Category: Washington

Pac-12 Predictions, Schedule, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 6

Pac-12 schedule and previews for all of the Week 6 games of the 2022 season, highlighted by Utah at UCLA, Washington State at USC, and Oregon at Arizona

Pac-12 schedule and previews for all of the Week 6 games of the 2022 season, highlighted by Utah at UCLA, Washington State at USC, and Oregon at Arizona

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Click on each game for the preview and prediction

Results So Far
Straight Up 38-8, ATS 25-21, o/u 21-25

Saturday, October 9

Utah at UCLA

3:30, FOX
Line: Utah -4, o/u: 64.5
Final Score: COMING

Washington at Arizona State

4:00, Pac-12 Network
Line: Washington -13.5, o/u: 58.5
Final Score: COMING

Washington State at USC

7:30, FOX
Line: USC -13, o/u: 66
Final Score: COMING

Oregon at Arizona

9:00, Pac-12 Network
Line: Oregon -13.5, o/u: 70
Final Score: COMING

Oregon State at Stanford

11:00 pm, ESPN
Line: Oregon State -7, o/u: 56.5
Final Score: COMING

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College Football Week 5 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 5 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | Hot Seat Coach Rankings
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Cavalcade of Whimsy: The Silly Coaching World

Washington vs Arizona State Prediction, Game Preview

Washington vs Arizona State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 6 game on Saturday, October 8

Washington vs Arizona State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 6, Saturday, October 8

Washington vs Arizona State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, October 8
Game Time: 4:00 ET
Venue: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
How To Watch: Pac-12 Network
Record: Washington (4-1), Arizona State (1-4)
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College Football Week 5 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 5 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | Hot Seat Coach Rankings
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Cavalcade of Whimsy: The Silly Coaching World
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Washington vs Arizona State Game Preview

Why Washington Will Win

The Huskies played well against UCLA, but it was too late when everything got rolling in the 40-32 loss.

The passing game hit 300 yards for the fifth straight game and it got interesting late, but the defense was exposed a bit against the first good offense – Michigan State included – it played this year.

Arizona State doesn’t have enough explosion to get the passing attack going like the Bruins did, and the running game hit a wall over the last two weeks.

There’s no pressure whatsoever coming from the Sun Devil defensive front, the offensive line is having a nightmare of a time in pass protection, and …

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 5

Why Arizona State Will Win

Can Emory Jones and Xazavian Valladay get going again?

UCLA showed it’s possible to run on Washington, and now ASU has to give it a try.

Jones is a dangerous running quarterback who hasn’t been running, Valladay is a strong back who was great with Wyoming and hasn’t been able to get free.

For all the great things Washington is doing, the defense isn’t strong on third downs and the secondary doesn’t take the ball away enough – at least since the opener against Kent State.

The Sun Devils weren’t bad against USC, they hung around for a while, and …

– Schedules, Previews College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

Can Washington travel? It looked and played well in the first four games in Seattle, but it got going too late in Los Angeles against the Bruins and now it has to be ready for the heat of the late afternoon game in Tempe.

It’ll be fine.

Arizona State has yet to beat an FBS team, and it’s not going to get it done here. Michael Penix Jr. and the Husky passing attack will be sharp right away – he’ll get all the time he needs to work – and there won’t be any of the drama of last week.

It’ll be a decent game in the first half, and then Washington will pull away.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 6

Washington vs Arizona State Prediction, Line

Washington 38, Arizona State 20
Line: Washington -14, o/u: 57
ATS Confidence out of 5:
Washington vs Arizona State Must See Rating (out of 5): DDDDD
– Predictions of Every Game

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– Bowl Projections | Rankings
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Pac-12 Predictions, Schedule, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 5

Pac-12 schedule and previews for all of the Week 5 games of the 2022 season, highlighted by Washington at UCLA, Oregon State at Utah, and Stanford at Oregon

Pac-12 schedule and previews for the Week 5 games, highlighted by Washington at UCLA, Oregon State at Utah, and Stanford at Oregon

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Click on each game for the preview and prediction

Results So Far
Straight Up 33-7, ATS 22-18, o/u 18-22

Friday, September 30

Washington at UCLA

10:30, ESPN
Line: Washington -3, o/u: 66
Final Score: COMING

Saturday, October 1

Oregon State at Utah

2:00, Pac-12 Network
Line: Utah -10.5, o/u: 55
Final Score: COMING

Cal at Washington State

5:30, Pac-12 Network
Line: Washington State -4.5, o/u: 53.5
Final Score: COMING

Colorado at Arizona

9:30, Pac-12 Network
Line: Arizona -17.5, o/u: 56.5
Final Score: COMING

Arizona State at USC

10:30, ESPN
Line: USC -26, o/u: 60.5
Final Score: COMING

Stanford at Oregon

11:00, FS1
Line: Oregon -17, o/u: 63.5
Final Score: COMING

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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 2 Expert Picks | Week 2 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Predictions
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like

