College Football Picks – Idaho Vandals at Washington Huskies

Idaho Vandals (1-0 SU & ATS) at Washington Huskies (0-1 SU, 1-0 ATS)

Saturday, September 12

BetOnline NCAA College Football Betting Odds: WASHINGTON -21, Total 53

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• IDA has covered four of its last five games
• IDA has lost 20 of its last 23 games SU
• IDA has covered two of its last eight road games
• IDA has lost 14 of its last 15 road games SU
• IDA has played seven of its last eight road games OVER the total
• WASH has covered one of its last 11 games
• WASH has lost its last 15 games SU
• WASH has covered one of its last seven home games
• WASH has lost its last nine home games SU
• WASH has played nine of its last 12 home games OVER the total

Also….

• WASH has covered four of the last five meetings
• WASH has won the last five meetings SU
• WASH has covered four of the last five meetings as the home team
• WASH has won the last five meetings SU as the home team

There is little doubt that Steve Sarkisian has brought more of a game plan Seattle in the seemingly never-ending quest to win some games in the Washington program. That much was evident last Saturday, when the Huskies extended powerful LSU, rolling up 478 yards in a 31-23 home defeat that turned out to be a moral victory, not to mention a win in college football betting. Unquestionably it is going to be a new deal at U-Dub.

Sarkisian was a quarterback at BYU and the offensive coordinator at USC, and it is clear that he has been working with quarterback Jake Locker, who rebounded from his injury to hit 25 of 45 for 321 yards and two TD’s, adding 51 yards on the ground. He may yet prove to be just as potent with his arm as with his legs, and that will be big for the Huskies.

With the Huskies now confident that they can compete with more talented programs, and hungry to get on the board with a win, take pity on poor Idaho, which looks like an improved unit but only just this past week broke a 22-game losing streak against FCS (Division I) teams with a 21-6 triumph over an even weaker sister in New Mexico State, copping a longed-for win in college football betting.

The claim that injuries other than Locker’s, not to mention poor game planning on the part of Tyrone Willingham, contributed greatly to Washington’s woes last year look to be true. When you are able to outgain a team rated in many top ten lists by 157 yards, you are demonstrating that you are fully capable of grabbing wins against lower levels of opposition and reversing your college football betting fortunes.

Don’t forget that the Huskies took a BYU team with many of the same players who beat Oklahoma last week down to a final extra point last year, and lost under such bizarre circumstances that it’s too long a story to get into.

The only questions here are whether Washington will bring out the "bully" in itself, and whether it is wise to lay this many points with a team that has indeed lost 15 games in a row, and nine in a row at home. Our answer – because there is a new attitude now – is yes. We’re laying it with Washington, the 21-point favorite in the BetOnline NCAA college football betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: WASHINGTON -21 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)