> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Big Ten Picks: Huskies Will Silence Eastern, Not Doubters, This Week - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/big-ten-picks-washington-huskies-eastern/ - Published: 2026-09-18T21:56:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:35:26.000Z - Author: Aaron Coe - Tags: Analysis, Huskies Football, Big Ten Picks, Jedd Fisch, Demond Williams Jr., Rashid Williams \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1004"\] ![ Demond Williams Jr. runs the ball against Utah State in a game at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Credit: Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures/Washington Athletics) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/demond-utah-st-format-original.jpg) Demond Williams Jr. runs the ball against Utah State in a game at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026\. (Credit: Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures/Washington Athletics) \[/caption\] Can the mighty Eastern Washington Eagles stun Washington this week? Well… No… This isn’t Vernon Adams and Cooper Kupp coming to town this week. That duo was trying to score late to stun the Huskies in 2014\. First-year UW coach Chris Petersen and his team held on to win 59-52 that day, just three years after Steve Sarkisian escaped the Eagles with a 30-27 win. All those Eags are long gone, however. Eastern, a powerhouse during the 2010s, last finished with a winning season in 2021\. They’re off to a 1-2 start this season, and Eastern will soon be 1-3\. The Huskies, of course, have problems of their own despite a 2-0 start. Though they beat Washington State 24-10, the Cougars trailed just 10-7 in the fourth quarter. Last week, Utah State was throwing into the end zone to win the game, which UW held on to win 13-10\. There are plenty of questions about head coach Jedd Fisch’s offense, Demond William Jr.’s quarterback play, a running back room depleted by injuries and an offensive line that has failed to dominate lesser opponents the first two weeks. Washington’s top three running backs heading into spring — Quaid Carr, Jordan Washington and Jayden Limar — aren’t day-to-day or week-to-week with injuries. They’re month-to-month, along with starting X receiver Christian Moss, who was injured on his first Huskies play in the Apple Cup. Fisch delivered some rare good news on the injury front on Thursday, telling reporters that starting Z receiver Rashid Williams has been cleared to play this week. While Saturday could be a feel-good day for the Huskies, it won’t necessarily mean a whole lot. The real Huskies will stand up — or sit down — next week in the Big Ten opener against Minnesota at Husky Stadium and the following Saturday at No. 12 USC. ### Big Ten Picks Hoooo boy. After a strong season in 2025, I’ve regressed. I followed a 6-9-1 week against the spread with an even worse 5-12 showing in Week 2\. What might be even worse, though, is going 11-6 straight up when there were only six single-digit favorites. This week, 12 Big Ten teams are favored by three touchdowns or more, including Washington’s 42.5 spread. That’s six touchdowns — five more than UW scored against Utah State last week. Frankly, I’m making the right picks, but the teams are simply not executing the plays I call. My official statement is: It starts with me, and all of this is fixable. We’ll just focus on this week, watch the film, and get back to fundamentals. (But seriously, this is for fun only — please don’t wager the kid’s college fund. Not all of them are going to be college quarterbacks with $4 million contracts.) **Portland State (0-3) +57.5 at No. 21 Oregon (1-1)** 7:30 p.m., Friday, BTN It feels like a bad day to be Vikings, who will attempt to pillage Autzen Stadium. Oregon has played PSU six times, winning them all by an average of 53 points. I’m on auto-fade with Oregon spread, however, until further notice. **Pick:** Oregon 48, Portland State 10 **Kent State (1-1) +52.5 at