Week 5 College Football: Washington vs. Rutgers

We’ve got Power Four action on Friday, as Virginia Tech visits Miami and Washington treks out to take on Rutgers. While we don’t have a Top 25 battle like we had last week between Illinois and Nebraska, we do have Heisman favorite Cam Ward on display and I know that Zachary Cohen will be watching closely for his weekly Heisman Watch article.

While Ward and his Hurricanes reside in the Top 10 and that will be the game that most people are focused on, my favorite bet between the two games comes in the Washington and Rutgers matchup.

 

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Washington Huskies at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (-2.5, 44.5)

8 p.m. ET (FOX)

Washington’s Big Ten debut was a good one, as the Huskies beat the visiting Northwestern Wildcats by a 24-5 count last week. UDub has allowed single digits in three of their first four games this season, with the lone exception coming in the Apple Cup loss to Washington State. Now, however, the Huskies take their show on the road for their first game not in the city of Seattle. The Apple Cup wasn’t played at Husky Stadium, but it was played at Lumen Field.

It should be a feisty and ferocious Rutgers crowd with the Friday night spotlight in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights are also off to a 3-0 start on the heels of making a bowl game last season, as the program has had more life under Greg Schiano over the last 18 months.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a running back like Kyle Monangai, who has 6.3 yards per pop on 72 carries after rushing for 1,262 yards last season. Schiano would like to see more out of Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakamanis, as he played well in the wins against overmatched Howard and Akron, but took three sacks in the win over Virginia Tech. That said, Kaliakamanis did throw for a season-high 269 yards on just 16 completions.

The Huskies have gotten near flawless QB play from Will Rogers with an 8/0 TD/INT ratio and Jonah Coleman has 6.7 yards per carry. This will be a far more physical opponent for the Washington offense and defense, though, so I’m curious to see how they respond.

There are also the travel factors here, as Washington leaves the Pacific Northwest for the first time and does so for a Friday night game, which leaves less time for install and scout team work.

This line has danced around the key number of 3. I personally have it Rutgers -4 and have made some adjustments to both teams this season. This will be the best defense Washington has faced and they definitely struggled at times with Northwestern last week, posting 5.6 yards per play. Factor in the long travel, the physicality of the game, and the step up in class and I think the Huskies struggle here.

Try to find a 2.5 instead of settling for 3 on this one.

Pick: Rutgers -2.5

Other Friday Game

Virginia Tech Hokies at Miami Hurricanes (-19.5, 55): The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN between Virginia Tech and Miami could represent the first test of the season for the Hurricanes. Miami has obliterated Florida, Florida A&M, Ball State, and South Florida thus far. We’ll see what happens with their first trip outside the Sunshine State against Cal next week, but they’ll be in Coral Gables here.

Virginia Tech has been one of the nation’s biggest disappointments so far. They’ve lost one-score games to Vanderbilt and Rutgers and have wins over two Sun Belt teams. The Hokies defense is the most important factor in this game. Miami is second in the nation in total offense and yards per play. Virginia Tech has allowed just over 5.3 yards per play and over 5.6 yards per play to the two Power Four opponents.

I do think VA Tech will have more success slowing down Miami. I do wonder if Kyron Drones finds more success than Byrum Brown did for USF last week. Both are great players, but Miami took the run away from Brown and held him to 14 carries for 27 yards. He threw for 254 on 19 completions, but Miami seemed to be okay with that.

If they succeed in taking away Drones’ legs, this could be a rout, which is what the market expects with this line climbing from 16.5 to 19.5. I have it at 16.5, so a lean to Virginia Tech, as I do think this will be something of a wake-up call for the Canes.

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