Big Ten picks: It's rivalry week
Washington visits Oregon as a big underdog.
It’s rivalry week in the Big Ten.
For Washington, that means replacing the traditional Thanksgiving-weekend Apple Cup with a trip to face unbeaten, No. 1 Oregon.
I asked coach Jedd Fisch what he thought of playing Oregon on rivalry weekend instead of Washington State, as the Huskies have for decades.
“I think it’s really good that you have a conference game to end the season,” Fisch said. “The fact that the conference is the Big Ten, and Oregon’s in the Big Ten, we’re in the Big Ten — I think that’s a necessity to end the season with. … I just think that having a conference rivalry game has so much impact on the season that that’s what makes it special. The fact we can continue to do that with a team like Oregon is great.”
The Ducks are favored by 18.5 or so points, depending on the sports book. They were favored by 9.5 when the teams met in Las Vegas last December. UW was a 3-point favorite when it won at Husky Stadium the previous October, and the Huskies were 13-point underdogs when they won at Autzen Stadium in 2022.
So, there is precedent for UW overcoming multi-score point spreads to beat Oregon. Doing it without Michael Penix Jr., though, is a different challenge.
I’ve got 10 games this week with which to improve my season picks record in the direction of .500, and am riding a 19-10 record against the spread over the past four weeks. If you’d wagered $100,000 on each of my picks in that time, you’d have won almost enough to entice an offensive lineman from the transfer portal.
All kickoff times Pacific. All lines courtesy of BetMGM. All rankings via the College Football Playoff committee. Every Big Ten team is in action this weekend.
Last week: 5-3 ATS (7-1 straight up)
Season: 37-40-1 (59-20)