WA college football preview: Week 9
The Washington State Cougars are coming off a 38-27 road loss to Arizona State last Saturday and now aim to snap a four-game skid with a home game against Stanford.
AP PHOTO/ROSS D. FRANKLIN
MOSES LAKE – With Central Washington on a bye, the Cougars and Eagles will be hosting a pair of California schools on the gridiron this Saturday.
Eastern Washington vs Cal Poly
The Eagles (3-5, 2-3 Big Sky) are coming off of a road loss to Portland State last week where Eastern was gashed on the ground, surrendering 421 yards and six touchdowns in the run game to the Vikings.
This week’s opponent, the Cal Poly Mustangs, aren’t as potent in the run game as Portland State is, though the Eagles will have to prepare for a Mustang passing attack that ranks third in the Big Sky. Mustang quarterback Sam Huard is second in the Big Sky in passing yards per game (236.7) and tied for the lead in touchdown passes thrown with 13.
Cal Poly (3-5, 1-4 Big Sky) is coming off a bye but picked up its first conference win in a 24-17 win over Northern Colorado on Oct. 21.
Eastern is 1-3 in its last three outings, the lone win being a 31-23 victory over Weber State at home on Oct. 21. The Eagles have played well at home this season, losing only one game at Roos Field to No. 4/6 Idaho.
Saturday’s game will be a homecoming for Cal Poly coach Paul Wulff, who patrolled the sidelines at Eastern for eight seasons from 2000-2007, where he amassed a 53-40 record and made the playoffs three times.
Kickoff between the Mustangs and Eagles is at 1 p.m. Saturday. Eastern owns the all-time record against Cal Poly with an 11-2 mark, including a 17-10 road win last fall.
Washington State vs Stanford
The Cougars opened the 2023 season at 4-0 after a 38-35 win over Oregon State and even reached No. 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll but Washington State has lost its last four games, falling to just 1-4 in the Pac-12.
Its most recent loss was a 38-27 game against Arizona State last Saturday, where the Cougars put up just six points in the second half while the Sun Devils ran for 235 yards and five scores against the WSU defense.
WSU will look to take advantage of a Cardinal defense that has allowed the most passing yards per game in the Pac-12 (322.5), a defense that just allowed 369 yards and four touchdowns to UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr in a 42-33 loss to the Huskies. Cougar quarterback Cam Ward is seventh in the country in passing yards this season, having thrown for 2,532 yards and 16 touchdowns through the first nine weeks.
The Cougars and Cardinal kick off at 6 p.m. in Pullman on Saturday. WSU has won the last six matchups against Stanford, including last year’s 52-14 win in Stanford.