On to Week 5 of the college football season! We have a doozy of a game on our hands that should tell us who is for real and who is not. Both teams arrive at this matchup at 4-0 (1-0) and one will leave with their first loss. No. 15 Washington will visit UCLA after their 18-point win over Stanford last week. UCLA rolled over Colorado’s weak defense 42-17 and should be recognized in the top-25 on Monday if they can outscore this exciting Washington offense. The Huskies are favored by 2.5 points with a total of 64.5. This should be a high-scoring game between two teams averaging more than 500 yards a game each. How high? Let’s dive in and see if it’s high enough to bet the over.
UCLA vs. Washington Week 5 College Football Betting Picks
UCLA Offense
The Bruins are led by senior All-Conference running back Zach Charbonnet, who rushed for 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2021. This season he is averaging 6.8 yards on 43 carries while nursing an injury. He only needed nine carries to get 104 yards and three touchdowns against Colorado last week. Senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a dual threat who scored 30 touchdowns and had over 3,000 all-purpose yards in 2021. As goes the quarterback goes the offense. The Bruins are well balanced, averaging 287 passing yards and 220 rushing yards a game. This offense ranks 12th in the nation with 508 total yards a game. Kazmier Allen and Jake Bobo are a solid wide-out duo with 35 receptions collectively. That’s the offense. Four main guys with everyone else playing minimal support roles. UCLA had a scare from South Alabama in Week 3 but this will be their first real test against a Washington defense that has allowed the second-fewest yards and points in the Pac-12. The Huskies have a stout defensive line led by Bralen Trice, who is third in the Pac-12 with four sacks and 10 hurries. He and teammate Jeremiah Martin, who has three sacks, will be coming for Thompson-Robinson, who has only been sacked three times this season.
Washington Offense
The Huskies are led by senior and Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr., whose 1,388 passing yards is tops in the nation. His 64% completion rating and 12 touchdowns are also up near the top. What’s even crazier is that he has not been sacked yet this season. Is this Washington offense for real? Have they played any legit defenses yet? They beat FCS Portland State and Kent State but they did score 39 against then No. 11 ranked Michigan State and dropped 40 on Stanford last week. They are exciting but still too early to tell how good they are. Their pass-catchers are solid. Jalen McMillan is fourth in the Pac-12 with 31 targets. His 21 receptions are just ahead of teammate Rome Odunze‘s 18. However, if there is a weakness in the UCLA defense, it’s on the ground. Running back Wayne Taulapapa, a transfer from Virginia, leads the team with 307 yards on 48 carries for a solid 6.4 yards per carry. He should be able to make some headway against a team that gave up 162 yards and three rushing touchdowns to South Alabama. This will be Washington’s first away game of the season so if Penix has some jitters, he’ll have the run game to fall back on and still put up some points.
UCLA vs. Washington Prediction
Both of these teams have strong balanced offenses and playmakers. This will be a fun game to watch because of the potential explosion of points, as 1,000 yards of total offense per game between the two teams is attainable. Although Washington won 40-22 over Stanford, they gave up two touchdowns and 176 yards to Michael Wilson through the air. This could be a good matchup for Thompson-Robinson and Bobo to exploit early in the game. Washington has hit the over in all four of their games and is 4-0 against the spread. UCLA is 2-2 against the spread and has hit the over in three of their four games. Washington is fourth in the nation with 15 sacks and they get to Thompson-Robinson late in this game. The best bet is Washington to cover.
NCAAF Best Bet: Washington -2.5 (-110, PointsBet)
