[tps_title]Arizona at Washington[/tps_title]
[tps_header]8 p.m., Fox Sports 1[/tps_header]
ARIZONA (5-3, 2-3) AT
WASHINGTON (3-4, 1-3)
8 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Pointspread: Washington favored by 4.5 points
— Line has moved from Washington being a 5-point favorite at start of the week to 4.5 now.
— After scoring a signature win for second-year head coach Chris Petersen Oct. 8 at USC, Washington dropped back-to-back contests to Pac-12 North counterparts Oregon and Stanford. With the losses, the Huskies are 1-3 in conference play and 3-4 overall, with the very real threat of missing the postseason for the first time since 2009.
— Arizona has not won at Husky Stadium since 2007.
— Both Arizona and Washington face quarterback controversies in Week 9. Washington’s is the result of freshman Jake Browning sustaining a shoulder injury late against Oregon, which forced K.J. Carta-Samuels into the starting lineup last week against Stanford. The Huskies are dead-last in the Pac-12 in both yards and points scored, struggling to find any kind of sustained rhythm with either quarterback.
— Arizona, on the other hand, has put up points in bunches. Lately, it’s happened more frequently with reserve quarterback Jerrard Randall running the show than with last year’s breakout star Anu Solomon. Randall came on to lead critical scoring drives in the win at Colorado, then engineered Arizona’s second-half comeback a week ago against Washington State.
— In Arizona’s Pac-12 wins over Oregon State and Colorado, the Wildcats jumped ahead by multiple scores early. Against UCLA, Stanford and Washington State, Arizona fell behind by two scores in the first quarter. Arizona made a habit of rallying and winning tight games last year, but the 2015 Wildcats are not as well-equipped to come back from big deficits, primarily due to holes in the defense caused by injury.
— Washington scored its upset of USC by stymieing the Trojan offense from the outset, forcing USC to press each time it got the ball back. The hurry-up nature of Arizona’s offense can be a detriment if points aren’t coming, as it puts an already-thin defense on the field after shorter rests.
— The Arizona offense in 2014 flourished with a balance of run and pass, which is Rodriguez’s goal. That’s not quite as feasible with Randall at quarterback, despite the pop he brings to the Wildcats. Randall’s passing is erratic, which can render Arizona one-dimensional. That one dimension is quite effective — the Wildcats ranks No. 9 nationally in rushing yards per game — but a run-based attack may struggle against Washington. With prolific-tackling linebacker Travis Feeney, the Huskies run defense holds opponents to just 3.2 yards per carry, exactly half of Arizona’s average output per rush.
Arizona is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Arizona’s last 9 games
Arizona is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Arizona is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington’s last 11 games
Washington is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games at home
Washington is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington’s last 6 games at home
My pick: Arizona will win and cover
Steve Rivera’s pick: Washington will win and cover
Anthony Gimino’s pick: Arizona will win and cover
