PULLMAN, Wash. — It's Pac-2 championship week, at least that's what some are calling No. 21 Washington State's matchup against No. 14 Oregon State this weekend.
However, the Cougs this game at face value. A 14th ranked team coming to town, looking to hand WSU its first loss of the season.
"I know nationally, you know, we're together and we're going to be rebuilding the Pac-12 and all those things, but on the field, it's not going to be that friendly," WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. "It's gonna be aggressive. It's going to be physical. They want to win. We want to win."
The Beavers can run the football. That's no secret. They've averaged 219 yards on the ground per game. Coach Dickert believes the key to a win will be up front.
"There's a physicality they bring to both sides of the football on the line of scrimmage. We got to match it. Our strain, our finish, our pad level when we're tired, will lead to success. And that is like old school toughness. And we have it too," Dickert said.
Saturday's matchup marks the beginning of Pac-12 play for Washington State, in essence, the start of a new season.
"I think every player is going to come to this afternoon's meeting when we introduce the next opponent, they understand, they know what we're talking about. We talked about right after the game, we're starting conference play," Dickert said. "It's going to be challenging every week and Oregon State's this opponent and that's the target and we got to work hard to get this one."
Washington State and Oregon State kickoff at 4 p.m. this Saturday in Pullman. The game is nationally televised on FOX.