Washington State Cougars

No. 4 Washington insists focus is solely on Wazzu

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After clinching a spot in the Pacific-12 Conference championship game with a 22-20 victory at then-No. 11 Oregon State last week, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was asked whether the Huskies might overlook this week’s Apple Cup to focus on the title game. Penix was incredulous. “It’s the Apple Cup. What you mean? We can’t lose that,” Penix said. “That’s one of the biggest games for Husky Nation, with the whole tradition and everything. We’re

Colorado, Washington St. racing to escape nosedive

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Back in September, a primetime matchup between Colorado and Washington State would have been off the charts. The Buffaloes, under first-year coach Deion Sanders, won their first three games of the season and were ranked 18th in the Top 25. The Cougars opened with four straight victories and reached No. 13. Those good times are long gone and Friday night in Pullman, Wash., the Buffaloes and Cougars meet to see who can escape the Pacific-12

Reeling teams clash as Cal hosts Washington State

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Two reeling teams with fading bowl hopes square off Saturday when Cal hosts Washington State in Berkeley in the last home game of the season for the Golden Bears. After starting 4-0 and ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll, Washington State (4-5, 1-5 Pac-12) has lost five consecutive games following last week’s 10-7 defeat to Stanford at Pullman, Wash. Cal (3-6, 1-5) suffered its fourth straight loss — all against ranked teams

Washington State, Arizona State move on from heartbreaks

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Washington State and Arizona State are both coming off competitive losses last week on the road against two of the Pac-12’s best teams, Oregon and Washington, respectively. The struggling teams will meet on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. The Cougars (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12) fell 38-24 to the then-No. 9 Ducks after trailing by only a touchdown until 3:56 remained in the third quarter. The Sun Devils (1-6, 0-4) took the No. 5 Huskies down to the

No. 9 Oregon seeks better execution vs. Washington St.

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Washington State and No. 9 Oregon will both try to rebound from difficult losses when they meet in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. Which defeat was more devastating remains to be seen. The Ducks fell 36-33 at then-No. 7 Washington last Saturday as Camden Lewis’ last-second, 43-yard field-goal attempt sailed just wide of the right upright. Meanwhile, Washington State was blown out 44-6 by Arizona the same day in Pullman, Wash. It was the second

No. 19 Washington State ready for determined Arizona

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Arizona has competed well against top 10 teams in back-to-back weeks, with the Wildcats’ task not getting any easier in a matchup against No. 19 Washington State on Saturday at Pullman, Wash. Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) lost to then-No. 7 Washington 31-24 at home on Sept. 30 before falling 43-41 in three overtimes at then-No. 9 Southern California on Saturday night. The Wildcats outgained the Trojans 506-351. “When you watch how our team played, what

UCLA braces for No. 13 Washington State’s air attack

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UCLA must find a method to stop quarterback Cameron Ward when the Bruins host No. 13 Washington State in a Pac-12 game on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl. Ward has completed 106 of 142 passes for 1,390 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception this season. He came into the week ranked 22nd in the FBS in passing yards, 10th in completion percentage (74.6) and tied for 11th in touchdown passes. Thanks to him,