{"id":80295,"date":"2014-07-31T08:47:37","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T15:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=80295"},"modified":"2014-08-18T07:30:04","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T14:30:04","slug":"washington-huskies-2014-gambling-odds-predictions-31714","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/ncaa-football\/washington-huskies-2014-gambling-odds-predictions-31714\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Huskies 2014 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

2014-15 Football Previews \u2013 (Pac-12) \u2013 Huskies<\/h2>\n

Steve Sarkisian is out, but he left a whole bunch of talent for Chris Petersen to work with in the new head coach\u2019s first year roaming the sidelines for the University of Washington Huskies. <\/p>\n

Pac-12 Conference 2014-15 College Football Previews:<\/strong>
\nHead Coach: Chris Petersen<\/strong>
\n2013 Record: 9-4<\/strong>
\nWashington Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: 85\/1<\/strong>
\nWashington Gambling Odds to win Pac-12 North Division: 6\/1<\/strong>
\nWashington Gambling Odds to win Pac-12 Conference: 14\/1<\/strong>
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Despite finally breaking the seven-win mark from last season, Sarkisian has taken his talents to SoCal to become the new head coach of the USC Trojans. The team made strides under Sark from the time he began to the time he left, but the hope is that now Petersen can elevate this program to yet another level\u2014a level that will have the team contending for a spot in the newly added College Football Playoffs.<\/p>\n

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CLICK to GRAB OUR BEST Expert Sports & Football Picks for 2014 GAMBLING!<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The question, of course, is: Can that kind of stride take place this season? In all likelihood, the answer to that question is a resounding no<\/em>, but we should see improvements, making them more competitive against the best that the conference has to offer.<\/p>\n

Team Strengths:<\/h3>\n

Having Cyler Miles on the roster is a strength for Washington. The sophomore quarterback is mobile, and was considered the easy choice at starter when last season came to a close, but troubles off the field caused him to miss spring training. Assuming he picks up where he left off, he should be named starter, which would be a good thing for UW; we just can\u2019t assume anything about this position until we hear concrete evidence from Petersen.<\/p>\n

At tailback, the team is ready to move past Bishop Sankey and give the load to Dwayne Washington. There\u2019s no doubt that this kid has speed, as evidenced by his long-distance scores last season, but you can\u2019t ignore his size, either. At 6\u20192\u201d, 221 pounds, Washington has NFL size written all over him. He\u2019s a skilled back who can certainly make plays, but when he learns how to combine both his size and his speed in the attack, he could be unstoppable at the collegiate level.<\/p>\n

Offensive line has been a topic of discussion in years past for all the wrong reasons, but we\u2019ll give the team credit for keeping its guys around and grooming them into a veteran unit. That should help prepare the young quarterback and running back game in and game out.
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\nDefensively, this team has a lot of experience both on the line and at linebacker. Both of those areas should be strengths, which is crucial considering a lack of experience in the secondary.<\/p>\n

Team Weaknesses:<\/h3>\n

Outside of junior Marcus Peters, this group of linebackers is very young. Youth isn\u2019t always a bad thing, as talent comes early for most of these kids, but having tested players on the field is crucial when you\u2019re playing teams like Oregon, Stanford and UCLA.<\/p>\n

On offense, as much of an asset as the quarterback can be, should he be who we think he is, he\u2019s going to have to deal with a surprisingly difficult situation at wide receiver. Kasen Williams will be a primary target if healthy, but he\u2019s coming off of a serious leg injury. On top of that, Damor\u2019ea Stringfellow has transferred to Ole Miss, and inexperience will be the theme after that.<\/p>\n

2013-14 UCLA Football Gambling Prediction: 9-4<\/h3>\n

Looking at the strengths that this team has, it\u2019s easy to see how it could be improved from last season. The problem is, the offensive strengths are mostly wild cards, making it possible that a dropoff could take place as well.<\/p>\n

The safe bet is that UW finishes 9-4, just as it did last season. The team should realistically start the season 4-0 before it plays Stanford. The schedule gets tougher from that point on, and while double-digit wins is certainly possible, 9-4 just feels like where we\u2019re headed with the 2014 Huskies.<\/p>\n

2014 UW Schedule<\/h3>\n