What a year it has been for Seattle-area sports teams. In terms of Washington sports betting news, there’s no question that recent months have been off the wall, with the return of football being a major reason why. More specifically, people have loved what they’ve seen out of the University of Washington on the football field. With that said, it’s no shock that NCAA betting has been massive for Washington in 2023 thanks to the Huskies.
Last weekend, UW took down Oregon in the Pac-12 title game in one of the best showdowns of the year. With that win, the Huskies are now 13-0 on the year and they’re ranked the No. 2 team in the country, their best ranking since 1997. Because of how great UW has looked this season, people all over the state have been putting down a tremendous amount of money on the Montlake squad.
Not only that, but senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been downright electric, improving his NCAAF betting odds to win the Heisman Trophy each week. Penix, who originally transferred in from Indiana, was in our mind the best quarterback in the conference this year. He’s also one of the best signal-callers in the country. Where will Penix end up being drafted? We can’t wait to find out.
With how well Penix has played, along with the stellar performances from Dillon Johnson, Rome Odunze and others, the Huskies have become a fan-favorite squad for people on the West Coast. In Seattle, people are rushing to get to the local sportsbooks to get their Husky bets in. Over the next few weeks, even more money is going to be placed on Kalen DeBoer’s squad, as they’re still in the hunt to win the National Championship.
2023 PAC-12 CHAMPIONS 🏆☔️#USvsUS pic.twitter.com/0hMslBJfA0
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) December 2, 2023
Washington in the College Football Playoff will result in a lot of wagers
It goes without saying, but Washington in the College Football Playoff will result in a lot of wagers for the state moving forward. For the second time in program history, Washington is in the CFP and fans are ready to see this team try and make history. In 1991, Washington was co-National Champions with the University of Miami. Now, though, it feels like the Huskies have an incredible chance to get the job done.
Last week, Georgia was the No. 1 team in the land, but they lost to Alabama in the SEC title game. Now, the new standings have Michigan at No. 1, Washington at No. 2, Texas at No. 3 and Alabama as the No. 4 squad. Those four teams remain in the hunt to win it all, with the semifinals around the corner. Deboer and Co. are fired up to take on Texas and they could care less that they’re the underdogs for this one.
1. @UMichFootball
2. @UW_Football
3. @TexasFootball
4. @AlabamaFTBLTHE FINAL FOUR TEAM CFP IS SET 🙌 pic.twitter.com/puuMdOJO1I
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 3, 2023
“We’re going to face a great football team in Texas. We need to be at our best in all areas,” DeBoer said of the upcoming showdown against the Texas Longhorns in the National Semifinals. “I’ve caught a little bit throughout the year. But the familiarity comes from the Alamo Bowl a year ago when we played them at the end of the season. Coach Sark (has) just done a great job, continuing to grow the team in Year 3.
What Sarkisian has been able to do with Texas has been great. Sarkisian was previously the head coach for Washington too, which makes this game all the more intriguing. Washington fans would love nothing more than to take down Texas with Sarkisian as their new head coach. This could be a back-and-forth affair and people are checking the NCAAF betting odds consistently to see if things will be shaken up ahead of kickoff. This should be a great contest.
Seahawks are also bringing in a lot of betting attention in 2023
With how great the Huskies have looked, it’s easy to forget that the Seahawks are also bringing in a lot of betting attention in 2023. It’s been an up-and-down year for Geno Smith and the Hawks, which included a loss to the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday night. In that defeat, it looked like Seattle had a great chance to record an upset win, as Geno Smith hit DK Metcalf for three touchdowns on the night.
However, Seattle blew it late and Dallas was able to take advantage. Seattle is still in the hunt to capture an NFC Wild Card spot and they’ve got some big games on the way. However, Seattle needs to clean things up on both sides of the ball as soon as possible. If Seattle makes the postseason, it will be great for NFL betting in the state.
With that said, the Seahawks missing out on the playoffs would be brutal for the local sportsbooks. In terms of the total sports betting handle, local officials are 100 percent hoping that Pete Carroll’s men are able to get the job done. Only time will tell if the Seahawks will be playing beyond Week 17 or not, but they have a great chance to do so. We’ll find out soon enough if that happens.