Washington vs Portland State 9/10/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Portland State Vikings and the Washington Huskies meet in week 2 college football action from Husky Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Portland State Vikings will be looking to rebound from a narrow 21-17 loss to San Jose State last time out. Dante Chachere threw for 270 yards on 24 of 37 passing with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while also rushing for a team-high 83 yards. Beau Kelly had a team-high 9 catches for 133 yards and a score and Nate Bennett had 76 receiving yards while Maclaine Griffin added a touchdown reception as well. On defense, Anthony Adams had a team-high 10 total tackles, all solo tackles, while Tyreese Shakir had a team-high 3 sacks as part of Portland State’s 7 sacks as a team in the loss.

The Washington Huskies will try to build on their 45-20 win over Kent State in their last game. Michael Penix Jr has thrown for 345 yards and 4 touchdowns on 66.7% passing while Wayne Taulapapa leads Washington with 57 rushing yards and a touchdown. Jalen McMillan has a team-high 87 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns while Rome Odunze has a team-high 7 catches for 84 yards and Taj Davis has 72 receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Alphonso Tuputala leads the Huskies with 8 total tackles while Asa Turner has a pair of interceptions and Bralen Trice has a sack.

Portland State is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games following an ATS win. Washington is 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games overall and 2-11 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a losing record while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 non-conference games.

I get the case to be made for the Vikings and the points as this is a massive number to be laying with a Washington team that’s hasn’t proved a whole lot, but there’s still a big step up that Portland State has to make here from facing San Jose State to taking on Washington who seems to have found their new QB in Penix Jr. I’ve never really bought into Penix Jr.’s hype, but if he can stay healthy it’ll be interesting to see what he does with this Huskies team that definitely has pieces to contend. All in all, I think this is a comfortable win for Washington, and I’d lean towards laying the points but there are much better options on the board.