2014
Washington Huskies
College Football
Betting Preview
Schedule and Odds
Steve Sarkisian is gone, but Washington tabbed Chris Petersen from Boise State as head coach, so if anything it could be an upgrade. The Huskies return 16 total starters, but they lose a lot of their playmakers on offense including a standout QB, RB and TE. Fans are still waiting for the day that the Huskies can compete with Oregon and Stanford in the Pac-12 North.
5 dimes sportsbook lists the Huskies at odds of 150 to 1 to win the national championship and 15 to 1 to win the PAC-12.
The immediate question comes at quarterback where the position is still undecided. Cyler Miles was reinstated to the team in May, but the fact that he was suspended in the spring doesn’t help. He’s the expected starter and got some action last year when Keith Price was hurt. It’s also going to be tough to replace Bishop Sankey at running back, where they’ll likely use a committee this time around. Dwayne Washington averaged 7.1 yards per carry on 47 rushes last year, so he could get the early touches. Kasen Williams and Jaydon Mickens will lead a stout receiving crew.
The good news for the new QB and RBs is that the offensive line is loaded and could be one of the best in the conference. All five starters return to the unit that should get plenty of work as the Huskies figure out how to use their quarterback.
While it’s likely the offense will regress, the defense could be even better after a great 2013 season. Washington had a few slip-ups against the better teams in the Pac-12, but dominated the rest of them. Nine starters return to the group with loads of big-time talent in linemen Hau’oli Kikaha, Danny Shelton and linebacker Shaq Thompson. Even with a new coordinator, the schemes won’t be changing much which is good news.
The secondary is the main issue for this Huskies defense as three of the projected starters are underclassmen. But all-Conference cornerback Marcus Peters has the ability to shut down opposing WRs and should help the new guys get acquainted.
Washington has 13 regular season Games this year, but they don’t have any terribly difficult non-Conference matchups. Eastern Washington upset Oregon State last year so they can’t sleep in that Game, but a 4-0 start should be expected before opening Pac-12 play with Stanford.
Playing the Cardinal at home will be a good test for Petersen and his new quarterback. Stanford is a difficult team to run on, so it’ll fall to Miles at QB to lead the team to a win. Washington is a great home team, so getting Stanford and UCLA there is a bonus, although it’s hard to call playing those teams a bonus. OUtside of those Games, the Huskies need to beat Arizona State and Oregon State at home.
They’ll struggled at Oregon in the middle of October, but can’t let that Game rattle their confidence. The Huskies made it to nine wins last year and there’s no reason they can’t reach that or more again, as long as their quarterback doesn’t throw Games away. Petersen will probably try and limit that happening as well.
2014 Washington Huskies Football Schedule
Aug. 30 at Hawaii
Sept. 6 vs. Eastern Washington
Sept. 13 vs. Illinois
Sept. 20 vs. Georgia State
Sept. 27 vs. Stanford
Oct. 11 at California
Oct. 18 at Oregon
Oct. 25 vs. Arizona State
Nov. 1 at Colorado
Nov. 8 vs. UCLA
Nov. 15 at Arizona
Nov. 22 vs. Oregon State
Nov. 29 at Washington State