UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies
Thursday, 11/18/10, 8:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Washington -3
Current Betting Line: Washington -2
Opening Total: 53
Current Total: 53.5
Current Moneyline: Washington -130 / UCLA +110
UCLA enters Thursday night’s contest versus the Washington Huskies with a 4-5 overall mark and holding onto visions of becoming a bowl team. The Bruins are hoping to improve the Pac-10’s current standing of having just three teams bowl-eligible heading into this weekend. “The kids are excited about playing and finishing,” said head coach Rick Neuheisel. “It’s that portion of the season where the guys who are fortunate enough to still be going are excited.” The team is coming off an uplifting 17-14 home win over the Oregon State Beavers that many believe will catapult the team into a bowl game next month. “We’ve got a little life back into the program,” Neuheisel commented. “It’s exciting to see guys ready to go.” UCLA has won three consecutive games against Washington, including a 27-7 victory in Washington in 2008. The team is 6-9 ATS on the road the last three years and the NCAA football lines page has them as a slight road underdog.
The Bruins own a 38-29-2 series edge against the Huskies and picked up an exciting 24-23 win a season ago at the Rose Bowl. Neuheisel has posted a perfect 3-0 mark versus Washington, including a 2-0 mark while on the sidelines at UCLA. Offensively, the passing attack is still nowhere to be found, averaging just 120.8 yards per game, ahed of only the nation’s quartet of triple-option teams of Air Force, Georgia Tech, Navy and Army. Luckily the defense has been there virtually the entire season, holding the Beavers to just 267 yards, an effort that many see as its best since an upset road win at Texas in late September.
Washington is also in a position to become bowl-eligible if it wins out with a 3-6 record with three games to play. “We are very aware of the fact how important these last three games are to our season, but the fact of the matter is you can’t win all three football games until you win the first one,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian. “UCLA, a team that is in a very similar situation, is fighting the fight and should make for a great Thursday game.” The Huskies will welcome back senior quarterback Jake Locker, who missed a 53-16 loss at Oregon on November 6 with a broken rib and sat out practices during the bye week. The team is 7-17 ATS versus conference opponents the last three years.
The Huskies will be playing their final home game of the season and 17 seniors will dawn the jersey in front of the Husky Stadium crowd for the last time. This will be Washington’s first home game not on a Saturday since a Sunday game against Fresno State in 2004 on Labor Day weekend. The team is expected to wear black pants and jerseys for the first time in school history for a nationally-televised audience. This game is likely to come down to the interior defense of the Huskies versus a Bruins rushing attack that is averaging nearly 200 yards per game.
Bettors will find that the Bruins are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog of 0.5 to 3.0 points, while the Huskies are 18-39-2 ATS in their last 59 home games.
The college football handicappers at Maddux Sports are ready to deliver a great weekend on the gridiron. There’s no better time than now to be part of the action!
