The Washington Huskies and the Arizona Wildcats meet Saturday in college football action from Arizona Stadium. Washington just finished up a game versus California. The Huskies ended up bagging a blowout victory. As for Arizona, they’re coming off a matchup against Stanford. The Wildcats went on to power out a tight one-point win. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Washington Huskies 

The Huskies didn’t have a ton of issues rolling through their first three games this year. Washington took out Boise State 56-19 in the opener, then dispatched Tulsa 43-10 in game two. In their third matchup of the year the Huskies blew out Michigan State 41-7 thanks in part to 473 pass yards and four scores from QB Michael Penix. 

In the matchup versus Cal last weekend, the Huskies posted a dominant 45-12 edge in the first half and scored in every quarter in a 59-32 blowout win. Penix threw four touchdowns and a pick among his 304 yards. Ja’Lynn Polk (127 yards; two TDs; eight catches) and Rome Odunze (125 yards; two TDs; five catches) paced the offensive effort. 

Washington Huskies Team Facts

Washington has won each of its last 11 games.
Washington has covered the spread in seven of its last eight games.
Washington has won the first half in each of its last four games against conference opponents.
Washington has won the first quarter in three of its last four games against conference opponents.
Eight of Washington’s last 10 games in September have gone OVER the total points line.

Arizona Wildcats 

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they blew out Northern Arizona 38-3 in their opener matchup this year. Arizona took a tough road loss in overtime 31-24 to Mississippi State in game two, but then bounced back with a 31-0 win over UTEP the next weekend. The Wildcats’ Jayden de Laura finished with 285 yards and three passing touchdowns in that one. 

Back on Saturday versus Stanford, Arizona gave up points in every quarter—and scored in the final three themselves—during a close 21-20 win. In that matchup, de Laura finished with 157 yards and a score. Jonah Coleman was the leading rusher with 75 yards on 12 carries, while Jacob Cowing put up 78 yards off seven catches. 

Arizona Wildcats Team Facts

Arizona has lost each of its last seven September games against AP-ranked teams.
Arizona has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
Arizona has lost the first half in seven of its last eight games against conference opponents.
Seven of Arizona’s last eight games have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Arizona ranked T19th among FBS teams for Q4 win percentage last season (.583).
Arizona ranked 20th among FBS teams for Q1 points per game last season (8.3).
Washington ranked 3rd among FBS teams for Q3 points per game last season (10.7).
Washington ranked 3rd among FBS teams for H2 points per game last season (20.0).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to stick with Washington. The Huskies gave up a ton of offensive production to California over the weekend but also had plenty of room to stay far ahead on the other side. Washington surrendered 502 total yards, 28 first downs and 10-of-17 on third-down tries while committing nine penalties (83 yards) as a team. The Huskies managed three interceptions though, and rolled through 529 yards (389 passing) and 23 first downs themselves. Washington has 41 or more points in every game this year, so I don’t think they’ll have any issues hanging points in this one either. 

As for Arizona, they produced a fairly modest—if also pretty mistake-free—effort in a tense road win back on Saturday. The Wildcats have scored 21 or more points in each of their four games so far. Asking the team to keep up with Washington on the scoreboard seems a bit too much, though.