The #1 passing offense in the nation gets one more chance to add to their stats in the Washington at Washington State betting matchup. The Huskies have an outside chance at facing USC in the Pac-12 Championship with a win and losses by Oregon and UCLA, but they would also just ‘settle’ for retaking the Apple Cup after the Cougars’ 40-13 win in the rivalry game last season.
Washington State would love to take any guesswork out of things and just eliminate Washington’s Pac-12 title game berth hopes with a second consecutive win in the rivalry series. Washington had won seven straight head-to-head, but WSU is on a nice run with three straight wins. The Huskies are just a -2.5 favorite here.
Smart Offseason for Washington
It’s looking like a match made in heaven when Washington signed former Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer to run their program in the offseason and then subsequently added former Indiana QB Michael Penix, Jr. in the transfer portal. DeBoer has already signed a contract extension through 2028 while Penix, Jr. leads the country with 3,869 passing yards.
DeBoer has done a great job in taking Washington from 4-8 a season ago to 9-2 this season, and although this program has bigger fish to fry with a possible New Year’s Six bowl game, they wouldn’t mind picking up the Apple Cup in the process. WSU won this rivalry contest 40-13 last year as -2.5 favorites, snapping a streak of seven straight wins by the Huskies.
Washington State has more of a bend-but-don’t-break defense, giving up some yards through the air (246.9), being fairly solid on the ground (119.2) but allowing only 19.8 ppg. Penix, Jr. has proven to be a matchup buster though, completing 66.7% of his passes while throwing 26 TDs to 6 INTs.
Cougars Try to Finish Strong
The Huskies have won five straight heading into the Washington at Washington State matchup, so WSU will need to be a momentum breaker to secure the upset on Saturday night. Ideally Washington State would prefer this game doesn’t turn into a shootout, as the Cougars are 7th in the Pac-12 in passing yards/game and 9th in rushing yards.
Washington State does come into this contest with a three game win streak of their own, but that has also come against Stanford (3-8), Arizona State (3-9), and Arizona (5-7).
Cougars coach Jake Dickert does have experience winning the Apple Cup, leading WSU to last year’s win as he was in the interim position after the firing of a good portion of the Cougars staff for violating COVID 19 protocols. Dickert got the full-time job a day after leading the win over Washington last season.
Free Washington at Washington State Betting Pick
This line definitely looks like a trap play, as why are the Huskies just -2.5 favorites despite having one of the most potent offenses in the country? Over 50% of the public still likes WSU at home to pick up a second straight Apple Cup, which makes the play on Washington a bit easier.
Free Pick: Washington -2.5
