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WSU football schedule: five opponents ranked in preseason top 25

As usual, the slog of the Pac-12 schedule will be a difficult one for WSU to navigate.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

We've always known the Pac-12 schedule is difficult enough and if the preseason coaches poll is any indication, that certainly holds true for 2015. Five of the nine games WSU will play in their conference schedule are against a team in the preseason top-25, rivaled in difficulty perhaps by just a few SEC teams.

Just two teams in the weaker Pac-12 North are in the top-25, Oregon at No. 5 and Stanford at No. 21. Stanford is viewed as the sleeper pick to win the division next year so I'd expect their ranking to go up by the time they play WSU in Pullman on Halloween.

Lucky for WSU, they miss No. 10 USC this year but pick up No. 14 UCLA. The Cougs will get No. 16 Arizona State in Pullman but have to travel to Tucson to face the other half of the Territorial Cup at No. 22.

Lets make this a little easier to visualize with a schedule table and OHMYGOD, that late October/early November:

9/5 v. Portland State: NR
9/12 at Rutgers: NR
9/19 v. Wyoming: NR
10/3 at California: NR
10/10 at Oregon: 5
10/17 v. Oregon State: NR
10/24 at Arizona: 22
10/31 v. Stanford: 21
11/7 v. Arizona State: 16
11/14 at UCLA: 14
11/21 v. Colorado: NR
11/27 at Washington: NR

Just one brief respite but against a team that has played well in Pullman recently will make for a very difficult five weeks for WSU. Get your wins early and late, gents.

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS 1ST PLACE VOTES PREV CHANGE HI/LOW
1 Ohio State 14-1 1598 62 NR
2 TCU 12-1 1487 1 NR
3 Alabama 12-2 1452 1 NR
4 Baylor 11-2 1365 NR
5 Oregon 13-2 1260 NR
6 Michigan State 11-2 1230 NR
7 Auburn 8-5 1103 NR
8 Florida State 13-1 1057 NR
9 Georgia 10-3 1026 NR
10 USC 9-4 1014 NR
11 Notre Dame 8-5 883 NR
12 Clemson 10-3 838 NR
13 LSU 8-5 727 NR
14 UCLA 10-3 697 NR
15 Ole Miss 9-4 668 NR
16 Arizona State 10-3 577 NR
17 Georgia Tech 11-3 573 NR
18 Wisconsin 11-3 470 NR
19 Oklahoma 8-5 407 NR
20 Arkansas 7-6 377 NR
21 Stanford 8-5 365 NR
22 Arizona 10-4 299 NR
23 Missouri 11-3 229 NR
24 Boise State 12-2 190 NR
25 Tennessee 7-6 166 NR