The Pick: Who will win the Apple Cup?

PULLMAN – Very little about the 2016 football season has played out like I, or many others, predicted. The Oregon Ducks jumped out of their nest and forgot how to fly, falling splat at bottom of the conference.

UCLA’s season was a dud, and the Washington State Cougars lost to another FCS team.

And yet, here is what I wrote for the Apple Cup back when I made my preseason predictions on Aug. 29th:

Week 13: Apple Cup – An incredibly nervous game for both sides, since neither offense is able to get much going on the other’s defense. The score is deadlocked at 10 each entering the fourth quarter, and both teams manage a touchdown. With just one second left on the clock, Erik Powell lines up for a 50-yard field goal. He nails it, giving WSU a win and a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game. WSU 20-17

Final record: (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12)

That prediction has held up, although a WSU record would change the final conference record a bit. I see no reason to change it now. I’m riding this preseason prediction all the way until the season’s end.

The spread: UW by 6

The pick: WSU 20-17