Washington State Football: Cougs spurn Cal on last-minute touchdown

1. The Pac-12 is a tighter race than Washington State wants to admit

Washington State’s win over Cal kept the Cougars in first place in the Pac-12 North with a 5-1 conference record. Rival Washington sits at 5-2, making the Apple Cup likely a play-in game to reach the conference championship game.

The Pac-12 South is another story entirely. Utah, USC and Arizona all sit at 4-3. Any of those teams could beaten one another on a given Saturday, and that’s more or less the story of this conference thus far in 2018.

Cal sat at 2-3 entering their game with Washington State. Even in defeat, they join a group of 10 Pac-12 teams with at least three losses in conference play. Those that sit above that Mendoza line, Washington and Washington State, have all had their fair share of close calls. Both schools are far from infallible, something that Washington State understands from their struggles to beat Cal.

At the season’s end, there will two teams will meet in the Pac-12 Championship. The winner probably isn’t going to the College Football Playoff. They’ll be lucky to get run over in the New Year’s Six Bowl as a consolation prize.