Nebraska vs. Washington Pick Against the Spread

Posted by Vegas Martin in College Football Picks on September 17th, 2010 | Comment »

"Get off me bro!" Nebraska continues to run the ball with ease.

No. 8 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (-3.5) @ WASHINGTON HUSKIES — 3:30 ABC

Like I mentioned earlier this week, I’m liking the Cornhuskers -3.5 in this one. I thought this spread would be more like -4.5 or -5.5. On the other hand, Washington was one of those teams that I wanted to ride this year with the development of QB Jake Locker and the nice weapons that he has around him. Washington let me down week 1 against BYU, but bounced back with a nice cover against Syracuse, a game that Brandon picked.

We all know that Nebraska is known for their defense, but the player to watch in this one is QB Taylor Martinez. Martinez has averaged 142 rushing yards per game with an average of 13.5 YPC — that’s ridiculous! He already has 5 rushing TDs in 2 games. Not only is Martinez a tremendous rushing threat, but he throws a nice ball as well, completing nearly 70% of his passes. Oh yeah, this guy is the real deal. See highlights below. Granted, the defenses he’s faced (Western Kentucky and Idaho) are laughing matters, but there’s no doubt that this kid is a talented player and he’ll be facing another weak defense. Washington has a questionable defense at best. I don’t think think they’ll have enough to stop this Nebraska offense that has put up 49 and 38 in their first two games.

One thing to worry about is how the redshirt freshman is able to handle his first start on the road. That is one thing to be concerned about. However, when it doubt, just your wheels Taylor. Nebraska has managed a 5-2 record ATS in their last 7 road games so it’s not something I’m overly worried about.

With Washington’s questionable defense, Nebraska should be able to put up points and essentially run the ball at their will — they averaged 8.8 YPC against Idaho last week. Washington will also score their fair share of points with the talented Locker ready to show scouts why he’ll be the first QB taken off the board in the 2011 NFL draft. Locker completed 22/33 passes for 289 yards and 4 TDs last week against Syracuse.

As talented as Locker is, I just see Washington’s defense letting the Huskies down once again. Nebraska’s ability to run the football has been uncanny and I doubt that Washington’s defense is able to slow it down. However, Washington is a tough place to play, so I will definitely scale back my confidence in Nebraska.

Prediction: Nebraska 31 – Washington 24

Pick Against the Spread: Nebraska -3.5 (Confidence: 3/5)

Who do you think will cover Nebraska (-3.5) @ Washington