PULLMAN, Wash. — We are heading into the Pac-12 slate for WSU this week. Now that we're three games into the year, I want to revisit my predictions for the team heading into the season and add a prediction about Anthony Gordon's play.
UNDEFEATED AT MARTIN STADIUM
I picked WSU to win, but I said that Stanford may be a tough game for the Cougs.
Yeah, I'm going to rescind that.
Stanford has one win over Northwestern and that's it right now. They lost to a USC squad that lost to BYU and Stanford had another blowout loss to #17 ranked UCF last weekend.
So this means that I think the Cougs will go undefeated at Martin Stadium this year.
Their remaining games at home are against Stanford as I said, UCLA, Colorado, and Oregon State. Those four teams have a combined four wins this season, and only one of those wins is over a power five team. If you go to a WSU game in Pullman this year, you're probably going to leave happy.
ROAD WARRIORS
So that leads us the games on the road.
By the way, did you know that as of right now every game the Cougs will play on the road from here on out will be against a ranked team? Yeah, this is the toughest road slate of anyone in the Pac-12 easily.
Let's get two things out of the way. I think they win at Arizona State and lose against the Huskies. I'm gonna pick the Huskies to win until WSU wins that game. Period.
UTAH
Let's go through the road games chronologically. The first tough game here is Utah.
I am picking WSU to win this game in Salt Lake City.
Here's why: Yes, the Utes have a very good defense, but their bread and butter is rushing defense, which they rank seventh in in the country. Obviously WSU hardly rushes the ball. Where is Utah ranked on passing defense? 26th. They've played BYU, Northern Illinois, and Idaho State. Not exactly passing powerhouses. WSU will absolutely outscore the Ute's offense if they can get past their defense.
OREGON
This one feels like the biggest toss up to me on the schedule. The Ducks have similar numbers to the Utes on passing defense, but have a much better offense than Utah. Because of that and because it's at home, I'm giving it to Oregon. But WSU has had the Ducks number the last few years, so I wouldn't be surprised if it goes either way.
CAL
Straight up, I think Cal is going to beat WSU. This is based on the fact that:
- The Cougs haven't won in Berkeley since 2013
- The Cougs barely beat Cal last year at home
- Gonzaga Prep's Evan Weaver always goes off against Washington based schools
Against Washington two weeks ago, he had 18 tackles and one forced fumble. Last year against UW, he had 11 tackles and one interception returned for a touchdown. Last year against WSU he had 10 tackles and one interception.
I think just between the fact that this game is away, Cal has always been a thorn in the Cougs side, and that it's Evan Weaver's final game against a team from the state of Washington, this is going to be a tough task.
So my prediction right now is that the Cougs finish 9-3 and probably end up at the Holiday Bowl again.
ANTHONY GORDON
But I did mention I had one more prediction concerning Anthony Gordon.
I think he ties Gardner Minshew's 300 yard passing games record he set last year. Gardner had 300 yards passing in 11 games last season. I think Gordon does that again if you add in the bowl game. I think the two games he throws below 300 are Cal and UW. By the way, Gardner really should have 12 games with 300 or more passing yards, as he threw for 299 yards in the Alamo Bowl.