Washington Huskies vs. Auburn Tigers: Odds, Analysis, Betting Pick
August 28, 2018
The Washington Huskies don't venture too far too often, and they seem to struggle when they do. They are 2-3 straight up and 1-3-1 against the spread the last five times they have played east of the Mississippi River.
The Huskies open this season with a long trip south and east to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.
College football point spread: The Tigers opened as three-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)
College football betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 34.0-33.4 Huskies (College football picks on every game)
Why the Washington Huskies can cover the spread
The Huskies return 17 starters this season from a team that finished 10-3 SU and 7-6 ATS last season.
Washington started 6-0 last year and looked like it had a chance at a repeat trip to the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, losses to Arizona State and Stanford dashed those hopes. The Huskies later lost a tough Fiesta Bowl contest to a high-powered Penn State.
Eight starters are back on offense this year, including senior quarterback Jake Browning (29-11 as a starter, 78/24 career touchdowns/interceptions), senior running back Myles Gaskin (three straight 1,300-yard rushing seasons) and four along the offensive line.
And nine starters are back, including five of last year's top seven tacklers, on a defense that held opponents to 298 yards per game last season.
Why the Auburn Tigers can cover the spread
The Tigers return 13 starters this year from a team that finished 10-4 last year and won a division title, before falling to a very good Georgia team in the SEC Championship Game.
Before that, Auburn defeated both the Bulldogs and Alabama, the two teams that ended up playing in the national championship game. The Tigers later suffered an almost inevitable letdown and lost to a fired-up Central Florida outfit in the Peach Bowl.
Six starters return on offense, led by junior quarterback Jarrett Stidham (30/8 career touchdowns/interceptions) and his entire receiving corps.
And seven starters return from a defense that limited opponents to 319 yards per game last year, including all three along what should be one of the best defensive lines in the country.
Smart betting pick
Auburn will own the home-crowd advantage for this game, playing about 100 miles up the road from campus, but Washington owns its own positives on both sides of the ball.
Despite their recent struggles in the eastern half of the country, the smart money here sides with the Huskies.
College football betting trends
Auburn is 1-3 ATS in its last four games.
The total has gone under in Auburn's last four games.
Washington is 10-0 SU in its last 10 games in September.
All college football odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.