Apple Cup 2015, Washington State vs. Washington: Time, live stream, TV schedule and 3 things to know

No. 20 Washington State heads west on Friday afternoon to face rival Washington in the 108th edition of the Apple Cup. Washington needs one more win to become bowl eligible, while Washington State could win at least nine games for the first time since 2003 if they prevail.

Washington State has been mum thus far about Luke Falk’s status for the game, but athletic director Bill Moos was “hopeful” he could play. If he can’t go it would obviously be a loss, but Coug fans are pretty confident they can survive without Falk for a game.

For the Huskies, there’s no quarterback uncertainty. Jake Browning has had shaky moments as a freshman, but he solidly looks like the guy going forward, especially after completing 90% of his passes and throwing four touchdowns against Oregon State last week. It’s going to take points to keep up with Washington State, and maybe Browning is rounding into form just in time to pick up the pace.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX

Radio: Washington State | Washington

Online streaming: Fox Sports Go

Spread: No line

Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at CougCenter for Washington State fans and UW Dawg Pound for Washington fans.

1. Luke Falk’s status. Whether Falk plays or not is the biggest factor heading into this game, without question. Peyton Bender was perfectly fine in Falk’s stead, and I’m sure he can do alright with the weapons around him in Washington State’s offense, but Falk has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country this year. If he can’t go, that’s a big loss. Whether it’s too big an obstacle for the Cougs to overcome remains to be seen. Or maybe it won’t.

2. Can Washington keep up? The numbers aren’t as one sided as you would predict, but Washington’s offense is not on the same level as Washington State’s. The Cougs are 33rd in Offensive S&P+ while the Huskies come in at 58th, so if things go sideways for Washington early, it could be a struggle for them to score enough points to turn this into a shootout. They put up 52 points last week against Oregon State, but the Beavers are the worst team in the Pac-12.

3. Does the trend continue? Like lots of rivalries, the Apple Cup exists largely as a series of runs. Washington has won five of the last six games over Washington State, but Wazzu won four of the previous five before that. Washington State looks to have the upper hand this time, but bizarre things happen in rivalry games.