Washington vs UCLA Prediction, Game Preview

Washington vs UCLA game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 5 game on Friday, September 30

Washington vs UCLA prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 5, Friday, September 30

Washington vs UCLA How To Watch

Date: Friday, September 30
Game Time: 10:30 pm ET
Venue: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Washington (4-0), UCLA (4-0)
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Roundup: Overrated, Underrated, What it all Means
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Hot Seat Coach Rankings after Week 4
Think, Know, Believe: Football Smack Talk
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Washington vs UCLA Game Preview

Why Washington Will Win

How else could this have possibly started any better?

Kalen DeBoer brings his offense over from Fresno State when he takes over the head coaching job, and it all explodes with over 300 passing yards every time out, the run defense shows up large against Michigan State and Stanford, and the team gets to 4-0 with four almost perfect performances.

The Huskies – thanks to Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. – lead the nation in passing, they’re third in the nation in sacks, the offensive line has been almost flawless, and it’s all working to set the stage for this.

UCLA has yet to be truly tested. Washington got to push past a few decent teams, but … Colorado? South Alabama? Bowling Green?

The Bruins have yet to see any semblance of a passing game that do what this group can, and they’re going to have to be ready to get really physical really fast.

On the plus side for the home team …

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 4

Why UCLA Will Win

The lines might be there to hold up.

Again, it’s not like the Bruins played a slew of killers, and they should’ve lost to South Alabama, but the run defense has been fantastic and the ground game cranked it up last week in the blowout over Colorado.

Granted, everyone is doing that to the Buffaloes, but just like Washington had four games to get ready to get the season going, UCLA had four easy dates to get everything in place for this.

The veterans are in the backfield who can handle the pressure, the offensive line has been great, and D is taking the ball away.

More than anything else, for the first time this year a defense should be able to pressure Penix. Keep Washington from having easy third down chances, keep the chains moving, and UCLA should be able to control the tempo.

– Schedules, Previews College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

Now THIS is Pac-12 after dark.

Can UCLA step up its game several notches. The consistency has been there, but the team’s focus and effort has gone in spurts.

The problem will be the Washington style. UCLA finally has to play a team that can hold up against the run, and Penix should be able to hit enough deep throws to open everything up.

It’ll be worth staying up for.

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 5

Washington vs UCLA Prediction, Line

Washington 34, UCLA 30
Line: Washington -3, o/u: 66
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3.5
Washington vs UCLA Must See Rating (out of 5): 4.5

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– Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

The Lions are leading (if not winning) with a dominant rushing attack

The Detroit Lions are 1-2, but they have an offense that should be the envy of the rest of the league.

The 2922 Detroit Lions are 1-2 and at the bottom of the NFC North after the first three weeks of the season, so it may seem odd to write an entire article about how awesome Detroit’s offense is. But it’s important to evaluate the process as opposed to the outcome. The Lions lost 38-35 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the opener, and the Eagles look very much like a Super Bowl team. They then beat the Washington Commanders, 36-27, and that’s what you want to do when you’re a team on the rise — beat the teams beneath you in the pecking order.

Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was the real killer; Detroit had a 24-14 third-quarter lead, and they then let it get away. We don’t really know what the Vikings are yet, just as we don’t know what the Lions are. But what we do know is that the offense led by head coach Dan Campbell, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley, has brought an entirely new energy and productiveness than we’ve seen before.

Atypically, the strength of this offense is the run game, and everything works off that. Even in the Vikings loss, the Lions ran the ball 35 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and though they were more efficient and explosive in the passing game against Minnesota, those explosive plays were built to a great degree off that run threat.

We’ll get to that in a bit, but let’s start with how the Lions are killing defenses with run concepts of every stripe, in every situation.

“It goes back to thought process,” Staley said last week, when asked why this rushing attack is working now, when it didn’t in previous years. “It goes back to OTAs, training camp, and making a commitment. And not just the players making a commitment, the coaches also. So, you see [offensive line coach] Hank [Fraley], myself being – everybody, you make a commitment to run a ball, you just – you spend a couple extra hours in the office trying to get it right.”

The multiplicity of concepts are most impressive, especially with injuries all over their offensive line. Let’s start with how Detroit’s run game beats defenses from the head down.

