Stanford Cardinal vs Washington State Cougars Odds
| Stanford Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13.5 -115 | 58.5 -110o / -110u | +380 |
| Washington State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13.5 -105 | 58.5 -110o / -110u | -550 |
The Stanford Cardinal make their final trip to the Palouse for a matchup with the Washington State Cougars in some Pac-12 After Dark action.
Both of these teams are struggling in a big way at the moment. Wazzu, once ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll, has lost four games in a row and really hasn't looked good in league play. Meanwhile, Stanford is riding a two-game losing skid and sits at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings with a 1-5 conference record.
Something has to give in Pullman, and here's a look at the odds and a pick for Stanford vs. Washington State.
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford is in the running for the worst team in the Pac-12, and yet its recent play has generated some optimism around the program. The Cardinal had a huge comeback in their double overtime win over Colorado three weeks ago and hung around with No. 5 Washington until the final minutes last Saturday.
Their offense is starting to turn the corner. Wide receiver Elic Ayomanor burst onto the scene against Colorado with 294 yards and three touchdowns, and has followed that up with 236 yards in his last two games.
Freshman wideout Tiger Bachmeier is also playing better in recent weeks, and that's been really beneficial to quarterback Ashton Daniels, who's averaging 343.6 passing yards in his last three games.
Stanford's biggest problem has easily been its defense, and it doesn't look like that problem will be fully solved this season. The Cardinal are hovering around No. 130 in Action Analytics' defensive metrics, and that's a very bad place to be.
Their defensive ineptitude is obvious on the scoreboard. Stanford has given up at least 42 points in each of its last four games and is allowing 37.5 points per game, which is the worst of any Power Five program.
Unsurprisingly, the Cardinal defense has forced only five turnovers this whole season.
Washington State Cougars
Boy, things really went awry for the Cougars in October. It was less than a month ago when Wazzu walked into the Rose Bowl ranked No. 13 in the country, and since then, the Cougs have been free-falling like Tom Petty.
After getting run over by a below-average Arizona State team on Saturday, Washington State should be desperate to get back on track in pursuit of a bowl game. Thankfully, it at least has a good quarterback in Cam Ward.
Ward hasn't been perfect during the losing skid, but he's not even close to the main issue. He's thrown for 2,532 yards, 16 touchdowns and three interceptions, and is also the team's second-leading rusher with 166 yards and five touchdowns.
It also helps that he has a talented trio of wide receivers in Kyle Williams, Lincoln Victor and Josh Kelly, who have combined for 1,674 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Washington State's offense has been bogged down by a lack of an effective running game. The Cougs average just 3.2 yards per rush and leading rusher Nakia Watson just cracked 200 rushing yards in the last game. Even though WSU is 30th in Rush Success Rate, the running game just hasn't been there in Pac-12 play.
There's little difference between these two defenses right now. Fresh off of giving up 235 rushing yards to ASU, the Cougars are 113th in Rush Success Rate Allowed. In fact, Wazzu has surrendered at least 174 rushing yards in every Pac-12 game so far this season.
It's secondary isn't much better at 79th in Pass Success Rate Allowed.
Stanford vs Washington State
Matchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Stanford and Washington State match up statistically:
Stanford Offense vs. Washington State Defense
 | Offense | Defense |  Edge |
| Rush Success | 39 | 113 | |
| Line Yards | 125 | 90 | |
| Pass Success | 89 | 79 | |
| Havoc | 123 | 58 | |
| Finishing Drives | 79 | 111 | |
| Quality Drives | 72 | 115 | |
Washington State Offense vs. Stanford Defense
| Offense | Defense | Edge |
| Rush Success | 30 | 130 | |
| Line Yards | 119 | 124 | |
| Pass Success | 38 | 129 | |
| Havoc | 76 | 133 | |
| Finishing Drives | 54 | 133 | |
| Quality Drives | 46 | 125 | |
Pace of Play / Other
| | |
| PFF Tackling | 60 | 102 |
| PFF Coverage | 129 | 92 |
| Special Teams SP+ | 44 | 14 |
| Middle 8 | 119 | 36 |
| Seconds per Play | 26.7 (64) | 25.3 (42) |
| Rush Rate | 50.2% (108) | 40.2% (128) |
Stanford vs Washington State
Betting Pick & Prediction
Frankly, I'm surprised to see that Washington State is a 13-point favorite in this game (-13.5 on BetMGM). I get that the game will be played on a chilly, rainy night in Pullman, but the Cougars haven't been good enough to justify being favored that much against any Power Five team.
We just saw Wazzu lose by 11 points to Arizona State, a team that's roughly on the same level as Stanford. While that was a road game for the Cougars, it was still a concerning result for a team that would like to make a bowl.
Neither of these teams are good, so why is one favored by almost two touchdowns? Stanford has improved throughout the season and should be able to keep this one close, so take the Cardinal to cover.
