When you get this far, it goes without saying that all the teams are excellent. Texas was 12-1. Washington was 13-0. Texas lost against Oklahoma but beat Alabama. Washington beat Oregon (twice) and USC.

I backed Texas in its last game, a blowout of Texas Tech. The Huskies are not the Red Raiders. The Longhorns average 36.2 points a game. The Huskies can score with anyone though. They average 37.7.

The biggest reason that the Longhorns are favored is that they are considered to have a superior defense. Maybe so. But the Huskies are better on that side of the ball than the public realizes. They held 3 opponent to 10 or less. If they couldn't stop a team, the Huskies just outscored them.

Another reason that the Longhorns are favored is that Washington won a lot of close games. The Huskies won 4 games by 3 points or less. Each of their last 9 games was decided by 10 or less. All those narrow margins give people the impression that the Huskies were lucky to win some of those. I like that they won all those close games though. This team finds a way to get it done!

There's also the perception, by many, that the Big 12 is superior to the Pac-12. I disagree. The Pac-12 was stronger this season than people think. There were a lot of good teams and Washington beat every one of them which it faced.

The Longhorns are 1-3 ATS their last 4 tries when playing with 2 or more week's rest. Off their bye this season, they won by only 7 when listed as a 24 point favorite. The Huskies, who beat Oregon when off their bye, are 7-3 ATS their last 10 non-conference games. This game will likely be very close and I'm taking the points. ***BOWL GOY***