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The Washington State Cougars need to win two out of their last three games to reach bowl eligibility for the fifth consecutive season. They face the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, who are in the same situation with three games to play.
This meeting almost feels like a win or pray for a miracle situation for the Cougs and Cardinal. Both face daunting tasks to end the season—WSU heads to Washington to play in the Apple Cup, and Stanford hosts Notre Dame. That puts more emphasis on the next two games, which both teams likely see as more winnable.
WSU has dominated this series as of late by taking the last three, and its offense has been excellent so far this season. That offense hasn’t translated to wins in conference play, as the Cougs has tumbled to a league-worst 1-5 Pac-12 record.
While the Cougs probably have faced the toughest conference schedule in the Pac-12 so far, with four difficult road games, Stanford likely has the toughest schedule overall. The Cardinal have fared better in conference play than WSU—winning three times. Still, they are 4-5 after going just 1-1 in non-conference play, with 1-2 looking highly possible.
Stanford will have its backup quarterback, and is missing two of its starters in the secondary. WSU has just dismissed two members of its secondary, including a starter. Both teams have suffered some bad luck this season, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in Pullman.
Game time: 1:30 pm PT
TV Channel: Pac-12 Network
Stream: Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app on your favorite streaming device (log-in required)
Radio: WSU Learfield IMG Sports Network (TuneIn); OTA channel listings