UCLA at Washington Prediction and Pick: Can the Bruins Get the Road Cover?

UCLA Bruins (4-5 SU, 6-3 ATS) vs. Washington Huskies (5-5 SU, 4-6 ATS)
NCAA Football Week 12
Date/Time: Friday, November 15, 2024 at 9PM EST
Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle, Washington
TV: Fox

The UCLA Bruins come to Seattle for a Big Ten Conference showdown with the Washington Huskies on Friday. Both teams have found this transition year to be difficult, as each deposed former Pac-12 team was thrown into the Big Ten this season with mixed results. Perhaps for both teams and even the Bruins who are on the road, being in a more-familiar setting against a known opponent will serve each squad well. The Huskies can use a break any way they can get it, with Saturday’s 35-6 loss on the road to Penn State being another tough development for a team that really fell hard this year after making it to the College Football Playoff last season. The Bruins, meanwhile, have actually latched onto some success after a deflating 1-5 start to the season, winning their last three games, including a 20-17 win over Iowa last Friday. Let’s break it down!

Have the Bruins Turned it Around?

It has been a drastic turnaround for a Bruins team that looked as bad as they had in years, opening with a narrow win over Hawaii and then dumping their next five games, some of which were by massive margins. But a closer look saw them playing a really tough schedule, with teams like Indiana, LSU, and Penn State having their way with the Bruins. Once the level of opposition eased up a bit, we saw a different UCLA team emerge. It’s been fairly remarkable how they’ve won straight-up their last three games, each one playing as the underdog.

We’ve seen an uptick from UCLA QB Ethan Garbers, who has been playing well in recent weeks and spreading it around to an offense that still has a lot of talent on it. There are still no real established stars on this offense, but Garbers has been more able to find producers on the ground and through the air in the last several weeks. The Bruins’ defense has become a lot more-stout, with some big plays coming in from this unit in recent games. Whereas opposing offenses were having their way earlier in the season against the Bruins, recent foes have found the going to be a lot tougher. And despite actually having a worse won-loss record than their opponent this week, they’re getting better results on both sides of the ball, and unlike the Huskies, they can enter this spot with a good feeling about how things have been going.

Answers This Week for Washington?

With a slew of tough games and many of them being on the road in a conference in which they are unfamiliar, being at home against someone from their glory days in the Pac-12 should help. It’s not easy when you lose your coach and a bulk of the talent that got you to the College Football Playoff, get thrown into a new conference, and start facing one heavyweight after the next in stadiums you’ve never seen. Granted, things look very ragged for the Huskies, but there might be just enough good stuff in the equation to forecast that better conditions could give light to some different results. They have still managed to score three conference wins on the season and you’d almost think they can be shown in a better light if given the chance. Maybe this week presents that opportunity.

Despite going against a UCLA defense that has been serviceable in spots this season, the Huskies still flex a decent cast of weapons for which QB Will Rogers can employ. Jonah Coleman can be a big weapon out of the backfield, while receivers Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston head a still-decent aerial attack. Rogers is far from electric, but can be efficient. Things haven’t gone well at times this past month, scoring six against the Nittany Lions, 17 against Indiana, and 16 against Iowa. But there is also a big difference in playing Big Ten games on the road against good teams and being back home in your own dimension with a team you know.

Food for Thought

It does seem like a difficult spot to get behind Washington, with the Bruins finding some new life in the second half of the season. The Bruins are a team where momentum seems to resonate, both good and bad. I just don’t think we can forecast the same Washington team surfacing this week that we’ve seen more often than not in recent weeks. And a Bruins backer this week should embrace the possibility that the cupcake you anticipated never surfaces. These teams might have stark results in recent weeks that paint the Bruins as being superior, but I’d be more inclined to perceive these as somewhat evenly-matched teams playing in what should be a competitive game.

Take the Points

I see a close one unfolding in Seattle on Friday in a game that might not be all that high-scoring, where having a tick better than a FG might end up coming in handy. On the one hand, the conditions could favor Washington, and offensively, their more centralized production tree and more outstanding offensive pieces command more respect. I just think the Bruins have some wind in their sails heading into this final stretch of games, which I think carries them to a cover this Friday. I’ll take the Bruins.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on the UCLA Bruins plus 3.5 points.

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