Stanford Cardinal vs. Washington State Cougars
Saturday night, Week 9 of the college football season will be capped off with a huge match up in the Pac-12, as the Stanford Cardinal go on the road to the hostile environment of Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars. Stanford is coming into this one with a record of 6-1 on the year, while Washington State comes in at 5-2.
Details for Saturday’s game are below.
Date: Oct. 31
Start Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Pullman, Washington
Stadium: Martin Stadium
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN app
Radio: For Washington State affiliates, click here. For Stanford affiliates, click here.
Keys to Victory
Stanford
Since losing the opening weekend of the season to Northwestern, this Cardinal team has been on an absolute tear. While we normally have lauded Stanford for their defense, it’s their offense that’s been clicking on all cylinders throughout this run. In this one, though, defense is the focus, especially in the passing game. Mike Leach’s Washington State offense is averaging 36.4 points per game, so the key here for Stanford is not letting them get into a rhythm. When you get into a shootout with Washington State, you never know what could happen, so forcing some turnovers early and jumping out to a big lead is essential here for the Cardinal.
Get the ball away from Washington State and let Christian McCaffrey, Kevin Hogan and the rest of the Stanford offense do their damage against a Washington State defense that’s giving up 426.3 yards per game.
Washington State
The Stanford offense has been so efficient because, week in and week out, McCaffrey has been more than stating his case for the Heisman. While it sounds like a tall order, this sub-par Washington State defense needs to do all it can to limit his opportunities in the open field, especially catching the ball out of the backfield. When McCaffrey starts to get loose, the Cardinal offense opens up to a whole other level, and that’s where they put you away.
Washington State will get theirs on offense, but this defense needs to keep McCaffrey in check as much as possible here on Saturday night.
Odds
Point Spread: Stanford -10.5
Moneyline: Stanford -400, Washington State +325
O/U: 61
Prediction
You have to give all the credit in the world to Mike Leach for getting this Washington State team on track here, but that will all come to an end on Saturday night. This Stanford team, now No. 8 in the country, is simply on a mission here in 2015. They clearly look like the best team in the Pac-12 and one of the best teams in the country as they look to be this year’s version of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Against this Washington State defense on Saturday, McCaffrey will wow us all once again and the Cardinal will run away with this one.
Final Score: Stanford 52, Washington State 28