The best matchup of college football’s first full weekend takes place Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Washington Huskies take on the Auburn Tigers in the only clash of top-10 teams on the Week 1 slate. Washington begins the year ranked sixth in the nation after going 10-3 last season and playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Meanwhile, No. 10 Auburn looks to build on a 2017 campaign in which it beat two national playoff teams (Alabama and Georgia) en route to a 10-4 finish. The lower-ranked Tigers are a 2.5-point favorite in this clash, and the total has dropped to 48 points after Sportsbook at 54.
- Washington is 10-0 SU in its last 10 September games.
- Auburn is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 neutral-site games.
- The UNDER is 12-3-2 in Auburn’s last 17 non-conference games.
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HUSKIES RETURN KEY VETERANS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
If Washington hadn’t suffered a baffling 13-7 loss at lowly Arizona State last October, we might be looking at this Huskies program completely differently. That defeat ended up costing U-Dub a chance to play in the Pac-12 title game, and might have been the only thing that prevented the Huskies from making their second straight trip to the College Football Playoff.
On the bright side, most of Washington’s veteran talent is back this year to take another shot at returning to the playoff. Quarterback Jake Browning (43 touchdown passes in 2016 to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors) and running back Myles Gaskin (more than 4,000 rushing yards in his career) form a lethal one-two punch on offense, while the Huskies defense returns virtually all but star tackle Vita Vea from last year’s cast that allowed the fifth-fewest points in the nation.
Washington has been a fast starter in recent years, winning its last 10 September contests. With all of that continuity on their roster, the Huskies could enjoy a major edge in this opener as well.
AUBURN HAS STRUGGLED VS ELITE TEAMS ON NEUTRAL FIELDS
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd on Saturday projects to be heavily pro-Tigers as Atlanta is just 100 miles from Auburn, compared to 2,600 miles from Seattle. But if history is any guide, Auburn fans who make the 90-minute trek may end up driving home disappointed.
That’s because the Tigers’ track record against ranked teams isn’t good when they’re not playing in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium. In fact, Auburn hasn’t beaten a Top 20 opponent away from home since 2014. In last year’s games on neutral fields, then-No. 4 Auburn was blown out 28-7 by No. 6 Georgia in the SEC championship game, then fell 34-27 to No. 10 Central Florida in the Peach Bowl. Both of those games, by the way, were played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Early-season showdowns against top opponents have also not gone well for Auburn over the years. The Tigers are 1-6 in season openers against ranked opponents all-time, and that lone win came in 1957.
BOTH TEAMS HAVE UNPROVEN KICKERS
With oddsmakers projecting a close game between these two squads, it’s quite possible that the outcome of the contest will come down to a late field-goal attempt. And if that’s the case, neither of these teams comes into this game feeling as confident about the kicking game as they’d like.
Whether Peyton Henry or Van Soderberg handles the kicking chores for Washington (reports indicate it will be Henry), the Huskies kickers have combined for exactly one successful field goal in their NCAA careers. Henry is a walk-on who didn’t start playing football until Grade 10, while Soderberg lost the starting job last year after missing a couple of short attempts in the loss at Arizona State.
Meanwhile, Auburn is looking to replace Daniel Carlson, who made 80.7 percent of his field goals during his four-year career with the Tigers and is now in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Carlson will be succeeded this year by younger brother Anders, a highly touted kicker but one who will see his first career NCAA action on Saturday.
