Despite suffering its first regular-season loss, Penn State is still squarely in the mix for a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP). 

The Nittany Lions came in at No. 6 for the first rankings released earlier this week. They’ll try to rebound from their loss when they host the Washington Huskies on Saturday night.

While the Huskies are coming off an impressive 26-21 home victory against USC, they’ll now have to travel across the country to Beaver Stadium for one of those white-out games steeped in tradition under head coach James Franklin.

Washington has yet to show that it can adjust to the amount of travel it’ll face since joining the Big Ten. As a result, the Huskies could be extremely vulnerable in the early stages of games on the road.

(8 p.m. ET, Peacock)

This season was always going to be a challenge for the Huskies after losing 10 players to the 2024 NFL Draft, including three first-rounders and seven players through the first three rounds.

Washington was completely flush with talent as the number of draftees tied a school record set in 1998.

Not only did the Huskies lose quarterback Michael Penix Jr., but they also had to replace three wide receivers (Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan), along with two linemen (Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten).

With only five returning starters, the betting market was rightfully bearish on the Huskies win total, betting it down from 7.5 to 6.5.

Washington looks every bit like a team lacking experience while struggling to string together comprehensive performances.

It’s worth noting that since conference play began, the Huskies have yet to win back-to-back games.

Their victory over USC was somewhat misleading, considering the Trojans out-gained them in yardage, 459-375, despite throwing three interceptions. 

Moreover, the Huskies also got a lift playing in front of their home fans, where they currently have a 19-game winning streak. 

That luxury will completely vanish when they play in front of a hostile crowd on Saturday night. 

Penn State’s loss to the Buckeyes wasn’t entirely surprising, given that it was its eighth straight in the series.

However, the result could’ve been entirely different had Penn State been a bit more composed inside the red zone. 

Quarterback Drew Allar threw an interception from the Buckeyes three-yard line toward the end of the first half snd the Nittany Lions suffered a turnover on downs just one yard away from the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Franklin’s decision to hire Andy Kotelnicki as the new coordinator was supposed to make the offense more effective.

However, Penn State is averaging fewer points (30.8 vs. 34.0) than the previous campaign while being less effective inside the red zone (66.7% touchdown rate vs. 76.6%).

Nonetheless, Franklin and the Nittany Lions appear ready to turn the page.

“Obviously, got some things we’ve got to continue to work on, but most importantly, we’re on to Washington,” said Franklin when he met the media. “We’ve got to find a way to get a win this week.” 

His message to the team was loud and clear, as his quarterback seemed to echo his comments.

“The thing we talked about is we can’t let one (loss) turn into two, turn into three,” Allar said. 

“We have to right the wrongs that we made (against Ohio State). Offensively, we’re not going to point any fingers. It’s not one person that blew the game for us.” 

The issue for Penn State was all about execution, and with so much at stake, I’d expect them to clean up those errors with a full week of practice.

With the Huskies coming off a big victory over USC, there’s a potential for them to have a letdown in this spot. 

After all, it’s not like expectations were exceptionally high for Washington, given the talent level it lost in the draft.

This matchup comes down to Washington’s performances at home vs. on the road, where it’s averaging 9.3 fewer points. 

Moreover, it’s allowing 17 points per game on the road in the first half compared to 6.3 at home. The slow starts could be attributed to the lengthy travel and inexperience on the roster.

According to the Action Network, Washington is 0-4 against the spread in the first half, and I like that trend to continue against a Penn State team that will be desperate to bounce back off a disappointing loss.

Best Bet: Penn State 1H -7 (-110, Caesars)

Michael Arinze handicaps most major sports for the New York Post. He’s cashed two 15-leg teasers in his betting career as well as a 12-leg parlay that included eight Little League World Series games. More recently, he accurately picked finalists in the 2024 European Championships and Copa America.