Washington State is hosting Washington in the Apple Cup on Saturday night of Week 4. The game will take place at 7:30 P.M. ET in Pullman, Washington.
The Huskies are 19.5-point road favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 51.5 points. This is a preview, prediction and pick for this Washington vs. Washington State rivalry matchup.
Washington vs. Washington State prediction, preview
Washington State Preview
Washington State is spending another season in no man’s land, without a conference to call home. It has been tough sledding for the Cougars since the Pac-12 was dissolved, but last season, they had the bright spot of John Mateer at quarterback. Mateer is now the Heisman Trophy favorite at Oklahoma, along with last year’s Washington State offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle. Washington State also lost its head coach, Jake Dickert, to Wake Forest during the offseason. This team has had to rebuild from scratch this season and the results have not been great. They clung on to a 13-10 win against FCS Idaho to start the season, got a nice win over San Diego State in Week 2, but were demolished 59-10 last week against North Texas. This is the biggest game of their season against Washington, but it’s hard to see the Cougars being competitive in this game.
Washington Preview
Washington is a dark horse contender for a College Football Playoff spot. Last season, Jedd Fisch’s squad showed signs of promise in its first season under its new head coach. However, they took a couple of inexplicable losses that stopped the team from getting much national attention. One of those losses came in this rivalry matchup against Washington State. In last season’s matchup, they significantly outgained Washington State, but failures in the red zone and John Mateer’s hero plays cost them the game. This season, they are led by sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. Williams is a future star in college football that most of the country is still unaware of. Williams has been great both running and throwing the ball so far this season. Washington is 2-0 on the year, with an early bye week before this game. They should come out firing after two weeks off, ready for revenge against their rivals.
Washington vs. Washington State pick, best bet
The Apple Cup is a great rivalry game, but this year’s game could be quite lopsided. Washington has been the best rushing team in the nation this season. Between standout running back Jonah Coleman and Demond Williams, the offense ranks first in the nation in EPA/rush. They have also been incredibly efficient on key downs, ranking second in the nation in third and fourth-down conversion rate. They should be able to run all over the Cougars, controlling this game from start to finish. This is just a massive mismatch from top to bottom, with Washington ranking third in the nation in net EPA/drive and Washington State ranking 118th. The Huskies should run away with this one and cover the large spread.
