College Football 2018: 5 reasons to be excited about Rivalry Week

2. Washington at Washington State

The Washington versus Washington State rivalry game is called the Apple Cup. The Pac-12 North’s key matchup of the 2018 season has waited until the final week of the regular season. Chris Petersen’s Huskies will take on Mike Leach’s Cougars at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday night. Washington is 8-3 and ranked 10th per the S&P+ while Wazzu is 10-1 and ranked 20th by the same analytics.

The past five meetings have gone to the Huskies as the Cougs have been beaten handily in the past four. This season Leach has quarterback Gardner Minshew. Minshew has thrown 36 touchdowns with only seven interceptions on the year. If the mustached Minshew can knock off the Huskies the Cougs have a clear argument for the final College Football Playoff spot.

Washington is putting the 9th best defense per the S&P+ across the line of scrimmage from the nation’s 14th most efficient offense. Quarterback Jake Browning has thrown 16 touchdowns while also tossing eight interceptions this season. Huskies running back Myles Gaskin has rushed for 4.9 yards per carry and seven touchdowns in 2018.

Prediction: Washington State by 2