Washington Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Arizona State in Week 7

1. Washington will be on upset alert until late in the fourth quarter

The Huskies are a top 10 team. They shouldn’t have to worry too much about an unranked opponent, right? Just ask Clemson (who fell to Syracuse) and Washington State (who was blasted by Cal). Nothing is guaranteed in college football, and as much as the Huskies would like to think they’re above the threat of an upset, they’re not.

Washington has gotten off to some slow starts through the first half of 2017. They were a punt return by Dante Pettis away from trailing Rutgers at half time. The talent and the experience of the Huskies is better than most of the opponents they’ll face this season, but that hasn’t translated to the field.

The second half has been where the Huskies have found separation. In their three Pac-12 games so far, Washington has scored 65 percent of their points after half time. They’ve been playing at night, so they can’t blame an early morning drowsiness. Maybe head coach Chris Petersen would get some better tv coverage if the Huskies scored their points before midnight eastern time?

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The same story will play out on Saturday. Arizona’s defense will stymie the Huskies on offense through three quarters. But at the end of the day, Browning, Pettis and Gaskin are just too talented to keep down for a full 60 minutes.