It’s been a while, but your Washington State Cougars are back home to welcome the Utah State Aggies for a late night affair. The Cougs are no. 21 in the first installment of the College Football Playoff rankings thanks to a 7-1 record. And if all goes as it should tonight, the Cougs will wake up tomorrow sitting pretty at 8-1.
The College Football Playoff odds are long, but it’s a good thing that the Cougs are in the discussion.
But first! The Cougs need to take care of business against a 2-6 Utah State team coming off a two-point victory over equally woeful Wyoming. The Aggies, shall we say, are very bad. Their defense is being shredded to the tune of 498 yards per game. There are only two teams worse than them on that side of the ball: Oklahoma State and historically bad Kent State.
There’s not much to distinguish between their defense against the rush or the pass—they’re both awful. And on the offensive side of the ball, leading receiver Jalen Royals is injured and done for the season.
Iowa transfer Spencer Petras is at quarterback and has 13 touchdowns to go with seven interceptions in six games. [Howard Cosell voice] However, the Aggies do rank 13th in the nation in yards per game on offense with 458. We’ll see if Royals being absent takes them down a notch, but the WSU defense will need to be on its toes as Utah State likes to go fast.
The Cougs have enough weapons on offense to dice through the porous Aggie defense. The return of Carlos Hernandez has been a boost, and this is the perfect opponent to get the running game back on track.
It’s the Cougs and the Aggies. Talk about it here.
When
This is yet another late night, as this one kicks off under the chilly Pullman sky at 7:30 p.m. Fun fact: This is the last college football game of the day. Let’s end on a high note.
Where
Gesa Field at Martin Stadium for the second-to-last time this season. Plenty of seats are still available.
How to Watch
Another one on The CW with Ted Robinson and Ryan Leaf on the call.
The Line
WSU -20.5, O/U is 69.5
Remember Him?
Lining up for the Aggies is former WSU defensive end Lawrence Falatea, who spent three years in Pullman. Falatea played in 14 games in the crimson and gray but missed all of last year with an injury before transferring to Utah State, which is much closer to his home of Sandy, Utah (I’ve been there!). He’s had limited playing time this season and has 15 total tackles, including two tackles for loss.