After falling just short last year, WSU could upset No. 15 Stanford
Oct 7, 2016, 11:23 AM | Updated: 2:26 pm
(AP)
Remember last year’s Stanford-Washington State game? Erik Powell made five field goals, but everyone talked about the sixth attempt that he missed, allowing the Cardinal to hold on to a 30-28 victory at Martin Stadium on Halloween night.
The Cougars bottled up Christian McCaffrey for the most part, but quarterback Kevin Hogan got free on some surprising runs, and Stanford won a game it probably should have lost.
On that one night alone, Powell made more field goals than he has attempted this year. As you know if you’ve been following the Cougs, our left-footed kicker is 0-for-4. He missed his fourth against Oregon last Saturday, somehow kicking a chip-shot field goal too low, looking like he hit a 3-iron when all he needed was a wedge.
Mike Leach rarely wants to go for field goals when the kicker’s good; now he might not ever go for one the rest of the season. Clearly it’s a mental thing with Powell, and I hope when he gets his next chance, it will be Saturday night to hit the game-winner in Palo Alto.
Can you figure this matchup out? I want to believe the Cougars can win and end their eight-game losing streak to No. 15 Stanford. Washington State is coming off an impressive 51-33 thrashing of the Ducks last Saturday at Martin Stadium, invoking the possibility of an upset this week.
But as good as the Cougars were, you have to wonder if some of that had to do with the Ducks being so bad. Clearly the Cougs, and Hercules Mata’afa in particular, took advantage of an inexperienced Oregon offensive line. And defensively, the Ducks are awful. It was strange and encouraging to see the Air Raid offense run the ball as well as it did.
Oddsmakers think the Cardinal will bounce back from a 44-6 loss to Washington last week, making them seven-point favorites. I’m not so sure about that.
Stanford, maybe because of its reputation, might be getting too much respect in Vegas. The Cardinal are average statistically, and in some cases well below average – they’re last in the Pac-12 in scoring (20.2) and total offense (310 yards) a game. They’re also only fifth in total defense.
Washington State is No. 1 in total offense (549 yards) and No. 2 in scoring (44.2 ppg).
Not that I’m some kind of defensive guru, but everyone knows the key to the game for Washington State is limiting McCaffrey. If someone’s going to beat you, let it be Ryan Burns, the first-year quarterback who didn’t look good against the Dawgs. Then again, the Dawgs have a solid D, and Burns did lead the Cardinal on a late touchdown drive to beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl two weeks ago.
I know we’re not going to run the ball as well as we did against the Ducks, but still, the three-pronged ground game with Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow and James Williams gives the Stanford defense something else to think about. They can’t just go willy-nilly after Luke Falk anymore.
The Pac-12 North could really get interesting if WSU pulls the upset. Currently the Dawgs and Cougs have the only unblemished records in the North, UW at 2-0 and WSU at 1-0. Stanford is 2-1, Cal at 1-1. Oregon State is 0-1, but the Beavers won’t be a factor, and Oregon at 0-2 is shockingly a non-factor too.
Could the Apple Cup in Pullman decide the Pac-12 North. Let’s hope so. Actually, let’s hope not – if we really want to have a Merry Christmas in October, the Cougs will beat the Cardinal and the Ducks will beat the Dawgs on Saturday.
But I’m thinking only one of those outcomes will happen.
Line: Stanford by 7.
Prediction: Washington State 28, Stanford 24
The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.