Fiesta Bowl 2017: Washington vs. Penn State TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Back in October, the Penn State Nittany Lions appeared to be on track for the College Football Playoff.
After suffering losses to Ohio State and Michigan State, though, the Nittany Lions and Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley flew off the national radar.
Head coach James Franklin's team will get one final chance to impress on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl against the Washington Huskies, who themselves stumbled through a few conference games on their path to Glendale, Arizona.
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Penn State is looking to reverse its poor bowl history of late, as it has fallen in four of its last five postseason contests, including the Gator Bowl and Rose Bowl in the last two years.
Washington's recent postseason record isn't spectacular, either. The Huskies have won two of their last five bowl games, and they lost a year ago in the Peach Bowl to Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
Date: Saturday, December 30
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
Odds: Penn State (-2); Over/Under: 55
How Washington Will Win
It would be wise of the Huskies to take a page out of Ohio State and Michigan State's playbooks in their attempt to silence Barkley at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The running back disappeared in Penn State's two biggest games, as he produced 107 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries in pair of defeats.
Washington has plenty of players in the front seven who will be able to cope with the threat Barkley poses. That group features linebacker Tevis Bartlett, who leads the Huskies with 12 tackles for loss.
Ben Burr-Kirven, who was the top tackler on the Huskies roster in the regular season, will also look to wreak havoc and stop Barkley at the line of scrimmage. If the Huskies are able to eliminate the 20-year-old's impact on the contest, they will force Trace McSorley to beat them with his arm.
Washington's defense is coming off a three-interception performance against one of the most dangerous passers in the country in Washington State's Luke Falk. If the Huskies swarm to the ball in the secondary on Saturday as they did in the Apple Cup, they will dictate the turnover battle and come out on top.
While most neutral fans will go in ready to watch Barkley shine, Washington's Myles Gaskin may be the running back they come away impressed with.
Even Barkley is aware of how great a player Gaskin is. He expressed his admiration of the Huskies star to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.
"I play college football, but I'm also a fan of college football," Barkley said. "So I like to watch as many games as I can and Gaskin is someone I really enjoy watching."
Gaskin is coming off a 192-yard performance in the Apple Cup in which he found the end zone on four occasions. The junior racked up five other triple-digit rushing outputs, with his best game being a 202-yard outburst against Colorado on September 23.
Expect the Huskies to feed Gaskin often, but don't sleep on quarterback Jake Browning, who was at the forefront of the Washington offense when it qualified for the College Football Playoff a year ago.
The big-play potential of Dante Pettis is always lurking when Washington enters a stadium as well. He not only has 721 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, he is also a vital asset on special teams.
If Pettis can break a big return or two, it will flip the field position battle in favor of the Huskies and give Browning and Gaskin an easier path to the end zone.
How Penn State Will Win
Penn State is 3-9 against ranked opponents under Franklin, a record that sticks out when you compare the success of the Nittany Lions to the rest of the nation's top-tier programs.
Although they were able to beat Michigan in 2017, Penn State fell to Ohio State and Michigan State in consecutive weeks and dropped out of the College Football Playoff conversation. Consequently, Barkley fell behind the likes of Baker Mayfield and Bryce Love in the Heisman race.
Penn State recovered in November and beat up on Rutgers, Nebraska and Maryland to earn a spot in the New Year's Six.
A victory in the Fiesta Bowl would be huge for the Nittany Lions and a nice finish to the season for Franklin's crew as they attempt to achieve back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time since 2008 and 2009.
In order to come out on top against the tough Huskies defense, Penn State will rely on heavy doses of McSorley and Barkley.
Both players are dual threats in their own way, as McSorley can also beat opponents with his legs and Barkley is a viable asset in the passing game. McSorley has 431 rushing yards in addition to his 3,228 passing yards, and Barkley has 594 receiving yards to complement his 1,134 rushing yards.
As McSorley and Barkley occupy the attention of the Washington defense, the Nittany Lions will need one or two others to step up. The leading candidate for that role is tight end Mike Gesicki, who leads the team with nine receiving touchdowns.
If Washington's focus is on Gesicki, it will be up to DaeSean Hamilton and Juwan Johnson to get free and stretch the field to keep space open for Barkley around the line of scrimmage.
Prediction
The running back showdown between Gaskin and Barkley could be one of the best of the bowl season if they can work around the opposing defenses.
The Fiesta Bowl will be closer than most think, but look for Gesicki to be the X-factor in the end as Penn State earns a vital bowl victory.
Penn State 31, Washington 27
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com and Sports Reference.
Odds obtained from OddsShark.com.
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