Tomorrow afternoon, the Huskies will host the Penn State Nittany Lions in their homecoming game! Our staff has their predictions below!
Andrew Berg (4-3 SU, 4-3 ATS)
These teams have something interesting in common- they both appeared to be on the verge of the wheels coming off of the season before getting back on track against Purdue. The Dawgs compounded their bounce-back a week ago with a surprising and bizarre win over Nebraska. Penn St has not had the opportunity to back up their victory, so it remains plausible that it was
a blip on the radar. Flawed as the Dawgs are, they are clearly a cut above the teams Penn St has beaten- Marshall, Temple, Buffalo, and Purdue. As with much of the B1G, Penn St’s biggest problem has been offensive consistency against good defenses. Matt Campbell brought QB Rocco Becht with him from Iowa St and Becht struggled enough early in conference play that there were whispers about benching him. Unlike some of the Nittany Lion teams in years past, they do not have an electric running game to offset the passing troubles.
As usual, Penn St is better on the defensive side, albeit not as dominant as you might expect (25th in defensive SP+). The glimpses of an explosive UW offense this year came when Elijah Brown was getting the ball out quickly and letting his receivers make plays. It sounds like Demond Williams will take the reins back from Brown after closing out the win over Nebraska. There’s little reason to believe the running game will offer much at this point in the season, and Williams has been at his best when able to use his legs. Jedd Fisch will have to come up with creative ways to get Fisch to either throw quickly or get on the move. If the Dawgs can design that sort of gameplan and continue to excel in the turnover battle, it is definitely a winnable game. Ultimately, this one looks very close to a toss-up to be decided by things like field position, turnovers, penalties, and a couple of big plays. For those reasons, I will err on the side of the home team.
Washington 20 – Penn St 17
Mark Schafer (4-3 SU, 1-6 ATS)
We are now in Week 10, and the Huskies look to carry their momentum forward after a win against Nebraska which was very weird. I think a game at the friendly confines of Husky Stadium will really help these Dawgs get back on track, at least from a confidence standpoint. Offensively, I do think that Demond Williams’ dual threat ability should keep them in this game, but there’s always a chance that his ugly tendencies come out and he makes mistakes, plus Penn State’s defense is rather stout (18th in yards per game, 25th in scoring defense) so that should increase those chances. Having said that, I remain rather optimistic, perhaps too optimistic. Look for Chris Lawson to have another big game, and don’t be surprised if the defense forces Penn State into a couple of mistakes. If they can do that, then the Huskies should win this one.
Washington-24, Penn State-20
Straight Up: Washington-2, Penn State-0
Against The Spread: Washington-2, Penn State-0
Average Score: Washington-22, Penn State-19
As always, leave your prediction in the comments below, and Go Dawgs!
