A lucky Husky is spared from consequences! Washington entered the SHI Stadium for a game against Rutgers as an underdog. Without Kalen DeBoer, the Huskies dominated the three wins so far but it was scarred with a 24-19 loss to Washington State in week 4. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights are 3-0 looking for another win against their Big Ten opponent. 

The Washington vs Rutgers game just gave off an action for a lengthy review. Nine minutes into the first quarter, Washington’s safety Cameron Broussard hit the Rutgers receiver as he caught the pass from Athan Kaliakmanis. An X post by Unnecessary Roughness on September 28 posted a highlight of the hit writing, “This hit resulted in a lengthy review for targeting.”

However, after the review, Broussard’s targeting accusation was dissolved and he got away without consequences. With the first quarter ongoing, Washington leads with 3 points with a 22-yard field goal by Jordan Thompson on 1-and-10. Still, they also received a false start penalty by Keleki Latu. 

From what is happening so far, both teams are equally competitive and this would be a game of intensity as they strive to win a conference win. While the result is unknown, the 2024 National Championship contender isn’t the team that’s favored to win this game as far as predictions go. 

Rutgers wins the crowd’s favor over Washington

The Huskies lost much favor as they geared for their first road game against a Big Ten opponent. Rutgers are a 1.5-point favorite for the first time in this conference showdown against Washington. They rank fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 39.7 points per game in contrast to Washington’s 27 points. The Scarlet Knights are known for their rushing game averaging 5.4 yards per carry in their three games this season. Their new QB Kaliakmanis is on fire averaging 9 YPA with only one interception, while RB Kyle Monangai is another force to reckon with, averaging 6.3 YPC. 

Still, there is hope for Washington. As Mark Schafer said on UW Dawg Pound, the key to upsetting the Scarlet Knights is to pressure their QB and “getting the ball to Jonah [Coleman] to set up explosive plays, either in the run or pass game because Rutgers is weaker in defending against the run.” The start may be slow but the Huskies are already leading and they still got three more quarters to flip the crowd’s prediction.