The ground stop has ended, which means the Huskies will attempt to fly out tonight to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans! Our staff has their picks below!
Andrew Berg (4-4 SU, 4-4 ATS)
The preseason win total O/U of 7.5 seemed too low at the time. Now, the Dawgs are clinging to hope that they can pull off a road win against the Spartans to even reach bowl eligibility. With Indiana and Oregon on the horizon, it might be the last, best hope of getting a sixth victory. Michigan State has also fallen below expectations
in Pat Fitzgerald’s first season. However, the surprising victory over dysfunctional Michigan has put them back on a more positive track. Like so many other Big 10 teams, Michigan St have a solid defense and often struggles to put enough points on the board. Offensively, they don’t run the ball well at all and rely on short completions to move the chains. UW has had trouble tackling in the secondary at times this year. It will be crucial to keep their MSU’s short completions as mall gains, which means avoiding the mental mistakes that have plagued the Dawgs against Penn St and Iowa.
Sparty can defend the run. They do it better than anything else on either side of the ball. The Huskies showed some life in the running game with Jayden Limar last week, but went away from that strategy too soon. Demond Williams improved over the course of the game and showed a bit more pocket presence in the second half. Between Chris Lawson and Dezmen Roebuck, the Huskies have enough passing game talent to be able to score some points in this game. Of course, things could turn badly if the gameplan doesn’t highlight these advantages or there are frequent mental mistakes once again.
Washington 24 – Michigan St 20
Raymond Lucas Jr. (5-1 SU, 2-4 ATS)
At this point, who knows what will happen on Saturdays? I thought last week was a great spot for Washington to find momentum after a dramatic rally against Nebraska; instead, a slow start plagued the Dawgs as the comeback attempt fell short. What’s concerning is that Washington starts incredibly slow, so it’s hard to have much faith in picking it. That said, if Washington leaves East Lansing with a loss, my hope for the future under this coaching staff will grow bleaker than it already is. The Spartans are fresh off a win over Michigan in a battle of two of the worst offenses in college football. That is not hyperbole. Even with the win, Michigan State still sits at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Washington should not lose this game. I cannot confidently say Washington will win this game. Which is an entirely different issue that I’ll discuss at another time; sooner rather than later, if Washington loses this game.
When picking games, I like to assess risk. It’s hard to find them. Washington would need to have a disaster class both offensively and defensively to lose this game. As I write these sentences, I feel a strong urge to knock on wood to avoid a jinx. Sorry in advance, everyone.
Logic, emotion, and everything else tell me Washington wins this game. So I’ll roll with the Dawgs.
Huskies win 24-14
Mark Schafer (4-4 SU, 1-7 ATS)
This should be a relatively easy win, against one of the middling teams in the Big Ten, fresh off a win against one of the worst offenses in the country. I say “should” because there’s a lot that could go wrong. The Huskies could have a slow start, like last week and start their comeback too late. They could be heavily affected by the late travel and struggle to adjust to the time zone. Or they could come out flat and stay flat. I feel like all of those options, or some combination of the three are liable to happen, considering where the program is at this point in the year. Or the exact opposite might happen, as the Huskies are literally fighting for their postseason lives.
To win this game, the Dawgs need to find success on the ground, as in Michigan State’s 3 wins, all of them have come when they have shut down the run game. Look for the run game to be a heavy diet of Demond Williams, plus some screens, and possibly some receivers getting involved. I would hope that the team has learned from last week and expands Jayden Limar’s usage from a very effective first drive. If he can build off of last week, that would make me feel a little bit better about the offense.
Defensively, the secondary is going to have to keep the passing game contained, as these Spartans aren’t very effective at running the ball, so I expect a lot of physical pass coverage throughout the game, although that backfired, for a lot of big gains by Penn State last week. I also expect a turnover to swing momentum, and for the Huskies to hang on, and secure that sixth win and bowl eligibility.
Washington-17, Michigan State-14
Straight Up: Washington-3, Michigan State-0
Against The Spread: Washington-3, Michigan State-0
Average Score: Washington–22, Michigan State-16
Let us know your predictions in the comments below and as always, Go Dawgs!
