Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Locker and the Washington Huskies will look to bounce back on Saturday as they host the Syracuse Orange and the Huskies may be worth a look when you bet on college football this week.
Washington didn’t play all that well last week but they still had a chance to beat BYU but failed in the fourth quarter. The Huskies should play better this week and they are favored in college football betting by almost two touchdowns over Syracuse. The Huskies are 13.5 point favorites at the Sbg sportsbook and the total on the game is 48. Syracuse is coming off a very impressive 29-3 win at Akron last week but they take a big step up in competition vs. Washington.
Must-Win Game for Washington – There is simply no way that Washington can afford to lose this game. They simply can’t start 0-2 and hope to go to a bowl game. With games against Nebraska and USC coming up the Huskies simply have to win against Syracuse on Saturday. Locker was solid last week as he went 20 of 37 for 266 yards and a TD. He also ran for another score. He did not play well enough in the fourth quarter and his Heisman hopes really suffered.
Syracuse Can Run – The Orange can run the ball and that makes them a dangerous underdog. Delone Carter is a quality running back and he had 91 yards last week in Syracuse’s win. Quarterback Ryan Nassib threw for 229 yards and a pair of TDs.
Matchup – The Orange held Akron to 166 total yards last week. It will be interesting to see if their defense can stop Locker and the Huskies. Washington’s defense kept them in the game last week against BYU so you would think they could hold down Syracuse. Washington has won two of the three all-time meetings against Syracuse, the latest coming by a score of 42-12 in 2007. Syracuse has been very good out of conference lately going 6-0 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games. Another stat that points to Syracuse is Washington’s horrible numbers at home. The Huskies are 17-35-2 ATS in their last 54 home games so the Orange may be a team to consider on Saturday when you bet on college football.