Washington vs Stanford Prediction, Game Preview

Washington vs Stanford game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 4 game on Saturday, September 24

Washington vs Stanford prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 4, Saturday, September 24

Washington vs Stanford How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 24
Game Time: 10:30 pm ET
Venue: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
How To Watch: FS1
Record: Washington (3-0), Stanford (1-1)
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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 4 Expert Picks | Week 4 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Schedule, Picks
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Coach Hot Seat List: After Week 3
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Washington vs Stanford Game Preview

Why Stanford Will Win

The Cardinal running game worked against USC.

It ripped apart Colgate, but that was expected. Against the Trojan D it kept bashing away with 221 yards and three scores – the offensive line looked better than it had in years.

The pass rush was solid in the first two games, Tanner McKee is an accurate enough passer to take advantage of a Washington defense that’s going to concentrate on EJ Smith and the running game, and the overall parts are in place to grind.

The team has only played two games, but the penalties haven’t been there – just seven in the two games – the kicking game has been solid, and …

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 4

Why Washington Will Win

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.

Stanford fumbled it away six times in the first two games and gave up nine turnovers in all. Washington’s defense isn’t doing enough to take the ball away over three weeks, but if it can get a few turnovers it might be lights out.

Caleb Williams and USC ended up throwing for close to 350 yards and four touchdowns against the Cardinal, and now it’s Michael Penix Jr’s turn.

The former Indiana Hoosier has been unstoppable with close to 1,100 passing yards and ten touchdowns with one pick in the first three games. The O is fourth in the nation in yards, sixth in scoring, and everything is operating in midseason form.

– Week 4 Schedule, Predictions, Game Preview

What’s Going To Happen

The Husky win over Michigan State was almost perfect. It was a dominant performance, Penix Jr. continues to bomb away in Kalen DeBoer’s offense, and yet the team let up enough to get pushed this week to play a full four quarters.

Stanford won’t turn it over like it did in the first few games, and it’ll run just well enough to keep this from getting out of hand in the first half. However, Penix will be fantastic, the UW offense will be more balanced than it was against Michigan State, and the fantastic start will continue.

– NFL Expert Picks, Week 3

Washington vs Stanford Prediction, Line

Washington 37, Stanford 23
Line: Washington -13.5, o/u: 63.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Washington vs Stanford Must See Rating (out of 5): 3

College coaches all over America this week are raising awareness and research dollars for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive genetic disorder that takes the lives of young men. Fans can donate to Coach To Cure MD online or by texting the word CURE to 501501 to give $25.

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– Predictions of Every Game
– Bowl Projections | Rankings
– Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

Pac-12 Predictions, Schedule, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 4

Pac-12 schedule and previews for all of the Week 4 games of the 2022 season, highlighted by USC at Oregon State, Oregon at Washington State, and Utah at Arizona State

Pac-12 schedule and previews for all of the Week 4 games of the 2022 season, highlighted by USC at Oregon State, Oregon at Washington State, and Utah at Arizona State

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Click on each game for the preview and prediction

Results So Far
Straight Up 27-7, ATS 18-16, o/u 15-19

UCLA at Colorado

2:00, Pac-12 Network
Line: UCLA -21.5, o/u: 57

Oregon at Washington State

4:00, FOX
Line: Oregon -7, o/u: 57.5

Arizona at Cal

5:30, Pac-12 Network
Line: Cal -3, o/u: 49.5

USC at Oregon State

9:30, Pac-12 Network
Line: USC -5.5, o/u: 70.5

Utah at Arizona State

10:30, ESPN
Line: Utah -15.5, o/u: 54

Stanford at Washington

10:30, FS1
Line: Washington -13.5, o/u: 63.5

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CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 2 Expert Picks | Week 2 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Predictions
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like

Can the Washington Commanders fix their godawful defense?

The Washington Commanders’ defense has been a disaster in 2021 and 2022. Is there any way to fix it in-season?

In the 2022 season, the Washington Commanders have faced two teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions whose offenses are very much under construction. In those two games, Jack Del Rio’s defense has been its opponents’ most willing contractors. In Week 1, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence completed 24 of 42 passes for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and the Commanders won, 28-22. My sense was, had the Commanders faced Lawrence about a month down the road in Doug Pederson’s offense, it would be a different story.

Last Sunday, the Commanders got it handed to them by the Detroit Lions — Del Rio’s defense allowed Jared Goff (of all people) to complete 20 of 34 passes for 256 yards… and four touchdowns. Goff did not have a great game — there were times when he just couldn’t hit what he needed to in the red zone — but he was given all kinds of help by Washington’s coverage busts. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a career game with nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, adding 68 rushing yards on two carries.

And that’s what we really need to talk about when we talk about the Commanders’ defense. Coverage busts, over and over. We saw them last season, when Washington allowed the NFL’s most passing touchdowns — 34, to just 11 interceptions. That defense also allowed 400 catches on 597 attempts for 4,542 yards, a completion rate of 67.0%, a yards per attempt allowed of 7.6, an opponent passer rating of 100.9, and an opponent EPA of 67.90.

