With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Aug. 15.
Washington Huskies
National title odds: 30-1
Season win total: 9
FPI win total projection: 9.1
Phil Steele
Strengths: The Huskies had a young defense last year, with just four returning starters, but allowed a Pac 12-best 20.0 points per game. This year, they lose just six lettermen, return 27 on the defense and have my No. 3-rated defense in the country. Last season, they had true freshmen in quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin, both of whom are now sophomores. Nine of the top 10 offensive linemen are back, as is game-breaker John Ross, who missed last year because of injury. The Huskies have my No. 19-rated special teams.
Weaknesses: The offensive line, receivers and running backs all are ranked in my top units, but all have ratings in the 40s, so they are not elite.
Over/under: You can tell that Vegas oddsmakers read my magazine. Washington was a 4-6 team at one point last year and had to win its last two just to make it to a bowl. This year, the Huskies have a total of nine wins, which is the 10th-highest mark. In the magazine, I forecast them to have their first double-digit-win season in 16 years, so you know what I am calling for.
National title odds: The Huskies went from 40-1 to 30-1, so the odds are not great, but my nine sets of computer ratings have them with an average grade of 11 wins, and that makes them title contenders. I have had a pretty good record with my "No. 1 Surprise" teams, and the Huskies are just that this year. Take the 30-1 odds.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
O/U: Everybody loves the Huskies this year. At first, I thought ... really? Why?!
Oh, they don't play UCLA, they play no one of note out of conference, they get Stanford and USC at Husky Stadium, they return QB Jake Browning, and their coach came from Boise State and ran trick plays. That's why people like them. I get it.
But when I looked a bit more closely, I saw that the Huskies basically have their whole offensive line back, a unit that paved the way for one of the most electric players in the country, Myles Gaskin, to rush for more than 1,300 yards last year. The biggest factor I think people are missing is that when Husky Stadium is sold out and rocking, there isn't a tougher place to play, in my opinion. To quote Chris Berman, "I know because I was there."
The Huskies' toughest road games in the conference will be at Oregon (after they host Stanford) and at Utah. They could have a hold on the division after their trip to Eugene on Oct. 8. However, I'll say they lose to Oregon and one other team in conference and win 10 games but won't make the conference title game. Still, that's good enough for the over.
Chris Fallica
O/U: Washington hasn't won nine games in the regular season since its Rose Bowl campaign in 2000. That's a long time ago. In fact, that's the only time in the past 19 seasons that the Huskies won nine games in the regular season. Another thing to keep in mind: Of Washington's past 16 Pac-12 wins, 14 were against teams with losing conference records. The two exceptions were last year's Apple Cup, in which Luke Falk was injured and didn't play, and the USC game, which turned out to be Steve Sarkisian's final contest. In other words, the Huskies are going to have to start beating some good teams in order to hit -- or surpass -- that number. After a nearly guaranteed 3-0 start, UW will have to go 7-2 in Pac-12 play to surpass nine wins. UW also has to go to Eugene, and the Huskies have lost 12 straight to the Ducks. Ten wins seems like a stretch. Take the under.
Playoff odds: In the winter, I thought Washington was a dark horse national title contender when it was somewhere in the range of 40-1. But it looks like the bandwagon is full, and the price is nowhere near as good as it could be. Even if all goes well for U-Dub this year, it's hard to think anything better that 11-2 is possible. We all saw how much title traction that got Stanford in the eyes of the CFP last year. Pass.