Washington State (2-2, 1-0 Pac-12) at No. 15 Stanford California (3-1, 2-1), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Stanford by 7½.
Series Record: Stanford leads 40-25-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The Cougars look to follow up last week’s home win against Oregon by beating the Cardinal. Stanford tries to bounce back from a 44-6 loss at Washington. The Cardinal have never lost in back-to-back weeks under coach David Shaw.
KEY MATCHUP
Washington State running game vs Stanford D. The Cougars have rushed for at least 200 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2005. They haven’t had any luck on the ground against the Cardinal of late, rushing for 95 yards on 71 attempts the past four years.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Washington State: QB Luke Falk. Falk is the active leader in FBS with an average of 360 yards passing per game. He has two 400-yard passing games this season and threw for 371 last week against Oregon.
Stanford: RB Christian McCaffrey. The Heisman runner-up was held to just 49 yards rushing last week for his fewest in a game since having 19 as a part-time player Nov. 22, 2014, against California. McCaffrey had gained more than 100 yards from scrimmage in the previous 16 games.
FACTS & FIGURES
Stanford has won eight straight in the series and will have the longest win streak ever in the series with another win. … Washington State’s Erik Powell missed a 43-yard field goal as time expired last year to give Stanford a 30-28 win. … The Cougars seek their first win against a top 15 team since beating No. 5 Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl. … Washington State WR River Cracraft has a reception in 33 straight games. … The Cardinal were held under 10 points last week for just the second time in 113 games. … Stanford was held to 29 yards rushing last week in part because of eight sacks. That’s the worst rushing game for the Cardinal since being held to minus-8 yards in 2007 vs. Oregon State. … Stanford QB Ryan Burns has not thrown for more than 156 yards in a game this season.
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AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org
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