Washington vs. Penn State Prediction
Will the Washington Huskies pull off a small upset Saturday afternoon when they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at 4:00 p.m. ET?
ODDSMAKERS LIKE: Penn State. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Nittany Lions are 2.5-point favorites to beat the Huskies, who opened as a 2-point underdog when the bowl lines were first released. The total, meanwhile, hit the board at 56 but has been bet down to 54.5.
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THE PUBLIC LIKES: As of Saturday morning, 77% of the betting tickets for this game are on the Nittany Lions and 83% of the money is also on Penn State to cover the spread.
INJURY REPORT: For Washington, tight end Hunter Bryant (leg) is questionable while running back Lavon Coleman (ankle) and receiver Dante Pettis (leg) are probable. Linebacker Azeem Victor, however, has been suspended for today’s game.
On the other side, linebacker Manny Brown (none) is out for the year while defensive end Torrence Brown (knee) also won’t play for Penn State this afternoon.
WHO WE LIKE: Washington. I don’t make it a habit to bet against Chris Petersen in bowl games. He’s 6-4 in bowl games and won the Fiesta twice while at Boise State. The Huskies are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games versus an opponent with a winning record and are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games played in the month of December. They’re also 20-7-1 at the betting window in their last 28 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Everyone wants to focus on the Penn State backfield of Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley but Washington’s duo is just as good. Myles Gaskin is an absolute stud and Jake Browning has loads of experience after starting as a freshman two years ago. The Nittany Lions also have a stout defense but the Huskies’ D is slightly better, surrendering just 14.5 points per game and 278.3 yards per contest, which ranks fifth and sixth in the nation, respectively.
PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL PREDICTION: WASHINGTON HUSKIES +2.5
