Washington vs. Indiana Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for College Football Week 9

Reed Wallach | 3 Hours Ago

Oct 19, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Tayven Jackson (2) hands the ball off to Indiana Hoosiers running back Justice Ellison (6) during the fourth quarter of a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images / Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Indiana’s undefeated season continues onto Week 9, but not without some adversity. 

The Hoosiers lost starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke for at least this week due to a thumb injury, putting the College Football Playoff contender up against it against a formidable Washington squad on Saturday. Can IU keep its dream season alive at home with Tayven Jackson stepping in under center against a Washington team off of a bye? 

Jackson looked the part in the second half of the Hoosiers blowout win against Nebraska, 56-7, can he lead the team to another victory? 

Here’s our full betting preview: 

Washington vs. Indiana Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Washington: +6.5 (-105)
• Indiana: -6.5 (-115)

Moneyline

• Washington: +190
• Indiana: -235

Total: 52.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Washington vs. Indiana How to Watch

• Date: Saturday, October 26
• Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
• Venue: Memorial Stadium
• How to Watch (TV): Big Ten Network
• Washington Record: 4-3
• Indiana Record: 7-0

Washington vs. Indiana Key Players to Watch

Washington

Will Rogers: Rogers has been rock solid in his first year as the starter of the Huskies, completing 72% of his passes for 1,820 yards with 13 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions. He has faced a strong group of Big Ten defenses already, can he rise to the occasion and stun an undefeated Indiana team that hasn’t trailed yet this season? 

Indiana

Tayven Jackson: Jackson has experience playing for the Hoosiers, seeing time last season in a lost year for the Hoosiers, but he steps in to far higher expectations on Saturday to hopefully maintain the team’s lofty offensive standard. IU is second in the country in points per drive, and Jackson did toss two touchdown passes in the second half against Nebraska. We’ll see what kind of drop-off there is from Rourke to Jackson quickly.

Washington vs. Indiana Prediction and Pick

This is a fascinating matchup with the injury to Rourke making it tough to get a gauge on the state of the Hoosiers’ high powered offense. 

However, Washington is better than its 4-3 record states. The team has been plagued by poor special teams play (133rd out of 134 FBS teams, per Bill Connelly) and a tricky schedule that featured a ton of travel early in the season. 

With that in mind, Jedd Fisch’s bunch ranks top 20 in both EPA/Play on offense and defense. The strength of the Huskies defense comes against the pass, tops in EPA/Pass this season, but the Hoosiers may implement a run heavy gameplan with a dual-threat Jackson at quarterback to try and stay ahead of the sticks. 

While Indiana should find success there, the Huskies are 97th in EPA/Rush, the team is sturdy in close, ranking top 20 in red zone touchdown percentage allowed. 

Meanwhile, the Huskies offense is well balanced, but we’ve seen the team struggle to create explosive plays and score from in close, outside the top 100 in both explosive rush and pass rate while also scoring a touchdown on only 50% of red zone chances. 

I believe we see a conservative game script and this game goes under the total. 

PICK: UNDER 52.5

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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