Washington State Vs. Stanford: Game Time For Cougars, Cardinal Arrives On Halloween

Washington State vs. Stanford may be the center of the Pac-12 universe for Halloween. WSU and Stanford will meet on Saturday, October 31 for a game that could decide how the Pac-12 North division turns out this season. A report from Pac-12.com underscores how the winner of this game will take over first place in the North. It also gives the winning school an inside track to making it to the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game.

In the updated Pac-12 standings, the Stanford Cardinal moved to 5-0 in the conference with a one-sided game against the Washington Huskies. That gives Stanford the first place spot and improved the team to 6-1 overall. Just behind Stanford are the Washington State Cougars, as WSU improved to 3-1 in the conference after beating Arizona 45-42 last week. WSU is 5-2 on the season, with a conference loss to the California Golden Bears.

The Washington State vs. Stanford game time is 7:30 p.m. PT on Halloween night. ESPN will provide the live television coverage, putting both Pac-12 schools on the national stage. For Stanford, this is a game that could give the team a huge push in the conference standings. Winning this game would give the school a full, two-game lead over the rest of the schools in the North division. That’s a big boost with just five games left in the regular season.

For WSU, this is a game that could earn the team a lot of respect in the conference as well as the national polls. WSU received votes in the Week 8 AP Top 25 as well as the latest coaches poll, putting the school just outside of the top 25 in both. Playing against No. 8 ranked Stanford, the Cougars could break into the top 25 of each major poll with a Week 8 upset.

The Pac-12 no longer has any undefeated schools, putting the conference in a tough position when it comes to the College Football Playoff. Stanford and Utah are the only schools that still have a realistic shot at getting an invite, but WSU could eliminate Stanford from contention with a win in this game. It could create a scenario where the Pac-12 Championship Game then decides which school will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl.

The Washington State vs. Oregon game time was moved to the night slot in order to have it broadcast on ESPN. There were rumors that ESPN GameDay might decide to visit Pullman for the game, but the producers instead chose to broadcast from the Notre Dame vs. Temple game instead. While the move was disappointing to many Cougars fans, the game hasn’t lost any of the importance that has been placed on it.

If WSU can find a way to beat Stanford on Saturday, the team will become bowl eligible again. The last time WSU made it to a bowl game was in 2013 after finished the regular season at 6-6. WSU played against the Colorado State Rams in the New Mexico Bowl, coming up just short in the 48-45 outcome. Making a bowl game in 2015 would be just the second time that the school has accomplished that goal since Mike Leach became the head coach. Now, the team has its sights set on its first Rose Bowl appearance since 2003 against the Oklahoma Sooners.

The current Vegas line has Stanford favored by 11 points in this game, with the over/under set at 62 points. Over the last three weeks, WSU has scored 45, 52, and 45 points in its three wins. That seems to project that the over/under is a bit on the low side against Stanford. In what might be the biggest game the Washington State Cougars have played in since the 2003 Rose Bowl, the stands will be packed with rabid fans looking for program redemption.

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