With conference realignment bolstering conferences more than ever before, it appears that some of the best teams in college football no longer have as many off weeks. A prime example of this would be the strength of the Big Ten after adding the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies from the Pac-12. While top programs still get the luxury of beating up on the Purdue Boilermakers or Northwestern Wildcats, the added challenge of taking on the West Coast teams makes things a bit more interesting.
For the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (4-1), they have already had a wire-to-wire battle with USC and will now head to Seattle to take on Washington (3-2). While it's a brand new Washington program after the departure of Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, Jedd Fisch is still looking to sustain the success that the Huskies have had in the past couple of years.
Despite Michigan being ranked and having a better record, ESPN's SP + model is predicting a loss for the Wolverines. As explained by ESPN, the model created in 2008 by Bill Connelly is a "measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football." According to Connelly , the model projected that the Huskies would win by a score of 24-23, and gave Washington a 52% chance of winning.
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK It's not just the computer model that thinks Michigan will lose, as according to ESPN BET odds, the Huskies are favored by 2.5 points. If Michigan were to win, it'd be the second time that both the oddsma.
