Washington is a far better team than Arizona. No one would dispute this.
Last year, Washington was a far better team than Arizona State. Yet, the Huskies lost in Tempe to the Sun Devils, a crazy result which prevented UW from playing USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
When Washington plays in the state of Arizona, weird things often happen. The Huskies haven’t won in Tempe against Arizona State since 2001, which is absolutely crazy. They have won their past several meetings against Arizona in Tucson, but some of those games have not been easy or comfortable.
Should UW be on upset alert?
We asked our Pac-12 panel:
Ducks Wire analyst Don Smalley said, “The Huskies are favored by 17.5. I expect Washington to cover and then some. If they show up, UW rolls.”
Ducks Wire editor Zachary Neel told us, “Did Arizona’s defense magically get better? Not good enough to slow down Penix and the Huskies. Washington gets a blowout.”
Matt Wadleigh of Trojans and Buffaloes Wire offered this comment: “Cal put up 32 points against the Huskies last weekend, but Arizona nearly lost to Stanford. Who knows, but I anticipate Washington winning by at least 20.”
I know Washington is a lot better than Arizona, but that weird Grand Canyon state voodoo is hard to shake. I love Arizona plus the 19 points. Washington’s record in Tucson is better than it is in Tempe, but the games are still usually competitive and weird, kinda like when Washington plays on the road at Stanford.
Washington 34, Arizona 24.
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