No. 8 Stanford (6-1, 5-0 Pac-12) vs. Washington State (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12)
Michael Peterson: Stanford 49, Washington State 38
We’re about halfway through Pac-12 conference play and the Cougars still control their own destiny. That’s a huge accomplishment for Mike Leach and the improving Washington State program, and Stanford should not take the Cougars lightly. Washington State boasts the nation’s second-best passing offense and can score with the best of them. That being said, the Stanford offense is on a historically great pace — excluding the Northwestern game, the Cardinal score on average about 15 more points than the opposing defenses typically allow. Extend that statistic to the upcoming game and Stanford would be projected to score 46 points on Washington State. Though the Cougars’ offense will put Stanford’s still-young secondary to the test, it’s hard to imagine Stanford’s defense bending enough to allow the Cougars to outscore the Cardinal. A fired-up Martin Stadium helps Wazzu hang close early, but Stanford pulls away comfortably late to remain undefeated in conference play, avoiding the trick and coming away with the treat on Halloween night.
Vihan Lakshman: Washington State 55, Stanford 49
Raise your hand if you circled this game at the beginning of the year as a de facto Pac-12 North Championship.
After they both suffered inexplicable losses in Week 1, Stanford and Washington State have turned around their seasons to the point that this game is loaded with more consequences than even the most ardent homer would dare to predict. Martin Stadium, a place Mike Leach has described as “on the scale of Woodstock,” will be absolutely electric on a wet Halloween night. Moreover, the Cardinal have historically struggled in hostile environments of this magnitude and no one on this roster has seen game action in Pullman.
In what promises to be a shootout of epic proportions, Luke Falk throws for over 600 yards against a green Stanford defense while Christian McCaffrey again racks up 300 all-purpose yards. Ultimately, the Cougs’ defense feeds off the home crowd to pull off a late stop to seal the deal and allow Wazzu to take control of the North. Meanwhile, Leach may or may not emerge from the tunnel in a pirate costume.
Andrew Mather: Stanford 65, Washington State 64 (OT)
It’s easy to look at Luke Falk’s numbers this year and think that Washington State is still basically the same team as it was with Connor Halliday at the helm. That isn’t necessarily wrong – both teams have utilized an unmistakably Mike Leach offense – but it also doesn’t really tell the full story of the current squad. The Cougars are spreading the ball out much more effectively than they have in recent years, hitting a number of receivers effectively and even finding some success on the ground. Add that improved distribution to an experienced offensive line and an atmosphere that Leach thinks will compare favorably to Woodstock, and we might just have a classic on our hands. I see Stanford starting out a little stale the week after becoming the heir apparent to the Pac-12 title and, in its rush to catch up, opening up this game into a shootout for the ages. Wazzu ultimately falls short when Leach listens to his assistant and misses a two-point conversion in overtime, but not before it puts on a spectacular Halloween show and makes GameDay regret not making the trip.
Go for two, or whatever… pic.twitter.com/rnKRnOTnyf
— WSUFootballBlog.COM (@WazzuFBBlog) October 11, 2015
Do-Hyoung Park: Stanford 56, Washington State 21
So Washington State is 5-2 right now with losses to Portland State and Cal but wins over Oregon and Arizona. Just how they drew it up, right? I love Mike Leach, I love his swashbuckling pirate antics and I love that glorious Washington State flag that’s graced the campus of every College GameDay for longer than I can remember. It’s great to see the Cougs doing well again. But there’s just no way they win this game. They rank last in the Pac-12 with 5.06 yards allowed per rush, which means, for all intents and purposes, that it’s going to turn into one of these games:
Here it comes pic.twitter.com/SmFuwlaUja
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) October 25, 2015
For as good as Washington State’s offense has been this season, there’s just nothing the team can do to stop Christian McCaffrey and the offensive line from having another 180-yard day on the ground. And I have much more faith in Stanford’s defense getting stops against the Air Raid (which the Cardinal have absolutely shut down over the last few years) than I do in Mike Leach’s philosophy of “the best defense is a good offense.” Give me 300 more all-purpose yards from McCaffrey, two deep touchdowns from Kevin Hogan and a glorious recurring cameo from our old pal:
