The Prediction: Utah State Aggies
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It’s Week 2 and the Dawgs look to continue their momentum against the 0-1 Utah State Aggies. Our staff has their predictions for the final score as we hope for a better showing from the offense tomorrow!
Coach B (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
After the Apple Cup performance, I think our defense should end up in the top 15 nationally by the end of season, and it very well could be ranked higher. Our offense on the other hand will likely struggle repeating as a top 25 offense unless things correct themselves quickly. With questions at OL and injuries piling up in the backfield, the consensus seems like Demond and the passing attack will need to shoulder the load. Against a team like Utah State, that could mean serious points if things go as planned. Consider too that Utah State lost their season opener against FCS Idaho State.
Vegas has UW -26.5 and the O/U at 55.5. That maths out to something like 42-15 UW. However, taking the defense’s Apple Cup performance into consideration, and expecting a bigger emphasis on the passing attack, I’ll go with Washington 38-Utah State 3.
Andrew Berg (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
The Huskies don’t get punished much by Vegas for a lukewarm performance in the Apple Cup. Utah St. entered the season close to Washington St. in the Pac-12 projections, or just a hare behind. The Dawgs give an extra three points in the spread. How is that possible? Because Utah St. had a significantly worse Week 1 performance, losing to FCS Idaho St. by giving up 13 unanswered points from the late third quarter to the end. The Aggies moved the ball, but two QBs combined to throw four interceptions. Given the havoc caused by UW’s defense at all three levels last week, it’s easy to envision another game where the Dawgs end up +2 or +3 in the turnover battle. Utah St. gave up three sacks and rushed for under four yards per carry against an FCS defensive front. After what we saw from Ramzak Fruean, DCB, and company, I see lots more negative plays in the future.
If you want to argue against the Huskies covering this spread, it’s on the other side of the ball. The running back room has become an absolute MASH unit. We already knew the departure of Adam Mohammed was going to force players into bigger roles. The spring injury to Jordan Washington removed another layer of depth. With both Quaid Carr and Jayden Limar injured coming out of Week 1, the depth chart quickly gets down to players who are either specialists or walk-ons. Trey Cooley struggled in limited Week 1 duty, but he’s going to need to play a lot this week. On the other hand, it’s reasonable to expect the passing game to look better. Even within the Apple Cup, Demond Williams settle in and started to find a rhythm with Chris Lawson and Rashid Williams. If he can hit that level earlier in the game and the offensive line eliminates some of their unnecessary penalties with a week under their belt, we should see a lot more points on the board. If you tell me in a few days that Cooley looked like a viable starter and run game was not an issue, I’d believe it, but I’m going to wait to see it before I pick the Huskies to cover a four-TD spread.
Washington 34 – Utah St 10
Raymond Lucas Jr. (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
After a sloppy Week 1 on the offensive side of the ball, expect points, points and more points from Demond Williams and friends. Last week it felt like the Huskies were trying to prove that they can be an air it out type of offense. That’s not the path to success for Williams. He’s at his best when he’s using his legs and his confidence grows along with his impact. It’ll be interesting to see how the Huskies approach the rushing attack. Cooley should have enough touches to knock off the rust but expect UW to treat him like it’s an NFL preseason game due to the injuries to Carr and Limar. It’s safe to assume we’ll see receivers get a few carries to lighten Cooley’s load. It is incredibly important that the offense plays well because this is a game where the Huskies need a blowout to maximize rest and recovery. Defensively, the Dawgs will be excellent and won’t leave any room for panic, regardless of how the offense plays. A blowout awaits.
Washington 55-Utah State 0
Mark Schafer (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)
After last week’s offensive struggles, the unit looks to be at a crossroads, and I expect a back-to basics approach in the pass game, with less hunting for the big play. Especially against a Utah State team that lost to Idaho State, the opportunity for the line to (in the words of OL Coach Michael Switzer) “be about it” will be ample. There’s just no other way to say it, they got embarrassed last week, after the preseason praise they received. I think that this will be a unit hungry to prove themselves, especially as they look to prop up a running back room that is now startlingly thin. Speaking of that running back room, I am pretty excited to see Brian Bonner in extended action, as his high school numbers stood out, as somebody whose forte isn’t recruiting. Expect the offense to look crisper and execute better and put more points on the board as Demond continues his personal momentum from the Apple Cup, finding a new favored target in Rashid Williams as he also makes plenty of plays with his legs.
The defense should continue its tenacious ways, leaning on both young contributors (DCB, Ramzak Fruen, Jeron Jones) and experienced vets (Alex McLaughlin, Xe’Ree Alexander, Buddah Al-Uqdah) to frustrate an offense that looks to establish some footing after less than stellar quarterback play from their starter. I hope this is a comfortable win, because if not, we as fans will get frustrated and turn some questions to Demond, Fisch, and the offensive line. Still, I am an optimist, and I believe that the ship will be righted this week, and the Dawgs will cruise.
Washington-38, Utah State-7
Straight Up: Washington-4, Utah State-0
Against The Spread: Washington-3, Utah State–1
Average Score: Washington–41.25, Utah State–5
Let us know your predictions in the comments below!
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