"Washington, in their last game, really should have beat Rutgers," Klatt said. "Meanwhile, Michigan has eeked out back-to-back three-point wins over USC and Minnesota. They almost blew those leads in both of those games in the second half, and the question becomes, can Michigan continue to win with minimal to no downfield passing?"

Less than nine months ago, Washington and Michigan met with a national championship on the line in a traditional matchup between the Pac-12 and Big Ten that evoked the history of those two conferences.