Washington Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Arizona State
Washington football will travel to Arizona State on Saturday night for a big Pac-12 battle. Here’s everything you need to know.
What happens when you combine a top-tier offense with one of the nation’s best defenses? You get No. 5 Washington football. The Huskies are one of the best teams in the country and they’re also coming off a College Football Playoff appearance in 2016. Will they be able to repeat? That question remains to be answered.
Jake Browning has played well, although he’s not at his highest level yet. He’s passed for 1,466 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. Dante Pettis has had to take on more of a load in the receiving game with Chico McClatcher injured and he’s done an exceptional job. He has 37 catches for 416 yards and six touchdowns.
As for the run game, Myles Gaskin is starting to come on late. He had a slow start to the year — for the second straight season — but now has 559 yards and eight scores.
Arizona State, on the other hand, is just 2-3 to start the year. The Sun Devils have losses to San Diego State, Texas Tech and Stanford, which isn’t the worst possible scenario since 2-of-3 are currently ranked. Still, Todd Graham was hoping for a much better start and he could be on his last leg as head coach.
Although the Sun Devils landed Alabama quarterback transfer Blake Barnett in the offseason, Manny Wilkins has been starting games under center. He’s been steady all year long with 1,452 yards and eight touchdowns, but he needs more help from the run game — Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard have been relatively ineffective.
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s Washington vs Arizona State game:
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Time: 10:45 p.m. ET
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Venue: Sun Devil Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
Really, the Arizona State defense is about as poor as there is in the Pac-12. Jake Browning and the offense should have no problem reaching the end zone, but the key to the game will be the defense. Wilkins has had a strong season under center for the Sun Devils, so the Huskies need to make sure he doesn’t sit back there all day and have time to throw the ball effectively. Generating an adequate pass rush and even having coverage sacks will be key. They can’t let him sit there all day with no pressure or he’ll burn the Huskies.
Since it’s going to be difficult to sling the ball around against this Washington secondary, Wilkins is going to need to rely on the run game. Ballage and Richard are two very capable backs, but they haven’t lived up to expectations this season. They need to get going if the Sun Devils want to be able to pull off the upset at home. Crazy things have already taken place this weekend, so an upset of the nation’s fifth-ranked team isn’t out of the question if everything goes right.
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Prediction
This has all the feeling of a trap game, especially after we saw what happened to Clemson and Washington State on the road to kick off Week 7. However, the Huskies will remain level-headed in hostile territory. Jake Browning will have a big day, passing for over 300 yards and Myles Gaskin will add 150 of his own on the ground. This is going to be a comfortable win for Washington on the road and they will move up in the rankings this week thanks to Clemson.
Final Score: Washington 37, Arizona State 23