This year’s battle for the Apple Cup in Pullman has major implications as the winner of this game between the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars will head to the Pac-12 title game to face either Oregon or USC. The 10-1 Huskies are off a 44-48 home win over Arizona State, while the 8-3 Cougars are off a 38-24 loss at Colorado. This contest has a start time of 3:30 pm EST.
Vegas odds have the Huskies listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 64.5. The game has a start time of 3:30 pm EST and will be televised on FOX.
Breaking Down The Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies have had quite a year as they are 10-1 and sitting just outside the top 4 in the NCAA Playoffs. A win in this game and a win in the Pac-12 Title game just may be what is needed to push them over the top and into the playoffs. Their lone loss of the year was a rather shocking one as they fell 26-13 at home to USC a couple of weeks ago. It was a real clunker of a game for them and if they do miss out on the playoffs, then it will be that loss that does it. They did bounce back last week with a solid 44-18 win over ASU and with the loss that Wazzou had last week, the two are now tied atop the Pac-12 North standings. The winner of this game goes to the Pac-12 Title game. The Huskies have gone 4-0 on the road this year, so playing in foreign territory doesn’t phase them at all. Washington has been led by Jake Browning, who has thrown for 2870 yards and with 37 TDs and just 7 INTs, while also having a big year has been RB Myles Gaskin, who has run for 1130 yards and 9 TDs so far. This is a strong offense that comes in ranked 24th in total yards, 29th in passing 38th in rushing and 4th in scoring, putting up 44.7 ppg. The Huskies also know how to play defense as they have one of the best in the Pac-12. They come in ranked 16th in total yards allowed, 30th vs the pass, 31st vs the run and 12th in points allowed, giving up just 17.9. This defense will be tested vs a very good Cougars offense.
Breaking Down the Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars have had a solid year, but their loss at Colorado last week showed that they still have a little work to do. The Cougars started out their year at 0-2 and then won their next eight games before falling last week by 14 points. Despite that loss, they still have a shot at playing in the Pac-12 Title game. All they have to do is win this game. The Apple Cup game has true importance this year and not just in the Pac-12, but nationally as well. The Cougars have been led by a great offense that comes in ranked 10th in the nation in total yards, 2nd in passing, 111th in rushing and 10th in scoring, putting up 42.5 ppg. Luke Falk has had a strong year at QB as he has thrown for 3935 yards with 36 TDs and just seven INTs. Both he and Browning have similar TD-INT ratios, which should make this a great QB battle. The defense for the Cougars has been better overall than what we have been used to seeing from them, but they still struggle vs the pass, as they are 117th in that category. Browning could have a solid game here. Overall, the Cougars are 66th in total defense 27th vs the run and 51st in points allowed, giving up just 25.5 ppg so far. This should be a fun game all the way around.
Trends: The Huskies have gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Friday games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing less than 275 total yards in their previous game, but just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points. The Over is 10-1 in their last 11 games after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game and 10-2 in their last 12 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
The Cougars have gone 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game and 23-6 ATS in their last 29 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game, but just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games in the series. The Under is 4-1 in their last 5 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game and 11-4 in their last 15 home games.
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