Is this a big day at WSU?

It’s just another Saturday in the college football season, right? Nothing important happening today, right? What, it’s Apple Cup Saturday? And it’s a big deal? Well, OK. I’ll take your word on it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a big day of notes and links, so read on.

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• Washington State: This week we’ve started each day with a weather report. Why change? It’s cold. Clear and cold. About 22 degrees this morning when we got up and should be about 27 at kickoff. But no snow, unless Bill Moos has hired a plane to seed the few clouds outside. … Let’s start with last night’s basketball game. Here is our story which covers the nuts and bolts. And here is John Blanchette’s column. … Bud Withers had this story in the Times, Brian Floyd had this coverage at CougCenter and here is the AP coverage. If it wasn’t Apple Cup day, I would probably sit down and go into the chance for a eye-opening upset the Cougars’ squandered, but we have to move on or this post won’t be up until noon. … And we move on to football. … We have our advance which centers on the running game on the UW side and Jeff Tuel on the WSU side. Guess you could say those are the two elements I see as being crucial for each team today. … We also look at four other areas that are crucial. … This Apple Cup holds special significance for Washington and the Times’ Bob Condotta believes the Huskies will win. … Todd Milles has this advance in the News Tribune. … Finally, we wanted to share again Moos’ letter to donors about Martin Stadium.

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• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com’s Ted Miller shares the injury report and examines Jeff Tedford’s future. … San Jose’s Jon Wilner picks WSU, but, remember, he’s not much over .500 this season. … Washington: We covered the Huskies above. … Oregon State: Which Beavers will be key today? … Both teams have a lot to play for. … Oregon: The Ducks’ owner, er, main booster talks with the Oregonian. … The Ducks say they are not looking past OSU. … Cal: Another take on Tedford and his future. … Stanford: The Cardinal expect to play in a BCS bowl. … USC: This rivalry game still has some meaning … UCLA: … except it only matters in LA. … Arizona State: No waiver for the Sun Devils, so no bowl game. … Arizona: The Wildcats are going bowling, but where is still up in the air.

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• That’s it for this morning. We’ll be back before the game today. Until then …