With bowl eligibility on the line the Washington Huskies welcome the 4-win UCLA Bruins to Husky Stadium. UCLA is coming off a 20-17 home win against the Iowa Hawkeyes who have been decimated by injury.
The Bruins are led by former Husky quarterback Ethan Garbers and an offense that has struggled to score most of the year. Garbers has thrown 12 touchdowns on the season to 11 interceptions. He is crafty with his legs much like his brother, former Cal quarterback, Chase Garbers. Garbers has had more success in the last three games with 8 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions.
Just like most former Pac-12 programs UCLA has talent in the backfield T.J. Harden is a big-bodied back, but has struggled to get momentum. He is only averaging 2.3 yards a carry but had a breakout game against Iowa where he ran for 125 yards.
Defensively UCLA has had it tough due to the lack of production from the offense. The Bruin defense has been forced to be on the field and has led to them wearing down over the course of the game.
Linebackers Carson Schwesinger, Kain Medrano, and Oluwafemi Oladejo lead the team in tackles. Oregon transfer defensive back Bryan Addison is a physical corner who poses a threat of a takeaway.
Washington’s offense must be able to move the ball through the air. The UCLA pass rush doesn’t generate a ton of sacks which bodes well for Will Rogers who struggles to elude pressure with his legs. If he is able to stay on rhythm the receivers will be able to exploit their athleticism on the outside.
Defensively the linebackers must be disciplined in run support. If UCA is forced to throw against this defense Garbers will make mistakes that will turn into takeaways.
This matchup should favor the Huskies strictly because they are at home. They also matchup well with the UCLA team that doesn’t do much offensively but can generate turnovers. If the pocket for Rogers is clean and the Huskies avoid any disasters the defense should be able to keep UCLA below their 18.8 points per game average.
Washington is a 4 point favorite with a total of 46.5 which means the projection is 25-21 victory for the hometown Dawgs.
I like this matchup for Washington who has been able to take advantage of teams that struggle to score. Washington should go into their second bye week bowl eligible with a shot at taking down Oregon in the finale.
Washington 28, UCLA 17
under 46.5
