The Washington Huskies have dropped two of their last three games. Now they will have the tough task of facing a Michigan team that defeated them in the championship last season. Although the coaches and quarterback are different, look for the Huskies fan base to give them a spark. Michigan has been involved in consecutive close games, and left the door open in last week’s win against Minnesota. Grab the home team in the Huskies.

It's hard to believe this was the national championship game nine months ago. Neither has close to the offenses of last season, with the Wolverines effectively ditching the pass with run-first QB Alex Orji, whose stats could be mistaken for an Air Force QB, only 118 pass yards across the past two games. Granted, every Michigan game has cleared this 41.5 total, but this has the look and feel of a tedious battle because the Huskies offense isn't really detonating, either, and worth noting U-Dub has seen four of its five games land beneath 41.5 points. The Huskies also recently put the clamps on a one-dimension Northwestern at Seattle, allowing the Cats only 112 yards of offense in a 24-5 win. Play Michigan-Washington Under

Both clubs are rebuilding following their meeting in the national title game that saw the Wolverines capture the title. The Huskies have already dropped games to rival Washington State and a rigid Rutgers club. The Huskies looked out of sorts early but still managed to rack up 521 yards of total offense against the Scarlet Knights. Washington’s relative edge in firepower should make a difference and the payback factor still matters despite the wide-changing regimes on both sides. The Wolverines are coming off back-to-back tight prime-time affairs in which they edged USC and Minnesota by identical 27-24 scores. We’d trust last year’s Michigan club in this spot, but the 2024 backdrop favors the Huskies.

Michigan is a team with plenty of flaws, but you could also argue that the five or six best players on the field will be wearing Wolverines uniforms.

Michigan doesn't throw the football because it cannot throw the football. It's a very talented option team right now. Meanwhile, Washington can't finish drives in the red zone, and I don't trust its OL to hold up against this Michigan defense.

it's not only Michigan's first roadie, but the Wolverines must travel to the Pacific Northwest. They likely will do little travel in-game by air, given the one-dimensional offense that hews to the ground. Not sure such an approach is sustainable. Washington QB Will Rogers will throw without hesitation for the 21st-ranked offense in FBS. His TD-to-interception ratio (10-0) is to die for. The Huskies outgained the two foes that beat them. Motivation rests with the home side, too, Michigan having downed U-Dub in the CFP semifinals in January.

This is a bad spot for the Wolverines. Michigan goes on the road for the first time this season and the defending champs still have questions at the quarterback position. The Wolverines’ offense has looked a little better with Alex Orji under center, although the junior still struggles to throw the football. In the last two games, Orji has thrown for a total of just 113 yards. Washington is better than its 3-2 record and I expect the Orji to have all kinds of issues playing in front of the raucous Huskies crowd. I'll back UW to get the win at home.

Washington's rebuilt offensive line has not had to face anything close to what Michigan brings to the table with Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham and the rest of the Wolverines defensive front. Michigan's offense has been downgraded because of how one-dimensional they've been, but not enough to think they can't win this game.

In a rematch of January's National Championship Game, how is the now-ranked #10 team an underdog against an unranked team who is only 3-2? What do the oddsmakers know here? With a brutal schedule upcoming, this is a must win for Jedd Fisch's Washington team, who will likely be underdogs in 5 of their last 6 games. The Huskies' defense has been excellent and should sell out to stop the Wolverines' rushing attack. Expect a low-scoring win for the home team. Washington 23, Michigan 16.