Stanford struggled on offense vs. Notre Dame last weekend and collected its second loss of the season. Friday night against Washington State, the Cardinal will have to find more production against the nation’s top passing offense.
How to watch Washington State vs. Stanford: Game guide, TV schedule, streaming, odds
After a tough road loss, Stanford returns home for a Pac-12 North meeting with Washington State.
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Wazzu leads the nation with 523.0 passing yards per game, nearly 100 more than any other team. The Cougars also figure to enter the game with extra motivation coming off a 60-59 to Cal last weekend. They put up 812 total yards in the process, an NCAA-record 734 of which came from passes by Wazzu quarterback Connor Halliday. The senior finished 49-of-70, and is now on pace for some ridiculous numbers:
Connor Halliday is on pace for 6,104 passing yards and 52 touchdown passes.
— Chris Huston (@HeismanPundit) October 6, 2014
The game will also hold ramifications for the Pac-12 North, as Stanford enters 1-1 in conference play and Wazzu is 1-2. Cal enters the weekend leading the division at 2-1, but with Stanford and two other teams at 1-1, positioning will change by the week.
How to watch, listen, and stream
Game time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Online streaming: WatchESPN
The numbers
Rankings and records: Stanford is 3-2 (1-1 Pac-12), and ranked 25th in the AP Top 25 and 22nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Washington State is 2-4 (1-2) and unranked.
Vegas: Stanford opened as an 18-point favorite and is now a 16.5-point favorite.
Weather forecast: 70s and clear.
Two things at stake
A loss for Stanford would drop the Cardinal to 3-3 entering the thick of Pac-12 play. For poll watchers, the loss to Notre Dame dropped Stanford to No. 25 in the AP Top 25; another would obviously have the Cardinal unranked by mid-October.
For Washington State, a win would provide further validation for Mike Leach’s Air Raid system by shifting the Cougars more toward the right path for bowl eligibility.
One big matchup
Connor Halliday vs. Stanford passing defense: Halliday enters the game following his record-setting performance vs. Cal, though Stanford has the nation’s No. 2 passing defense (107.4 yards allowed per game) and the top scoring defense (8.6 points per game). It’s fair to say that Wazzu will be the most explosive offense Stanford has faced, so the winner of the passing game will likely decide the outcome.
Further reading
For more on Stanford, Rule of Tree is your destination. For more on Wazzu, Coug Center is your one-stop shop.
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