Eastern Washington is an FCS program and Washington is a Pac-12 powerhouse. So, Saturday’s game from Seattle should be a cakewalk for the Huskies, right? Not so fast my friend, as Eastern Washington is one of the best FCS programs out there and the national runner-up last year. The Eagles are still three-touchdown underdogs on the College Football Odds.
How to Bet Eastern Washington vs Washington College Football Week 1 Odds & Game Info
- When: Saturday, 3 PM ET
- Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle
- TV: Pac-12 Network
- Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Live
- Radio: SiriusXM
- College Football Week 1 Odds: Washington -21 (Total 54.5)
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Series History
It’s the third UW-EWU game ever, following two previous contests that both went down to the wire. This meeting will have a similar feel to 2015 when the Eagles were ranked second in FCS and the Huskies were 25th in FBS. Eastern lost that game 59-52, just a year after the Eagles upset nationally-ranked Oregon State 49-46 on the road in 2013. In 2011, the Eagles fell at Washington by a slim 30-27 score after entering that game as the defending champions in FCS.
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 24°C/76°F
- Humidity: 64%
- Precipitation: 20%
- Cloud Cover: 52%
- Wind: 6 mph SSW
- Stadium Type: Open
Why Bet on Eastern Washington?
EWU reached the FCS Championship Game last year, losing 38-24 to North Dakota State. No shame in that loss as NDSU was ranked No. 1 since the preseason and finished 15-0. The Bison’s Easton Stick, in completing his career with a 49-3 record as a starter, set the FCS record for wins by a quarterback. The Missouri Valley Conference champ had to hold on late, though, after Eastern Washington pulled to 31-24 on a quick-strike drive capped by quarterback Eric Barriere’s 5-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.
EWU visited a good Washington State team last year as well and lost 59-24. You may remember the Eagles upset Washington State 45-42 to open the 2016 season. The Eagles lost 25 seniors from last year’s team. The defense in 2018 was the best defense Eastern has had in 20 years as it allowed 22.7 points per game, the school’s lowest since 1997.
EWU was picked third in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 Poll for this year. Eastern has another veteran squad with 22 seniors and 47 total letter winners back. The Eagles return nine total starters – five on offense and four on defense.
Junior quarterback Eric Barriere was selected as one of 25 players in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision to be selected to the Walter Payton Award Watch List. Barriere took over as EWU’s starter midway through the 2018 season and helped lead the Eagles to the cusp of the FCS title. He passed for 24 touchdowns and rushed for another eight in a total of 14 games played as a sophomore. Eastern finished as the only school to rank in the top 20 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense, rushing and passing. The Eagles averaged 528.2 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing (10th) and 272.3 passing (20th).
All-Big Sky offensive linemen Spencer Blackburn and Kaleb Levao were granted a sixth year by the NCAA to complete four years of eligibility because of seasons lost because of injuries. Both will enter the 2019 season with 39 games worth of experience, and Blackburn has started 37-straight games and Levao has started 18.
Team Stats (Offense)
- Points per Game: 39.50
- Passing Yards: 474.00
- Rushing Yards: 64.50
- Turnovers: 3.00
Why Bet on Washington?
The Huskies lost two of the best players in school history and four-year starters in quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin off last year’s team. On defense, UW lost linebacker and conference defensive player of the year Ben Burr-Kirven. Also NFL second-round safety Taylor Rapp, second-round cornerback Byron Murphy, fourth-round tackle Greg Gaines and fifth-round cornerback Jordan Miller. UW’s defense has led the Pac-12 in both scoring defense and total defense each of the last four years. Washington hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014 – one of only three games in Chris Petersen’s UW tenure that an opponent has scored more than 35 points.
Washington’s offense could be more explosive with strong-armed Georgia transfer Jacob Eason under center, and running back Salvon Ahmed is a burner. Four starting offensive linemen are back, and star tackle Trey Adams is returning from a back injury.
Eason, who is from the Seattle area, transferred from Georgia following the 2017 season and sat out in 2018. Rated as the No. 1 pocket passer and No. 13 overall recruit in the 2016 class, Eason started 12 games as a true freshman at Georgia, recording 2,430 pass yards with 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He began the 2017 season as Georgia’s starter but suffered a knee injury in the opener and was replaced by Jake Fromm.
UW has won 14 consecutive home games, the fourth-longest such active streak in FBS. The Huskies have won 18 home, non-conference games in a row.
Team Stats (Offense)
- Points per Game: 44.50
- Passing Yards: 141.00
- Rushing Yards: 252.00
- Turnovers: 0.00
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Eastern Washington vs Washington College Football Week 1 Betting Trends
- Eagles are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games played in August
- Eagles are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games played in week 1
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Eastern Washington’s last 5 games played on a Saturday
- Huskies are 14-0 SU in their last 14 games at home
- Huskies are 6-12 ATS in their last 18 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Washington’s last 14 games
Expert Final Score Prediction for Eastern Washington vs Washington
Eastern Washington 14 – Washington 35
