Washington State @ Stanford preview
Stanford Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2009 ) Stanford 39, Washington State 13
The last time Washington State played at Stanford, it lost 58-0. There is little reason to think things will be much different this time.
Emerging quarterback Andrew Luck and the No. 14 Cardinal play host to the undermanned Cougars again Saturday with Stanford looking for its third straight win in the series.
Luck has thrown for 1,538 yards on the year with a 16-to-4 touchdown to interception rate. He helped Stanford rebound from its only loss of the season against No. 1 Oregon by directing a game-winning drive in the final minute against USC two weeks ago.
Nate Whitaker made up for a missed extra point by kicking a 30-yard field goal on the final play to give the Stanford a 37-35 victory.
Whitaker had missed a PAT on Stanford’s fifth touchdown and that appeared to be the difference before Luck drove the Cardinal (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10) down the field.
Trailing 35-34 with 1:21 to play Stanford took over at its 26 with 1:02 left and two timeouts. Luck threw completions to Coby Fleener and Doug Baldwin to get the ball to the USC 31. After Stepfan Taylor carried two times for 21 yards Whitaker was set up in position for his winning kick. He’s made 15 straight field goals.
Luck completed 20 of 24 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns and Taylor ran for 104 yards.
Things have not been going as well for the Cougars (1-6, 0-4), which lost their fifth straight game last week and are five-touchdown underdogs in this one. The Cougars fell to Arizona 24-7 a week ago despite knocking Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles out of the game in the second quarter.
Already playing with a long list of underclassmen, Washington State has also been hit with a ton of injuries. The Cougars added four players to the injury report last week, bringing the total to 11 players who are either out or questionable for Saturday’s contest.
Quarterback Jeff Tuel is one of the healthy ones. Tuel has thrown for 1,735 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Marquess Wilson is his top target. He became the first freshman in school history with four 100-yard receiving games.
Wilson caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown against Arizona.
The Cougars have lost five straight games and continue its march through the top teams in the Pac-10. Stanford will be Washington State’s fourth ranked opponent in the past five games. The Cougars have lost 13 consecutive Pac-10 games and 15 straight against Top 25 teams.
Running back Jared Byers (doubtful) and receiver Jeffrey Solomon and linebacker Micah Hannam are among those on the injury report for the Cougars. Solomon and Hannam are questionable.