Washington Huskies: Game 5 at UCLA – TV, Weather, Injuries, More
In Week 5, the Washington Huskies head to UCLA for Friday Night Lights at The Rose Bowl. Pacific Northwest Sports has all you need to know.
PNWS presents what you need to know to enjoy Game 5 of the Washington Huskies 2022 football season as they go on the road to face UCLA. Whether you are headed to the Rose Bowl or watching on TV, we have Washington fans covered.
Details
Who: #15 Washington Huskies (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) at UCLA Bruins (4-0, 1-0).
Where: Rose Bowl Stadium – Pasadena, California.
When: Friday, September 30, 2021 – 7:30 p.m. PDT.
TV: ESPN. Announcers: Roy Philpott, Andre Ware, and Paul Carcaterra. (506.com).
Weather: It should be a beautiful night for football in SoCal. The teams can expect temperatures hovering around 70 degrees, with very light winds and almost no chance for rain (weather.com).
Line: Washington -3. Over/Under: 65.5 (Odds Shark).
Injuries
Washington Huskies
Out – LB Eddie Ulofoshio (knee), S Vincent Nunley (leg). Questionable – DL Armon Parker (undisclosed), S Tristan Dunn (undisclosed).
UCLA Bruins
Questionable – DL Martin Andrus Jr. (leg).
Interesting Trends
The good news is that the Washington Huskies are on a 4 game-winning streak to open 2022. They have also covered the spread in all those games. On the downside, UW is 1-8 in their last 9 trips to the Rose Bowl.
UCLA has won 7 straight and covered 5 times in that stretch. The Bruins have also won 5 straight at home. But over the last 3 seasons, they are 5-4 against Pac-12 teams at the Rose Bowl.
Outlook
It will be a contrast of styles this week. UCLA wants to run, and the Washington Huskies are a passing team with Michael Penix Jr. leading the offense.
The Bruins have one of the best running backs in the country to rely on. Zach Charbonnet led all Pac-12 rushers in 100-yard games last season, including the 131 he totaled against Washington. Last Saturday, he had 111 yards, and 3 touchdowns on only 9 carries against Colorado. They will use him to chew up time of possession.
Their quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson can run as well. He might have to because UCLA’s wide receivers are good, not great. And after piling up 8 sacks last week, the Huskies’ pass rushers are hungry for more.
On the other side, both teams give up about 210 yards per game passing. The big difference is UCLA did it against Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama, and Colorado. Meanwhile, Washington played Kent State, Portland State, Michigan State, and Stanford.
UCLA hasn’t seen a passing attack anything like what UW will bring on Friday night. If Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix gets decent protection, he should produce his fifth straight 300-yard passing game. Penix has too many quality targets for UCLA to cover.
While Wayne Taulapapa doesn’t have the same name recognition as Charbonnet, his production this year is pretty close. Washington’s lead back averages 8.25 combined yards per game less (95.00-86.75) than his counterpart. They have the same number of touches (51) and, just as important, the same number of touchdowns (4).
One player Washington’s line must account for is Laiatu Latu. The former Husky had 4 sacks last week.
This is a tricky game to predict because UCLA hasn’t played a good team since the second to last game of 2021. Still, UW should win and cover.
Related Story: Scouting UCLA
Catch up with PNWS on Saturday when we present our biggest takeaways from the game.