> ## 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: Washington Heads to Rose Bowl, Huskies’ House of Horrors - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/big-ten-picks-washington-huskies-ucla-rose-bowl-huskies/ - Published: 2025-11-21T07:46:40.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:36:12.000Z - Author: Aaron Coe - Tags: Huskies, Washington Football, Jedd Fisch, Jonah Coleman, Denzel Boston, Raiden Vines-Bright, John Mills, Geirean Hatchett The Huskies head to the Rose Bowl for a game against UCLA on Saturday. Will it be the final time? College football continues to change abruptly, and there’s talk of the Bruins ditching the Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. So this Big Ten matchup (still sounds weird) may be the last for Washington in the iconic venue. There’ll be no sunset behind the San Gabriel Mountains this time. The sun will be long gone behind the horizon when this game between Washington (7-4 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) and UCLA (3-7, 3-4) kicks off 7:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC) for some Big Ten after dark action. “I’m just excited about going out there and playing that game in that stadium,” UW coach Jedd Fisch said. “Beautiful stadium, great locker rooms — two home locker rooms, so you don’t have to worry about a visiting locker room and home locker room. Grass field, and it looks like the weather’s supposed to be elite.” While those conditions may add some extra comfort for the Huskies, the Rose Bowl has not been welcoming to Washington. The Huskies have lost nine of 10 games to UCLA at the Rose Bowl since Jim Lambright’s Huskies won 38-14 on Nov. 11, 1995\. The lone win since then came with Chris Petersen at the helm in 2018, the only time UW played UCLA away during his tenure. Even the great Don James struggled against UCLA. The Dawgfather was 5-8 against UCLA overall, including 1-3 at the Rose Bowl. (James went 2-1 against UCLA at the LA Coliseum.) “I don’t know why that would be,” said Fisch, whose 5-7 Arizona team won at the Rose Bowl in 2022\. “I really don’t. I know we have a lot of players from California. … I think they usually get excited about playing in California, but there’s that added anxiety when you’re pulling into the Rose Bowl and you’re playing Southern California. And, you’ve got the extra tickets, extra distractions, the extra people asking for things, the extra people wanting to see you before the game, after the game, swing by the hotel. “I don’t know what happened in the past there. I just know that we got to be focused in.” ### What is UCLA? It’s been a tale of three seasons for the Bruins. They started 0-4, which included disastrous losses to UNLV and New Mexico that led to the dismissal of head coach Deshaun Foster. Interim head coach Tim Skipper and his offensive coordinator, Jerry Neuheisel, breathed some life back into the season with a shocking — at that moment — win over Penn State to kick off three straight wins. That bubble burst, though, with a three-game losing streak that eliminated UCLA from bowl consideration. The Bruins give up 194 yards per game on the ground, but the offense has used improved play from Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava to cause some teams problems. Iamaleava missed last week’s game against No. 1 Ohio State with a concussion, but is likely to play Saturday. “Nico is as talented a football player as I’ve ever seen,” UW defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. “I didn’t know he was this good. You’re talking about a guy that’s 6-6, can run, can throw — can make every throw.” ### Washington’s New-Look Offensive Line With junior right tackle Drew Azzopardi missing his second straight game, the Huskies will again plug in true freshman John Mills, who started the first nine games at left guard. Redshirt freshman Paki Finau, who narrowly lost the left guard battle to Mills in fall camp, will start there for the second straight game. With starting center Landen Hatchett hampered by a cast on his snapping hand, sophomore Zachary Henning will likely get the nod there again. Sixth-year senior right guard Geirean Hatchett, with new starters on either side of him, rotated with true freshman Champ Taulealea against Purdue on Saturday. He believes his fellow lineman played well in their new spots. “The biggest thing on the offensive line is, all five guys have to be really communicative across the board to each other,” Hatchett said. “So, when you’re not used to playing next to somebody, the