PFF grades show that Washington has massive advantage over Michigan on offense

The Washington Huskies' Saturday afternoon affair with the Michigan Wolverines will be one of the biggest games of their respective seasons. Both teams are evenly matched for the most part, have a history with each other, and need this victory to maintain hopes for a Big Ten championship and/or College Football Playoff appearance

Michigan is a 5.5-point favorite playing at home in the Big House, one of the advantages it holds over Washington. However, the Huskies may just hold a major advantage on one side of the ball.

Recently, Husky athletics writer Max Vrooman, whose X handle is "@UWDP_maxvroom," compiled a spreadsheet that compares the PFF (Pro Football Focus) grades for every key player at each starting position for both teams. On offense, the results were pretty intriguing, to say the least. Take a look at the numbers for yourself, and then let's dive into them a little further:

It's clear the Dawgs hold an advantage over the Wolverines on offense. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. grades out nearly 20 points higher than Michigan's freshman phenom Bryce Underwood, who has talent but is still showing some growing pains.

Washington holds the advantage at running back, both between the starters and the backup. Denzel Boston towers over Donaven McCulley at the wide receiver position, with UW's freshmen Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright also being higher graded than Michigan's next best receiver.

The offensive-line grades also favors Washington, albeit with some asterisks. UW's starters on the left side of the line, Carver Willis and John Mills, have both been nursing injuries that caused them to miss last game against Rutgers. Both have a chance to play Saturday, but are currently listed on the injury report as questionable.

Still, Mills' backup Paki Finau is technically better than Michigan's starting left guard Nathan Efobi. The right guard position is the only O-line spot where Michigan has the clear edge -- with Jake Guarnera grading about 10 points higher than Geirean Hatchett.

The only other position where Michigan holds the upper hand over Washington is at tight end, although neither team's player at the position scores particularly well.

PFF grades are based on evaluations of players on every single play, and also takes context into account -- meaning it's a more fair assessment in comparing the two programs currently, as opposed to using traditional stats that don't account for things like strength of schedule and down and distance.