No. 16 Washington at No. 8 Washington State (Friday 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX)
Spread: Washington State -3
Utah awaits the winner of this game in the PAC-12 Championship Game next weekend.
Washington has had a disappointing season, entering the Apple Cup at 8-3, but a win over their rivals in Pullman would lift the Huskies to the conference title game, where a win would elevate them to the Rose Bowl. It would be hard for fans in Seattle to be disappointed in a season that ended in Pasadena, regardless of the expectations coming in.
Advanced metrics still see Washington as one of the best teams in the nation; they currently sit 10th in S&P+ and 12th in Sagarin. Their three losses are by a combined 10 points, and they’re a couple of bounces from being in the thick of the playoff race.
Washington State is in the thick of the playoff race, and they’ve been one of college football’s most pleasant surprises. Entering the season, most prognosticators pegged the Cougars as a fringe bowl team near the bottom of the PAC-12. Instead, on the strength of Heisman numbers from senior QB Gardner Minshew, Washington State is a win away from playing in the PAC-12 title game for the first time.
Mike Leach has had a great career, but he has never gotten over the hump and delivered a conference championship at either of his head coaching stops. This is his best chance to do so, but in order to do so, he’ll have to get the Chris Petersen sized monkey off of his back.
Leach won the Apple Cup in his inaugural season in Pullman, but has since dropped five straight, including an 0-4 mark against Petersen. Can Leach finally get the better of Petersen, and lift the Cougars into the PAC-12 Championship Game?
Petersen has been able to stymie Leach’s air-raid, holding the Cougars to 17 points or less in all four meetings, all of which have been routs. Washington doesn’t have the offensive firepower, especially against a surprisingly strong Wazzu defense, to keep up in a shootout, so they’ll have to hope to once again befuddle Leach’s offense.
It has been a special season in Pullman, and I think Minshew and company will make enough plays to pull out a close win, clinching a spot in Santa Clara next week.
Pick: Washington State 31, Washington 27