No. 6 Ohio State (1-1)** 9 a.m., FOX This ain’t Don James’ Kent State. **Pick:** Ohio State 62, Kent State 7 **Buffalo +40.5 (1-1) at No. 14 Penn State (2-0)** 9 a.m., BTN The Bulls will get bullied by some Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium. **Pick:** Penn State 55, Buffalo 10 **Akron +23.5 (1-1) at Minnesota (1-1)** 9 a.m., BTN The Golden Gophers prepare for their conference opener at Washington next week against the Zips, who scored 45 points last week. **Pick:** Minnesota 38, Akron 17 **Eastern Michigan (1-2) +23.5 at Wisconsin (1-1)** 9:30 a.m., Peacock I think my Peacock subscription may have lapsed, and I’ll wait for another time to re-up. **Pick:** Wisconsin 34, Eastern Michigan 14 **Southern Illinois (2-1) +38.5 at Illinois (1-1)** 11 a.m., Peacock Ohh, hold on I can watch this game AND Eastern Michigan-Wisconsin if I re-subscribe to Peacock?! What a deal. The Salukies lost to West Florida in the opener. That’s, like, the seventh-best Florida. **Pick:** Illinois 48, Southern Illinois 6 **No. 12 USC (3-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) -21.5 at Rutgers (0-2, 0-0)** 12:30 p.m., CBS No better way to open the conference season than with a traditional Big Ten matchup. The Trojans own a 1-0 record in this series that dates back to 2024\. Rutgers is really bad at football. USC should walk in Piscataway, provided the Trojans avoid tripping over the time zone lines. **Pick:** USC 28, Rutgers 7 **UTEP (1-1) +34.5 at No. 19 Michigan (2-0)** 12:30, BTN I expect a full sixty minutes plus a tenth of a second out of Michigan this week, and maybe Bryce Underwood will throw for 200 yards for the first time this season. **Pick:** Michigan 35, UTEP 3 **Western Kentucky (0-2) +44.5 at No. 4 Indiana** 1:00 p.m., Peacock Not even the Colonel can save the Hilltoppers from getting fried this week. And I still don’t need a Peacock subscription. **Pick:** Indiana 49, Western Kentucky 3 **Northern Iowa (1-1) +40.5 at No. 18 Iowa** 1 p.m., FSN This is a tough spread to pick, but I do like the under on the double Iowa matchup. **Pick:** Iowa 38, Northern Iowa 0 **North Dakota (3-0) +24.5 at Nebraska (2-0)** 4:15, p.m., BTN The Fighting Hawks dominated visiting powerhouse the St. Thomas Tommies (yes, that’s an actual football team that exists) a couple of weeks ago, and the Tommies will be avenged. **Pick:** Nebraska 51, North Dakota 10 **Michigan State (2-0) +29.5 at Notre Dame (2-0)** 4:30 p.m., NBC I’ve picked Michigan State to lose every week so far, and I might just get this one right. **Pick:** Notre Dame 42, Michigan State 7 **Colorado (2-0) +3.5 at Northwestern (1-0)** 4:30 p.m., FOX There aren’t many real football games these first three weeks, but the Buffaloes got in an actual football game at Georgia Tech Week 1\. They’ll always have that one and memories of Shedeur Sanders leading them to an Alamo Bowl loss in 2024\. **Pick:** Northwestern 24, Colorado 20 **Virginia Tech (2-0) -3 at Maryland (2-0)** 4:30 p.m., FSN After crushing big-time in-state opponents VMI (Virginia Military Institute) and Old Dominion, the Hokies make the trek up to I-81\. **Pick:** Virginia Tech 20-16 **Purdue (1-1, 0-0) +14 at UCLA (2-0, 0-0)** 8 p.m., BTN The Bruins have two real wins so far against Cal and San Diego State. They get a scheduling break this week with Boilermakers coming to town. **Pick:** UCLA 30, Purdue 13 ### The Pick **Eastern Washington (1-2) +42.5 at Washington (2-0)** Fool me once, fool me twice — I can’t get fooled again. The Dawgs will have to prove they can actually score 30 points before I pick them to cover a 42.5-point spread. The Eagles have dropped games against Northern Arizona and South Dakota so far this year, and seem unlikely to score double-digit points against a tough UW defense. Washington cruises to a comfortable win this week, but will still be searching for some answers heading into Big Ten play next week. A blowout over Eastern will not help silence the questions. **Washington 38, Eastern Washington 6**