NCAA Football Washington Huskies Betting Tips for Upcoming 2023 Season

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The last time the University of Washington was a legitimate national title contender in college football was the 2016 season, but led by QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr., the 2023 Huskies just might win it all. Here’s the preview for your college football betting odds to win the NCAA National Championship.

Washington Huskies 2023 College Football Season Betting Guide | MyBookie College Betting Preview

Washington Huskies | Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season
School: University of Washington
Head coach: Kalen DeBoer | 1st season
Home field: Husky Stadium | 70,138

Washington Odds to Win Championship:: +4500
Odds to win Pac-12: +275
Regular-season win total: 9.5

Washington was a 4-8 team in 2021 but the good thing from that was the school fired over-his-head coach Jimmy Lake and replaced him with Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer. That appears to have been a home-run hire as he led UW to a 10-2 regular season and then a 27-20 win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl. Only a pair of one-score losses on the road to UCLA and Arizona State kept Washington from an unbeaten season.

Star Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr., a transfer from Indiana, threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the bowl win. Penix led back-to-back scoring drives of 75 and 90 yards in the second half to stretch the Huskies’ lead to 17. He was 32 of 55, completed passes to eight receivers, and connected with Taj Davis and Jalen McMillan for scores.

Penix Jr. broke the UW’s single-season passing yards record, finishing the year with 4,641. The previous record of 4,458 yards, set by Cody Pickett in 2002, had stood for 20 years. Penix’s 4,641 yards were fifth-most in Pac-12 single-season history. His 31 TD passes were No. 3 on the UW single-season list.

It marked just the fifth time in school history that the Huskies have reached 11 wins in a season. Only the 12-0 1991 national champion team and the 2016 12-2 College Football Playoff-bound squad won more games. Never before in UW history had Washington won more than eight games under a first-year head coach. DeBoer was also the first UW coach to lead his team to a bowl-game victory in his first season on Montlake.

The biggest offseason news was Penix opting to return to Seattle rather than declare for the draft. He started all 13 games last year and led the country in passing yards per game (357.0) and was No. 1 in total offense and third in completions per game. He finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting and suffered just five sacks all season.

His impressive arm strength was a big reason for those numbers as he racked up 27 “big-time throws,”, third-most in the Pac-12 per Pro Football Focus. But Penix was also careful with the ball as he recorded a “turnover-worthy play” on just 1.3 percent of opportunities, the lowest rate among his peers. The Huskies tied for first among all FBS teams in averaging 3.76 points per drive and stood alone in earning 69.3% of available yards per drive.

“I’m pushing him, our coaching staff is pushing him, (offensive coordinator) Coach Grubb is pushing him every day to just take those next steps,” DeBoer said recently. “There’s a reason why you came back, there’s unfinished business.’ There’s a lot of things that we discuss but I think there’s also a piece where I kind of look at it and (say to myself) ‘just enjoy this journey. Let’s push and work but man I’m gonna enjoy what this guy brings to the table each and every day.’ It’s fun. It’s fun seeing his growth. It’s fun seeing who he can become above and beyond just being a great football player.”

Penix will be throwing to a pair of returning 1,000-yard receivers in Rome Odunze (1,145 yards and seven TDs) and Jalen McMillan (1,098 yards and nine TDs)., Michigan State transfer receiver Germie Bernard joins the program as does running back Dillon Johnson, a Mississippi State transfer.

The offensive line was No. 1 in the country in fewest tackles for loss allowed and second in sacks allowed. The interior could use a little rebuilding, but tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten are All-Pac-12 good.

The Huskies must improve their defense heading into the fall — especially their pass defense. Washington ended up No. 100 in the nation against the pass in 2022. Pass-rusher Bralen Trice was Pro Football Focus’ national leader in pressures with 67, and he also recorded nine sacks, the third-highest total in the Pac-12. Trice is back. Among the additions is Oklahoma State transfer cornerback Jabbar Muhammad. He’s a versatile, fast defensive back who made 71 tackles with a pick and 12 broken up passes over the last two years.

Washington will be challenged from the get-go as it hosts Boise State on Sept. 2, although the Huskies are 15.5-point favorites. They didn’t play in 2022 and last did in the Las Vegas Bowl following the 2019 season, which Washington won 38-7. That was the final game as UW coach for Chris Petersen, also the long-time former Boise State coach.

UW also has a tough non-conference game at Michigan State but will win its other one easily vs. Tulsa. In conference play, Oregon and USC are the two league favorites and the Huskies play both – no divisions in the Pac-12, remember.

Washington Huskies 2023 Season Prediction

9-3 record, no Pac-12 title

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