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If it wasn’t for TCU’s miraculous run to a College Football Playoff championship game appearance last season, the Washington Huskies might have been the best story in college football. The Huskies went 11-2 last season under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer. Washington lost a three-way tiebreaker that would have put it in the Pac-12 title game.

The Huskies will return quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who passed for 4,641 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

Let’s see if the Washington Huskies have what it takes to back the betting odds to win the National Championship.

Washington Huskies 2023 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| 2nd season
Home field: Husky Stadium | 70,083

Washington Odds to Win Championship: +3400

Washington Expected to Be a Strong Outfit Again

Returning Penix has Huskies’ fans excited for what could be ahead. Washington has an over/under of nine wins. The Huskies have the third-best odds of winning the Pac-12 at +400. Washington only trails USC (+170) and Oregon (+300) in the odds of winning the conference title.

Huskies Are Not Afraid to Punch Up 

Washington isn’t one of the Power 5 programs that are worried about putting together a softball schedule to build confidence. The Huskies will open the season against Boise State. While the Broncos struggled throughout last season, Boise State still battle back to make the Mountain West championship game before bowing to Fresno State.

The Huskies will also play a solid AAC program in Tulsa before heading to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Michigan State. If Washington can escape the first three games unscathed, there is a chance that will give the Huskies a leg up entering Pac-12 play.

Washington’s Early Conference Schedule is Favorable

The Huskies will spend a lot of time at home during the month of conference play. Washington will open with a home game against California before a trip to Arizona precedes wo home games against Oregon and Arizona State. The Huskies beating Oregon last season removed the Ducks from the national championship picture.

Washington’s meeting with Oregon will likely prove to be its toughest test early in the season.

Challenges on the Road

USC is one team that has a lot of high expectations as well. The Trojans missed out on the CFP after they couldn’t beat Utah last season. USC will return Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams and a roster loaded with stars. 

Washington will have to go to the LA Coliseum to play USC. The Huskies will need to be at their best to win this game. Washington will also have trips to Oregon State and Stanford on the back half of its schedule. The Beavers showed major improvements last season, while the Cardinals struggle to find their footing.

Washington Huskies 2023 Prediction

The Huskies making such a large splash last season was due to Penix. He is a big-time playmaker at quarterback and made a lot of big plays after coming over from Indiana. Penix’s experience should help Washington be toward the top of the conference. If things bounce back for the Huskies, there is a possibility they could contend for a spot in the CFP.

Washington should get to double-digit wins and benefit from testing themselves out of the conference early in the 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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