The Washington State Cougars take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Virginia. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on The CW.
Virginia is favored by -17 points on the spread with a moneyline of -850. The total is set at 56.5 points.
Here’s my Washington State vs. Virginia prediction and college football picks for Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Washington State vs Virginia Prediction
- Washington State vs. Virginia Pick: Washington State +17
My Virginia vs. Washington State best bet is on the Cougars to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Washington State vs Virginia Odds
| Washington St Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+17 -110 | 56.5 -110o / -110u | +575 |
| Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-17 -110 | 56.5 -110o / -110u | -850 |
- Washington State vs Virginia point spread: Virginia -17
- Washington State vs Virginia over/under: 56.5 points
- Washington State vs Virginia moneyline: Washington State +575, Virginia -850
Washington State Cougars Betting Preview: Improving But Still Inconsistent
The narrative surrounding Washington State football changed in a big way in Week 7. The Cougars went to Ole Miss and played the Rebels to a 27-24 result, easily covering a 33.5-point spread.
Although the result can partially be chalked up to a comedy of errors from Ole Miss — it came up empty three times inside Washington State's 30-yard line — Wazzu was opportunistic with the turnovers.
Since making a switch at quarterback, the Cougars' offense has been much better. Zevi Eckhaus was the expected QB1 to begin the season, but Jaxon Potter was announced as the starter in a surprise move. Under Potter, Wazzu's offense floundered in two of three games and Eckhaus eventually overtook him.
The issue on offense is that there's no change of pace. The run game is ineffective — leading rusher Kirby Vorhees has four fumbles already — so when Eckhaus isn't firing, this offense grinds to a halt.
The current season cap on points has been 24, scored both times in losses against Washington and Ole Miss. It's an improved unit, but only marginally so.
Defensively, Washington State has been inconsistent. There's a clear divide between performance against good offenses (Washington, North Texas) and bad offenses (Colorado State) and the results associated with each.
But at any given time, this defense can implode. (See: 28 fourth-quarter points surrendered to the Huskies or in the second quarter against UNT).
These "flash fry" quarters come between the marriage of inopportune turnovers on offense and a below-average defense that spends too much time on the field.
Washington State fields one of the worst tackling teams in the entire country. Safety Caleb Francl, an FCS All-America transfer, leads the team with 16 missed tackles, while linebacker Anthony Palano (the team's second-leading tackler) has 14 whiffs.
The second level of the defense misses too many tackles that leads to chunk plays and continuing drives. Tackling usually isn't an issue that fixes midseason.
The slate of games to close the season is tricky and features conference frontrunners like Toledo, Louisiana Tech and James Madison, plus this week at Virginia. There's a path to bowl eligibility, but it's an uphill path to say the least.
Virginia Cavaliers Betting Preview: On Track for Double-Digit Wins
On the shortlist of 2025 surprises are the Virginia Cavaliers. Ranked inside the AP top 20, Virginia is on track to finish the season with 10+ wins and is well in contention for a spot in the ACC Championship game.
It comes off a bye week, but that follows overtime wins over Florida State and Louisville – its two toughest opponents by far on the schedule.
A resurgent Chandler Morris leads a Cavaliers offense that's inside the top 25 nationally in both points per drive and available yards gained. The Hoos get off to fast starts and have controlled several games by halftime.
Although Morris grabs the headlines, running back J'Mari Taylor has been one of the ACC's best with 465 yards (second in the ACC) and eight touchdowns (first).
Despite missing two starting offensive linemen — preseason starting tackle Makilan Thomas hasn't played yet this year and center Brady Wilson missed the last two games — UVA's front has been pretty good.
Morris is the second-least sacked quarterback in the ACC (behind Carson Beck), due in part to his escapability, but also because the line holds up well even against better fronts.
The defense deserves a serviceable amount of credit for the hot 5-1 start, too.
It caved a bit against the conference's best running back (Hollywood Smothers) en route to a 35-31 loss to NC State, and a second quarter got away from Virginia against Florida State, but outside of those two instances, it's been solid.
Where the defense thrives is on critical late downs. The Hoos stand 20th in late down Success Rate allowed, emphasized in overtime with a late pass breakup and subsequent field storm against the Noles in Week 5.
That secondary, led by junior Ja'Son Prevard (two interceptions) and veteran transfer Devin Neal (two PBU), could be enough to cement Virginia as a contender for a College Football Playoff contender.
After all, the ACC runner-up with an 11-2 record made its way into the CFP just last season. Virginia is almost certainly favored in all its remaining games.
Washington State vs Virginia Pick, Betting Analysis
Virginia opened a -16.5 favorite and climbed to -17, but it hasn't gone past that number. The total was bet up from 54.5 to 56.5, as well.
Virginia secures its first bowl berth since 2021 with a victory this weekend, but UVA's sights are set on bigger prizes at 5-1 and with no obvious losses on the remainder of the schedule. Rather, the Hoos are in hot pursuit of an ACC Championship bid.
This week marks the second of back-to-back road games crossing the Mississippi River for Washington State. That's not a great travel schedule for the athletes making that long of a flight four times, but such is life for Wazzu and Oregon State in this Pac-12 purgatory.
Virginia notably comes off its bye week and plays in the friendly confines of Scott Stadium.
However, the Hoos did head into the bye coming off back-to-back overtime thrillers against Florida State and Louisville. Those victories launched UVA up ACC odds boards to as short as +850 to win the league title.
Since Washington State made the switch from Potter to Eckhaus, it's been a more competitive football team. The 59-24 result with Washington was a result of a late 28-point surge from the Huskies; up until that point, it was a one-score game.
Wazzu also remained competitive in the Ole Miss game, self-inflicted wounds for the Rebels or not.
It's not the most fun bet to make on the board this week, but numbers say take Washington State at +17. It's hung with some tough opponents under Eckhaus, and Virginia hasn't blown many opponents out early on.
Be sure to hold your nose here.
Pick: Washington State +17 (Play to +17.5)
