College football Week 9: 5 best games of the week
By Cephas Evans
(14) Washington State at (24) Stanford – 7:00 p.m. ET – TBD
Is Washington State the team to beat in the Pac-12? After a big win over Oregon, the Cougars have moved up to the 14th spot in the AP poll and are the remaining 1-loss team in the Pac-12.
Washington State jumped out to a 27-0 lead over Oregon going into half time and held on in the second half despite a couple turnovers. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was enough to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Pac-12. Quarterback Gardner Minshew has been lights out, throwing for 2,745 yards and 23 touchdowns this season. That said, Minshew is somehow not being considered a Heisman candidate by the media, which should fire him up heading into the home stretch of Pac-12 play.
Although Stanford has only two losses on the season, they have not been the team we’ve seen in the past. The Cardinals have struggled against the pass and rank near the bottom in passing yards allowed in the Pac-12. However, the biggest surprise has been Stanford’s inability to rush the football. What many have come to expect from the Cardinal offense is a consistent rushing attack and with Bryce Love no one expected anything different, but this team enters the game averaging only 84 rushing yards per game, which ranks 127th in the nation.
Stanford is just not the team they have been over the past few years and it should show again this weekend. Washington State will win this game outright and sit atop the Pac-12 with their in-state rival Washington.