Washington football will travel to Arizona State for a Week 7 matchup in the Pac-12. Here are three bold predictions for the contest.
Washington 6-0 (3-0 Pac-12) looks to avoid the upset bug on the road against Arizona 3-2 (1-1 Pac-12) that is coming off their biggest win of season over Colorado. #Pac12AfterDark could get crazy in the desert.
Will the Huskies prove they have what it takes to endure the gauntlet of conference play? Or will Arizona, behind the legs of their new quarterback, run away with the third shocking Top 10 upset of Week 7? Here are three bold predictions for the Hukies’ game against the Wildcats.
3. Jake Browning struggles
There have been a lot of Pac-12 quarterbacks catching NFL Draft chatter this season but Jake Browning has not been one of them. He’s a junior, so he has another year to build some draft capital, and he’s going to need it. Browning is averaging 2.3 touchdowns per game. Those numbers are down from 3.1 touchdowns per contest a season ago.
It’s not just a numbers thing. Browning just has looked as sharp as he did when he led the Huskies to a College Football Playoff berth. His struggles have come against good and bad passing defense. It’s hard to feel to confident he’ll ball out against an Arizona secondary that ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in passing defense. Instead, Browning is going to have a rough day on Saturday.
2. Myles Gaskin carries the offense
As Browning struggles someone else is going to have to step up. That man is Myles Gaskin who is already on pace for a career season. He’s averaging a career best 6.2 yards per carry and has one fewer touchdown in six games in 2017 than he did in 14 games a year ago.
Arizona isn’t the easiest team to run on, but something’s got to give. The Wildcats rank seventh in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, allowing 154.4 yards per game. It’s one thing to shut down Northern Arizona and UTEP. Gaskin and the Huskies are a different animal.
In their last game Arizona allowed 281 yards rushing on 41 carries to Colorado’s Phillip Lindsay. That’s a good running back, but 281 yards is far from respectable. That included a 45 yard scamper as well.
Gaskin is at least even with Lindsay in terms of talent. The Pac-12 is loaded with running back depth and Arizona is about to get another taste of Gaskin who rushed for 85 yards on 24 carries against them last season. He’ll exceed those numbers on Saturday.
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?
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round after Week 6
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.