The primetime game for Saturday’s college football slate pits the Washington Huskies against the Michigan Wolverines. Washington was upset by Montana in Week 1 as a huge favorite while Michigan took care of business handily against Western Michigan.
The Wolverines are currently listed as a seven-point favorite and the total is set at 48.5 points. Let’s break down the matchup and see which team may have the edge in this PAC 12 vs. Big 10 battle.
Washington Offense vs. Michigan Defense
The Huskies’ offense was atrocious against Montana last week as they only put up seven points (ESPN). Washington did gain 226 yards through the air but the glaring concern was the lack of a running game (only 65 rushing yards). The Huskies’ offensive line has to do a better job if they want to have a chance to pull the road upset over Michigan on Saturday.
Washington QB Dylan Morris completed 27 of 46 passes but made too many poor decisions and ended up throwing three interceptions. Morris will have to make smarter throws against a Michigan defense that will be selling out to stop the run.
Michigan’s defense only allowed 14 points to Western Michigan last week. However, they did give up 317 total yards of offense. Keep in mind though that most of those yards came after the game had already been decided. It’ll be interesting to see what the Wolverines’ strategy is on defense against the Huskies’ offense.
Michigan Offense vs. Washington Defense
Jim Harbaugh had to be thrilled with how well his offense performed in Week 1. The Wolverines gashed the Broncos for 551 yards of total offense that paved the way for a 47-14 blowout victory. Michigan’s rushing attack looked angry as they put up 335 yards on the ground and averaged an insane 7.8 yards per carry. Expect Harbaugh to keep pounding the football even though Huskies head coach Jimmy Lake has said that he will stack the box all day long.
Though the Huskies’ offense was flat-out awful against Montana, the defense played a superb game. Washington allowed only 10 first downs and 13 points in Week 1. The Huskies only had one sack against Montana but they did get five tackles for loss. This unit will need a similar type of performance against Michigan on Saturday night in Ann Arbor.
The Pick: Washington +7
It’s hard to pick a team that played so poorly in Week 1 but we think the seven-point spread is just too generous to pass up. Michigan will be fired up for this game and The Big House will be packed, but Washington isn’t nearly as bad as their performance was last week. This Huskies team should be focused since they are coming off that embarrassing loss.
This point spread is an overreaction to how good Michigan looked against a very weak Western Michigan squad. This game should come down to the wire so we’ll gladly take the seven points with the Washington Huskies! Best of luck in Week 2.