Things were no better in the preseason, when Washington’s defense allowed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to rip it apart with even more busted looks. You do not want to give Patrick Mahomes any help.

Patrick Mahomes vs. Washington’s defense was the mismatch you’d expect

“Well, we hope to be better, right,” Del Rio said in June of his 2022 defense. “It’s clearly, it starts with a commitment to being here and working and being able to get on the same page, make sure the communication is good. I think that kind of gives you a great start, a great foundation. So right now we’re getting a lot of great work in. There are guys that are developing,

“This time of year, you can develop and gain a great understanding of how we all fit together and defensively, that’s what it’s all about. Kind of knowing where you need to go and everybody being accountable and getting there, playing with some attitude.”

So far, the Commanders’ attitude on defense has been, “Hey, we’re going to let your passing game throw a party at our expense.” As it was in the preseason. As it was in 2021 on Del Rio’s watch.

Before we get into how to fix all this, let’s review how the Lions game went, and where the issues lie.

Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson with three first-half sacks vs. Commanders

Lions rookie edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson blew the Washington Commanders’ offensive line to bits with three first-half sacks.

In his first regular-season NFL game against the Eagles and their tremendous offensive line last Sunday, Lions edge-rusher and Michigan alum Aidan Hutchinson — the second overall player selected in the 2022 draft after the Jaguars took Georgia edge-rusher Travon Walker with the first pick — didn’t get a sack, but he was effective to a point with three quarterback hurries.

There are those who believe that a run of quarterback pressures will eventually lead to a bunch of quarterback sacks. Hutchinson wasted no time putting some reality into that theory: In the first half of the Lions’ 22-0blowout of the Washington Commanders, Hutchinson had three sacks.

Hutchinson’s first takedown of Carson Wentz had the rookie lined up inside the tackle, and this is all about effort.

The second sack had him outside, just putting the right tackle on skates, and closing through the pocket with impressive speed.

The third sack had Hutchinson running a game inside, and blowing through an open gap to get to Wentz.

Believe it or not, the Washington Commanders are blowing coverages again

The Washington Commanders under Jack Del Rio are forever blowing coverages, and it’s happening again against the Detroit Lions.

If there’s one thing we’ve become used to with the Washington Commanders under defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, it’s coverage concepts that just don’t work. Mostly because of miscommunication in the secondary. It’s not that the Commanders don’t have talent in that secondary — there’s more than enough there, starting with cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and William Jackson III. The problem has generally been that Del Rio and his staff seem to be unable to put those defensive backs in ideal positions on a no-matter-what basis.

In 2020, when Del Rio became the defensive coordinator, Washington finished third in Defensive DVOA. In 2021, that fell to 27th (28th against the pass), and busted coverages were a common problem, despite a lot of talent in the secondary.

Last season, no defense allowed more passing touchdowns than Washington’s 34, to just 11 interceptions. That defense also allowed 400 catches on 597 attempts for 4,542 yards, a completion rate of 67.0%, a yards per attempt allowed of 7.6, an opponent passer rating of 100.9, and an opponent EPA of 67.90.

The preseason was no better — Patrick Mahomes absolutely ripped Washington’s bad coverages to bits, and we knew that we were in for another season of this.

In Week 1 against the Jaguars, Del Rio’s defense made Trevor Lawrence pretty comfortable, allowing 24 completions on 42 attempts for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That was against a second-year quarterback in his first game with a new coaching staff, working his way out of one of the most disastrous rookie seasons and coaching situations in recent memory.

Against Jared Goff and the Lions on Sunday, it didn’t take long for those coverage mistakes to rear up again. Goff’s 13-yard touchdown pass to underrated receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown with 1:45 left in the first quarter? Well, we’re not exactly sure what the coverage was supposed to be there.

It would be equally tough to figure out was what it was supposed to be on this big play from Goff to St. Brown. Either way, woof.

Detroit’s second drive (the one before the St. Brown touchdown) was negatively affected by two red zone incompletions by Goff, but those throws to St. Brown and DJ Chark were more on Goff than anything Washington did.

And on this 23-yard pass from Goff to Josh Reynolds as the first quarter came to a close, Washington was running what looked like shallow 2-Man coverage, and there were open guys all over the place at the intermediate level.

And here’s that aforementioned touchdown, where the Commanders just decided to let Reynolds run right through the end zone.

The extent to which teams can test the Commanders’ coverages in situations like this has to be truly distressing to head coach Ron Rivera, a defensive player and coach himself.

Whether Rivera will do something about it at some point remains to be seen.