Four games into the season, the Huskies are 2-2. The pundits? Well, most of them are not. Up is down, in is out, black is white when it comes to picking Huskies games this season. They lose against a downtrodden BYU team and win at USC.
This week brings an intriguing matchup with explosive Arizona State (2-2). The Sun Devils are considered such for their offensive possibilities and attitude. They can score. They will also be flagged a lot. There were 223 penalty yards between the schools in last year’s meeting which Arizona State won 24-17 when quarterback Danny Sullivan threw a 50-yard pass to Chris McGaha with five second left in the game.
Washington is favored by a point according to USA Today. To the picks:
ESPN’s Ted Miller picks Arizona State 33-30.
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News picks Washington.
Christian Caple of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News picks Washington 31-24.
Brad Allis of the Tuscon Citizen picks Washington 27-20.
Three of the four folks picking for the OC Register take Washington.
To us here at Sports Press Northwest:
Art Thiel (3-1 overall, 2-2 against the spread)
At USC, Jake the Rake finally finds himself as a leader, passer, runner and flamboyant Broadway star as he continues the greatest in-season comeback in Heisman Trophy history. Either that, or another Dennis Erickson crew of knuckleheads finds a way to faceplant in a winnable road game. Washington 27, ASU 21
Seth Kolloen (1-3, 0-4)
After Sun Devils’ Nike jerseys, designed with Arizona weather in mind, melt away under a steady Seattle rain, ASU switches to the only available alternative: Purple #10s from the Husky team shop. Confronted by what appears to be an entire team of Jake Lockers, confused Husky fans cheer them wildly, spurring Sun Devils to a comeback victory. Arizona State 45, Washington 39
Todd Dybas (1-3, 0-4)
This comes back to gameplan for Washington. It was able to move Locker against a slow USC defense. That is likely to be less effective against the Sun Devils. Lots of Chris Polk and a couple deep throws are enough because the Huskies actually slow down the Arizona State running game with an overloaded box. Washington 34, Arizona State 24