biggest thing in practice that whole week is just really focusing on relaying calls to each other, hearing what the center is saying, just getting everybody on the same page.” Despite the changes and youth, Geirean Hatchell believes the group performed well. “I thought we did a really, really great job on Saturday,” he said. “I thought that John and Zach did a great job of keeping us together.” ### New Starters at Receiver The Huskies will most likely be without all three of their first-game receiver starters, Denzel Boston, Raiden Vines-Bright and Rashid Williams. Boston, who suffered a lower-body injury at Wisconsin, is a long shot to avoid missing his second straight game. Vines-Bright remains in concussion protocol after leaving the Purdue game in an ambulance. Williams has already been ruled out for the season. That leaves true freshmen Dezmen Roebuck and Chris Lawson, along with senior Penn State transfer Omari Evans, sophomore Audric Harris and junior Kevin Green as next in line for targets. Fisch also mentioned true freshman Marcus Harris and walk-on Luke Gayton as possibilities. ### Big Ten Picks **Rutgers (5-5 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) at No. 1 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0) -32.5** 9 a.m., FOX Ohio State is a machine, and it’s just a matter of how long the Buckeyes keep the motor running when it comes to the point spread. Ohio State 49-10 **Minnesota (6-4, 4-3) at Northwestern (5-5, 3-4) -3.5** 9 a.m., BTN The Golden Gophers have been inconsistent against mediocre teams, while Northwestern seems to play consistent mediocre football. That makes this a tough pick, but we’ll side with the more known quantity at home. Northwestern 17-13 **No. 15 USC (6-1, 8-2) at No. 7 Oregon (9-1, 6-1) -10.5** 12:30 p.m., CBS I’ve been a USC doubter all season, and this is where we truly find out. It would be fun if the Trojans could find a way to win this one, which would give Washington a chance to be an Oregon CFP spoiler Nov. 29 in the regular-season finale. The Ducks, however, will walk into Husky Stadium with a playoff berth under their wings. Oregon 31-14 **Michigan State (3-7, 0-7) at Iowa (6-4, 4-3) -16.5** 12:30 p.m., FS1 The Spartans’ downfall continued last week as Penn State stumbled into East Lansing and left with a win. Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium isn’t going to help matters for Michigan State. Iowa 24-3 **No. 18 Michigan (8-2, 6-1) -13.5 at Maryland (4-6, 1-6)** 1 p.m., BTN The Wolverines find ways to win close games, while the Terrapins are elite at losing them. Michigan 24-13 **Nebraska (7-3, 4-3) at Penn State (4-6, 1-6) -7.5** 4 p.m., NBC The disastrous Nittany Lions have put up a fight the last couple of weeks, taking No. 2 Indiana to the brink and winning handily at Michigan State. A win keeps Penn State in line for a bowl, and the Nittany Lions just might sneak into one. Penn State 16-13 **No. 21 Illinois (7-3, 4-3) -8.5 at Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6)** 4:30 p.m., BTN So, the Illini are ranked at 7-3 despite a lopsided loss to unranked 7-3 Washington. Interesting. It’s tempting to pick the Badgers, but I hear forward passes are important in today’s college football. Illinois 13-10 Byes: Indiana, Purdue ### The Pick **Washington (7-3, 4-3) -10.5 at UCLA (3-7, 3-4)** 7:30 p.m., NBC In the [preseason preview](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/washington-huskies-2025-football-preview), I picked the Huskies to eke out a 28-24 win. Look below, you can see that my preseason picks are better than my weekly selections. I am very tempted to pick the Bruins here because Washington simply cannot be trusted to hum along on all cylinders away from Husky Stadium. I don’t think UCLA can score the 24 points on Washington’s defense that I predicted pre-season, though. UCLA lacks the physical defensive line of the teams that have beaten UW this year. UCLA’s hopes of reaching a bowl were crushed with a 48-10 loss at Ohio State last week, so motivation could be an issue for the Bruins. On the flip side, this has the look of a trap game for UW with Oregon coming to town next week. Jonah Coleman will almost certainly return to the backfield, though, and Washington’s reconfigured offensive line should be able to do enough to grind out a rare win in the Rose Bowl. **Washington 20-17** **Records** **Last week:** 6-1 straight up, 7-0 against the spread **Season:** 96-19, 72-53 ATS **Huskies picks** (weekly): 7-3, 7-3 ATS **Huskies picks** (from preseason): 9-1, 7-3 ATS