Rutgers: Kyle Flood was the OL coach at Rutgers (since 2005) but replaced Greg Schiano as head coach in January of 2012 when Schiano left to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Flood led Rutgers to bowl appearances in three straight seasons (won just one) but last year's team was only 4-8 (1-7 in the Big Ten) and with all sorts of off-field distractions, Flood was fired after the season. Chris Ash spent the past two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes win the national championship in 2014. He also coordinated defenses at Arkansas and Wisconsin. Junior Chris Laviano kept his starting QB job (he completed 60.9% last year, throwing for 2,247 yards and 16 TDs), outlasting a trio of competitors. However, Rutgers' No. 1 WR ( Leonte Carroo) was drafted by the NFL. Rutgers opens the season with a shaky defense (34.9 PPG allowed in 2015), one which allowed 46 or more points on five occasions.

Washington: Head coach Chris Petersen had a long run of success at Boise State but is only 15-12 in two seasons with the Huskies. However, there is plenty of optimism in Seattle, as eight starters return from a defense that ranked as the best in the Pac-12 last year (allowed 351.8 YPG) plus the offense is led by QB Jake Browning (passed for 2,955 yards and completed 63.3% while starting 12 games as a true freshman) and RB Myles Gaskin, who rushed for 1,302 yards and 14 TDs as a true freshman.

The pick: The schools have never previously met (note: they will play again next season at Rutgers), with Rutgers coming off a four-win season, which matches its fewest over the past 13 seasons. No. 14 Washington enters a season ranked for the first time since 2003 but this number just seems too high. Note that Washington is only 17-17 as a home favorite the last 10 years! Rutgers is a 10* play.