Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
At least one betting outlet thinks that Chris Petersen will lead the Huskies to their second nine-win season since 2000.
The runaway hype train that is the Washington Husky football offseason shows no signs of slowing, as VegasInsider.com has projected the Huskies to win a conference-best nine games in 2016. (Surely that’s more palatable than the headlines we were digesting this time last year, when the betting public pegged UW’s win total at a measly four games.)
It seems that the betting industry is buying in on the same aspects of this team that had Husky fans so excited during the team’s three-game winning streak to close the 2015 season, during which the Dawgs outscored their opponents 141-48. On offense, those aspects include a returning starter at quarterback in Jake Browning who threw for just a hair under 3,000 yards in his debut season at a respectable clip of 8.0 yards per attempt, and a stud running back in Myles Gaskin who accounted for 1,302 yards and 14 touchdowns as a true freshman. On defense, they include returning seven starters from an elite defense headlined by two all Pac-12 defensive backs in Budda Baker and Sidney Jones that allowed just 18.8 points per game (No. 1 in the conference, and No. 11 among Power 5 teams).
If the Huskies were to win the Pac-12 championship in 2016, it would be the team’s first outright championship since the legendary 1991 team that won a national title. (The Dawgs were co-champions in 1992, 1995 and 2000.)
In the meantime, here’s UW’s 2016 schedule along with VegasInsider.com‘s over-under for each of the team’s opponents. (The over-under for Washington’s two Pac-12 South misses in 2016, Colorado and UCLA, are projected at 4.5 and 8.5 games, respectively.) How do you see each of Washington’s games in 2016 shaking out?
| Date | Opponent | Location | VegasInsider.com Opponent’s Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 3, 2016 | Rutgers | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 4.5 |
| September 10, 2016 | Idaho | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 3.5 |
| September 17, 2016 | Portland State | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | N/A |
| September 24, 2016 | Arizona | Arizona Stadium (Tucson) | 6 |
| September 30, 2016 | Stanford | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 8.5 |
| October 8, 2016 | Oregon | Autzen Stadium (Eugene) | 8 |
| October 15, 2016 | Bye | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | N/A |
| October 22, 2016 | Oregon State | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 3.5 |
| October 29, 2016 | Utah | Rice-Eccles Stadium (Salt Lake City) | 7.5 |
| November 5, 2016 | California | Memorial Stadium (Berkeley) | 4 |
| November 12, 2016 | USC | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 7.5 |
| November 19, 2016 | Arizona State | Husky Stadium (Seattle) | 5 |
| November 25, 2016 | Washington State | Martin Stadium (Pullman) | 7.5 |
| December 2, 2016 | Pac-12 Championship | Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara) | N/A |