Washington State Football 2017: 3 Bold predictions vs Washington in the Apple Cup

3. Washington State wins

The Cougars are the higher ranked team but enter this game as significant road underdogs. Washington is favored by 10.5 points in this edition of the Apple Cup. There is some historical precedent for the oddsmakers’ significant leanings. Washington has won the Apple Cup four out of five times since the Pac-10 expanded to become the Pac-12 in 2012. The Huskies lead the series 63-30-4.

It’s foolish to write off history, but those prior teams aren’t stepping on the field this season. Washington State matches up evenly with Washington on both sides of the ball, but offensively the Cougars have been better. Falk has the better of Browning in just about every passing statistic and has nearly doubled his touchdown production (29 of his own compared to 18 for Browning).

Stack all of that on top of the opportunity for the first Pac-12 title in school history and you have all the ingredients you need for an “upset” win by the Cougars. Mike Leach’s squad stunned USC earlier this season and will be intimidated in any way by the atmosphere at Husky Stadium.

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Luke Falk outduels Jake Browning and gives the road team just enough of a boost to come away with the victory. Rivalry weekend is capped off with a stunning road win by Washington State over Washington on Saturday.