Capsule Preview | Washington vs. Washington St., 4 p.m., TV: FSN
at Husky Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m. TV: FSN
Radio: 950 AM; 850 AM; 1090 AM; 1380 AM
The line: Washington by 6 ½
At stake: Both teams are out of the running for winning seasons and bowl games, leaving pride and simply being the champion of the state. WSU is trying to win three of four Apple Cups for just the third time and take some heat off coach Bill Doba, whose job is said to be in jeopardy. UW, which has won two of its past three games, is hoping to finish on a strong note and avoid losing two consecutive Apple Cups at home for first time since the 1983-85 seasons.
What to expect: Jake Locker is back at quarterback for the Huskies, but he might not run as much out of the spread option as he had previously, with the Huskies having success with a two-back power running game last week. Expect a mix of those two schemes with UW picking its spots to throw. WSU’s defense is usually aggressive. The Cougars offense likes to throw, and there’s no reason not to test a Huskies secondary that has been blistered.
Notes: Huskies have a 64-29-6 edge in the series and have won seven of the past nine. … The visitor has won the past two games in the series: UW took a 35-32 victory in Pullman last year and WSU a 26-22 win in Seattle in 2005.
Injuries: UW - FS Jason Wells (knee) out; CB Jordan Murchison (ankle) doubtful; LB Donald Butler (knee), WR Quintin Daniels (knee, hip) questionable; CB Byron Davenport (knee) probable. WSU - RB Marcus Richmond (knee), out; DT Aaron Johnson (back) doubtful; TE Jed Collins (ankle), DE Kevin Kooyman (ankle) questionable; DE Mike Graise (ankle) probable.
Craig Smith’s prediction: Cougars receivers and QB Alex Brink bounce back from Oregon State disaster and feast on leaky Huskies secondary. The key stat will be turnovers, and the winning team will have the fewest. WSU 31, UW 21.
Bob Condotta’s prediction: Easy to think this could turn into a Huskies rout given the events of last week. But this game is almost always close - only three games since 1994 have been decided by 10 points or more, and the past five have been decided by a total of 21 points. Expect another tight one. UW 35, WSU 27.
Quarterback (WSU): How will Jake Locker respond to the first major injury of his career? And how will Alex Brink bounce back from six interceptions last week?
Running back (UW): Suddenly a big edge for the Huskies with the Cougars’ best running back, Dwight Tardy, out with an injury while UW’s Louis Rankin has rushed for at least 200 yards in two of the last three games.
Wide receiver (WSU): WSU’s strong group led by junior Brandon Gibson, who leads the Pac-10 in receiving yards with 1,043, and senior Michael Bumpus (seventh with 729). UW receivers have struggled with consistency and drops; senior Anthony Russo has been the steadiest with 41 catches.
Offensive line (UW): Cougars have been better than advertised, led by senior LG Bobby Byrd. But UW’s unit of late has played the best of any Husky O-line in years, anchored by center Juan Garcia.
Defensive line (UW): Two defenses that have given up rushing yards in bunches. Cougs switched to a 3-4 at midseason to get more linebackers on the field and take some of the heat off the front. UW has struggled here at times but has gotten better of late because of improved play from Greyson Gunheim, Jordan Reffett and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim.
Linebackers (WSU): Cougs like to blitz and get a lot of big plays from this group - sophomore OLB Andy Mattingly leads all players in this game with eight sacks. Huskies have had some injury problems here, hurting consistency.
Secondary (UW): UW ranks eighth in the Pac-10 in pass-efficiency defense, WSU ninth. Huskies should be at full strength this week with CB Byron Davenport back in action. Cougs have first-year players at both corners.
Special teams (UW): Teams are ninth and 10th in kickoff returns and kickoff coverage and each in bottom five in punting.
Bob Condotta, Seattle Times staff reporter
Who has the advantage?
QB
RB
WR
OL
DL
LB
DB
ST
Washington
×
×
×
×
×
Washington State
×
×
×