WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

RECORD: 12-9 overall, 4-5 Pac-10

COMING UP: Today at Stanford, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at California, 7:30 p.m., FSN

OUTLOOK: After a split in the desert, WSU needs at least another to stay in the Pac-10’s jumbled race. First up is the Cardinal (13-6, 3-6), the Cougars’ lone home victim in the conference’s first half. Stanford has lost three Pac-10 games by a single point, including in Pullman, but is coming off a 34-point defeat at the hands of UCLA. California (16-6, 5-4) has struggled lately, losing four of its last five. But the Bears, who defeated WSU 57-50, are 12-1 at home. The lone loss was to Oregon State. That defeat, when Cal was atop the conference standings, is the Pac-10 in a nutshell this season.