Pac-12 Championship Game 2018: Utah vs. Washington Preview, Predictions

The Washington Huskies may not be going to the College Football Playoff, but they have an excellent chance to go to the Rose Bowl.

The Huskies (9-3, 7-2) won the Pac-12 North Division, and they will meet South Division champion Utah (9-3, 6-3) at Levi's Stadium Friday night in Santa Clara, California.

Washington hopes to use some of the momentum it created in its win over Washington State in the regular-season finale. The Huskies beat their in-state rivals and took the Apple Cup as a result of their 28-15 victory Friday night.

That win allowed them to overcome earlier Pac-12 losses to Oregon and California, and take first place in the North Division away from the Cougars.

Washington depends heavily on quarterback Jake Browning, who threw for 2,692 yards and 16 touchdowns, along with running back Myles Gaskin, who has 1,076 rushing yards along with 10 touchdowns. Wideout Aaron Fuller is a solid threat with 49 receptions for 754 yards and four scores.

Gaskin had a huge 80-yard TD run in the fourth quarter in the showdown with Washington State, and that explosive play in the snow basically clinched the game for Washington.

Myles Gaskin rushes for an 80-yard touchdown vs. Washington State Cougars

The Huskies will represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl if they can beat the Utes in the title game.

"It feels pretty good," Browning said, per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. "I'm pretty focused on this Pac-12 Championship ... but I think everyone on the West Coast wants to play in the Rose Bowl. We obviously know what's at stake, but we're not looking ahead."

Utah was basically the best of a mediocre lot in the South Division. Arizona State (7-5, 5-4) was the only other team in the division that finished with a winning record.

The Utes were a 2-2 team after they dropped back-to-back games against the Huskies and Cougars early in the season. However, Utah won seven of the final eight games on the schedule to finish in impressive fashion.

Utah defeated archrival BYU 35-27 in a game that saw the Utes get off to a brutal start as they trailed the Cougars 20-0 at halftime. However, Julian Blackmon triggered a rally for the home team when he took an interception back 27 yards to get Utah on the board, and then the running game took over after that.

Armand Shyne had two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Jason Shelley threw a third-quarter TD pass and added a 33-yard scoring run with 1:43 to go that helped the Utes to stretch a one-point lead to eight.

"We've always had this kind of team to where we always fight back," Shelley said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "We've been in tough situations through winter conditioning, summer, fall camp, so it was nothing new to us. We just came out and played and good results happened."

Shelley took over at quarterback after starter Tyler Huntley broke his collarbone, and the redshirt freshman has been productive since taking over. In the last three games, he has completed 48 of 82 passes for 624 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he has run for 112 yards and three TDs.

Shyne has run for 276 yards and three touchdowns since taking over for starter Zack Moss, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during a November practice. Moss had been a huge factor with 1,092 yards, a 6.1 yards-per-carry mark and 11 touchdowns.

Prediction

The Utes are a tough and relentless team that has not let injuries at key positions stop them. That speaks well for head coach Kyle Whittingham and his ability to keep his team on track.

However, they appear to have a huge problem when they face the Huskies, since Washington beat the Utes 21-7 earlier in the season in Salt Lake City.

Additionally, the Utes had Huntley and Moss in the lineup at that point, and that will not be the case in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Browning is an excellent quarterback who gives the Huskies a huge advantage. He should do more than enough to allow Washington to build a double-digit lead early in the game.

The Washington defense limited high-powered Washington State to 15 points, and it's difficult to see Utah doing any better.

Washington wins the Pac-12 Championship by two touchdowns or more.