The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are even less of an NCAA football betting favorite against the Washington Huskies that a year ago at Husky Stadium, but at least there will be a Jacuzzi atop the student section at High Point Solutions Stadium.
- Date: Friday, 1st September
- Time: 8:05 PM
- Venue: High Point Solutions Stadium
Sportsbook Online College Football Game Odds:
Washington U -30½ (-110) -11000
Rutgers +30½ (-110) +4500
Who let the dogs in?
The Huskies returned to the top 10 of the Coaches Poll for the first time in two decades at No. 7. UW had previously been ranked no. 4 in 1997 – which is coincidentally at which they were ranked in the final Coaches and AP polls of the 2016 season, as well as their seed in the College Football Playoff. Washington finished last season with a 12-2 record and won the program’s first Pac 12 conference championship since 2000. All things considered, the Huskies are currently “in a great place” as Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone wrote a few weeks ago. Not everybody is a believer, though. Sportsball write Zach Bigalke believes that the Huskies’ success is deceitful because Washington’s schedule – current and past – has been put together with the same care to avoid challenges which Mickey Goldmill used to pick the Italian Stallion’s opponents in Rocky III. Furthermore, starting quarterback Jake Browning tends to crumble under pressure on the few occasion that UW faces a worthy rival, such as the 7-24 Peach Bowl loss to Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff semifinal. Additionally, Browning lost one of his preferred targets, John Ross, to the NFL Draft.
None of which means Rutgers has chance against the Huskies, unless the vaunted NCAA football betting upset occurs.
Oh Captains My Captains
Universitas Rutgersensis revealed the team captains for the 2017 season on Wednesday.
Introducing Rutgers 2017 Captains 👏🔥🔥@k_bolin9 @Dorian_Miller @DeonteRoberts__ @Darneezy5 pic.twitter.com/QlV9gTq0Nm
— Rutgers Football 🪓 (@RFootball) August 16, 2017
Junior linebacker Deonte Roberts, redshirt senior offensive lineman Dorian Miller, redshirt senior defensive lineman Darnell Davis, and graduate transfer quarterback Kyle Bolin will be the Sisko, Archer, Picard, and Kirk to Rutgers’ Starfleet. Bolin’s appointment would seem to indicate that he is a shoe in to be named starting QB. It would behoove us to keep in mind, though, that captains are chose democratically in a team-wide, while the depth chart is up to the coaching staff, and in particular head coach Chris Ash. Bolin is competing with fourth-year junior Giovanni Rescigno and freshman Johnathan Lewis for the gig, but the vote of confidence from his teammates – which presumably include both Rescigno and Lewis – does put him in an advantageous position toward starting under center against the Huskies. Speaking of which, the Scarlet Knights opened the 2016 season as 20½-point underdogs against Washington (UW easily covered the spread). This year, the spread has gone up to 30½. What does that mean? Among other things, that recreating the Jersey shore coastline in and around High Point Solutions Stadium will do little to improve Rutgers’ NCAA football betting outlook. Also, that Jersey Shore has ruined the Jersey shore forever. The Knights replaced Drew Mehringer as offensive coordinator with Jerry Kill whom they hope will bring that killer instinct, bad pun very much intended.