EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 27^th, the (6-1) Washington State Cougars will be on the road to take on the (5-2) Stanford Cardinal.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Stanford 29.4 – Washington State 27.4 with an over/under of 56.8.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Washington State 38 – Stanford 24.

Mark is predicting a final score of Washington State 41 – Stanford 28.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Washington State 400.7 YPG > Stanford 263.1 YPG

Rushing offense: Stanford 91.6 YPG > Washington State 72.6 YPG

Scoring offense: Washington State 40.7 PPG > Stanford 24.9 PPG

Scoring defense: Stanford 20.7 PPG > Washington State 23.3 PPG

Passing defense: Washington State 178.3 YPG > Stanford 252.1 YPG

Rushing defense: Washington State 135.3 YPG > Stanford 152.9 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Stanford +0.3 > Washington State -1.0

Summary:

Washington State is (6-1) to start the season with wins over Wyoming, San Jose State, Eastern Washington, Utah, Oregon State, and #12 Oregon.  Their lone defeat was a 39-36 road loss to USC.  Washington State is coming off a huge road victory over #12 Oregon.  The Cougars rank 13^th in points per game (40.7) and 46^th in scoring defense (23.3 PPG).  Quarterback Gardner Minshew has completed 69% of his passes for 2,745 yards with 23 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Washington State leads the nation in passing yards per game (400.7) but are the second worst team at running the football (72.6) YPG).  Washington State has a trio of receivers in Dovontavean Martin, Dezmon Patmon, and Easop Winston that have accumulated over 400 yards apiece.  The Cougars’ defense ranks 18^th against the pass (178.3 YPG) and 38^th against the run (135.3 YPG).  Washington State ranks 114^th in turnover margin (-1.0).

Stanford is (5-2) to start the season with victories over San Diego State, #17 USC, UC Davis, #20 Oregon, and Arizona State.  They were defeated by #8 Notre Dame in week five and Utah in week six.  The Cardinal rank 100^th in points per game (24.9) and 30^th in scoring defense (20.7 PPG).  Quarterback K.J. Costello has completed 64% of his passes for 1,842 yards with 13 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.  Stanford is averaging fewer than 100 yards rushing per game which is shocking considering they have one of the best running backs in Bryce Love.  Love has battled injury issues and the Cardinal offensive line is not as strong as it has been in recent years.  Stanford has a game breaking receiver in J.J. Arcega-Whiteside who has accumulated 632 yards and 9 touchdowns this season.  The Cardinal defense ranks 99^th against the pass (252.1 YPG) and 61^st against the run (152.9 YPG).

Bottom Line:

This is a clear mismatch on paper with Washington State’s aerial assault against Stanford’s weak pass defense.  Stanford will try to get Bryce Love involved but his impact will be mitigated when they fall behind early.  I expect Gardner Minshew to put up monster numbers as the Cougars get a big victory on the road.

Washington State wins 36-23

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