowing 25 points per game.
The real problem was the offense last week. Starting quarterback Dylan Morris was highly disappointing. He was 27 for 46 for 226 yards, but he had no touchdowns and three interceptions. He did rush for a touchdown, but had four carries for -24 yards on the day.
Running back Richard Newton led the way with 17 carries for 62 yards while Cade Otton led receivers with eight catches for 82 yards.
Michigan Hopes To Make It Two In A Row
After such a poor season last year, the Wolverines are just looking for wins regardless of who they are playing.
In last week’s blowout, Cade McNamara went 9 for 11 through the air for 136 yards and two touchdowns. It was the ground game that was the strongest, though.
Blake Corum led the way with 14 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. AJ Henning (one carry for 74 yards) and Hassan Haskins (13 carries for 70 yards) also got in the mix with a touchdown each.
Wide receiver Ronnie Bell had a huge 76-yard reception for a touchdown, but it was his injury that has made the most news. On a punt return, Bell suffered a knee injury and is now out for the rest of the season.
With Bell out, the rest of the receiving core is going to have to step up. Last week, Daylen Baldwin had a 69-yard reception for a touchdown, but no other receiver had more than 23 yards receiving.
Huskies vs Wolverines Betting Preview
Despite their Week 1 outcomes, this is a tough one to call. Having been ranked preseason, Washington is certainly better than what they showed last week. On the other hand, last season would make you believe that Michigan is not as good as their Week 1 performance.
The real question is which one was more of the anomaly.
Expect Washington to give the Wolverines more fits than they saw last week against Western Michigan. The Huskies winning is far from a certainty, but taking them and the seven points on the spread is probably the right call in this one.
Take Washington +7
