4%  (138) WASHINGTON -5.5

Here’s what the knee-jerk reaction will be by most people when looking at this game: Washington State has a chip on their shoulder as they were left behind, with Oregon State, as the only two teams in the PAC-12 Conference. With that said, they really have something to prove in this rivalry game that would normally be the final game of the season. But because they are no longer in the same conference, it’s being played in September. Normally, the dog does have something to prove, and when looking at last year's score, you will see that as a 14.5-point favorite, Washington only won 24-21. They will also say Washington only won by 3 with Michael Penix Jr. as the QB, who is now in the NFL.

Let’s start with that close game last year, as Washington had all kinds of pressure on them; they were undefeated and trying to get into the National Playoffs. To be honest, they were playing not to lose instead of playing to win, and it almost cost them. For Washington State, they had nothing to lose and wanted to play spoiler—and almost did. This time around, Washington doesn’t have that pressure on them. We also see that the Washington offense is doing fine, even though they lost last year’s QB to the NFL. Washington has thrown for almost 600 yards in two games. The Washington State win last week is misleading, as Texas Tech self-destructed with 4 turnovers but still had almost 500 yards of offense. Washington rolls big here. WASHINGTON 35-21.

TAKE WASHINGTON as my 4% COLLEGE GAME OF THE WEEK