Washington at Arizona Expert Pick & Odds

The latest game on the schedule in college football on Saturday is a 10:30 p.m. ET start and a terrific matchup from Tucson as Arizona, a very good offensive team, faces one of the nation’s best defensive clubs in No. 8 Washington in the Pac-12 opener for both. The Huskies are solid road favorites in NCAA football betting.

How To Bet on the Washington at Arizona Expert Pick, Odds & TV Info

It’s about us. #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/R8j07J6zyB

— UW Football (@UW_Football) September 20, 2016

When: Saturday, Sept. 24, 10:30 PM ET Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson TV: Pac-12 Network Opening NCAA Football Lines: Washington -9 (total TBA)

Why Bet on Washington?

Hard to know how good this team is after playing cupcakes Rutgers, Idaho and FCS school Portland State. This is the highest ranking the Huskies have seen since Chris Petersen arrived. Last week, UW beat Portland State 41-3. Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes in the first 16 minutes. Browning and the Huskies (3-0) led 14-0 after less than 3 minutes and coasted their way past the lower division opponent. Browning threw a 43-yard touchdown to Chico McClatcher on Washington’s opening drive, and added TD tosses of 11 yards to Darrell Daniels, 13 yards to McClatcher on the second play of the second quarter and a 4-yard TD pass to Myles Gaskin early in the fourth quarter. Browning now has 12 touchdown passes in three games after throwing 16 TDs all of last season. Coupled with his five TDs the week before, Browning’s 9 TDs are the most ever by a Husky quarterback in consecutive games. Over the last six games, Browning is 108 for 138 (.782), for 1,442 yards, 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The Huskies have scored on their first possession in each of the first three games and each touchdown was recorded in the first 2:36 of the game despite having kicked off in 2 of those 3 games. The Huskies are outscoring opponents 45-0 in the first and 52-3 in the second quarters for a 97-3 first-half advantage. Washington extended its school record with the sixth straight game of scoring 40-or- more points. They have amassed 289 points during that stretch (41, 59, 48, 44, 45, 52). It’s the Huskies’ highest-scoring six-game stretch since the last two games of 1970 and first four games of 1971 when they combined for 303 points (61, 43, 65, 38, 44, 52). The Huskies’ current six-game winning streak is tied with Stanford for longest in the Pac-12 and is tied for fifth-longest in the nation. Washington holds an 20-11- 1 edge in the series against Arizona, with the Huskies taking 13 of the last 21. Last year at Husky Stadium, the UW won, 49-3. Browning was 16-for- 24 for 274 yards and four scores while the UW defense forced four turnovers. Two seasons ago, in the most recent meeting in Tucson, Arizona got a last-second, 47-yard field goal from Casey Skowron to beat the Dawgs, 27-26.

Why Bet on Arizona?

The Wildcats (2-1) beat Hawaii 47-28 last week. Brandon Dawkins made his second straight start at QB for injured Anu Solomon and ran for three touchdowns and passed for another, all in the first two quarters. Dawkins completed 16 of 21 passes for 235 yards and carried 15 times for 118 more. Freshman J.J. Taylor, thrown into extra duty with an ankle injury to top tailback Nick Wilson early in the game, rushed for 168 yards in 18 carries, including a 61-yard touchdown dash down the sideline. Most concerning for Arizona was its uncharacteristic number of penalties: 11 for 105 yards. It was the first time in 46 games the Cats drew double-digit penalties. Solomon, who might have lost his job regardless, and Wilson are both questionable here. Why no early total. It looks like Solomon will be out again. “Stud” linebacker DeAndre’ Miller, Arizona’s best pass rusher, had a boot on his right foot as he walked from the practice field to the locker room on Tuesday. He missed most of the second half against Hawaii. His status is to be determined. Special teams will be key against Washington. Kick height and placement will be critical against JohnRoss and Dante Pettis. Each has a return touchdown already. If you’re looking for a key stat, look no further than turnovers. UW and UA rank Nos. 1-2 in the Pac-12 in turnover margin, combining for 18 gained and only five lost thus far. The team that protects the football likely has an edge. Saturday’s contest will mark UA’s first game against a ranked opponent this season after going 1-2 a year ago. Arizona is 47-110- 1 all-time against AP ranked opponents, including earning at least one win over an AP Top-25 school in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Under Rich Rodriguez, Arizona is 7-12 in all games against ranked opponents.

My Expert Pick

Home team is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 meetings. Favorite is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings. Huskies are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings. Take the points here in NCAA football betting as UW hasn't been tested yet and won’t win by more than a touchdown.