Apple Cup Scouting Report

3:30 p.m., Martin Stadium, Pullman

Offense Washington State: The one thing the Cougars have been able to do all season is move the ball. Even with Matt Kegel at quarterback, they still have bigplay ability. If the offensive line, tight ends and blocking back can give Kegel protection, the Cougars should once again be able to move the ball through the air. The Washington cornerbacks cannot match up with Milton Wynn and Marcus Williams. Another key will be the willingness of Kegel to throw the ball away when necessary. The freshman has not thrown an interception in 63 career pass attempts. Any mistakes against the Huskies will be costly.

Washington: The Huskies will attack the Cougars with their ground game. Washington has six seniors it can rotate across the front line. The line, which averages more than 300 pounds per person, is the biggest the Cougars have faced all year. For a young defensive line that is just learning how to use its physical ability, that spells trouble. The tailback situation for UW cleared up late this week when freshman Rich Alexis shook off a bad shoulder and began to practice. Alexis (60 yards per game) is a physical runner and with a couple of good blocking schemes could give the Cougars fits.

The advantage: Washington

Defense

Washington State: The Cougars should be able to stack the box and cover the Husky receivers one-on-one. This will shut down UW’s run game. The one player the defense needs to be wary of is tight end Jerramy Stevens. Linebacker Raonall Smith did a good job of covering Arizona State’s top tight end Todd Heap and will draw the assignment of Stevens today. Heap did get open over the middle a few times against the Cougars and the QB missed him. Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo will not miss his target.

Washington: The Husky defensive line must get pressure on the Cougars quarterback. Washington State center Tyler Hunt is the weakest link in the Cougars’ offense line - that was evident against Idaho and Oregon - and UW nose tackle Larry Tripplett may be too much for him to handle. The linebackers are not stellar individually, but work together well. Expect to see a lot of disguised blitzes along with a lot of stunts. The secondary has not been the same since the loss of Curtis Williams. This could be the area the Cougars are able to exploit.

The advantage: WSU

Special teams

Washington State: This will be, as it is every week, an adventure. The Cougars, since they have nothing to lose but the game and everything to gain, will likely gamble in Husky territory rather than go for the field goal. Kickoff coverage and punt coverage have both been problem areas for the Cougars. More first-teamers have been shifted to these units, but punter Alan Cox is still making way too many tackles.

Washington: John Anderson is one of the best kickers in the Pac-10. Of course, this year that’s not saying much. Still, the Huskies wisely went out and used a scholarship to recruit this player and it has paid off. He is 11 of 16 on field goals, but two of those misses were his first two attempts of the season. In the last three games Anderson is 6 of 7. Anderson also has a big leg and can kick from 50-plus yards.

The advantage: Washington

The score: WSU 21, UW 17

WSU schedule

Sept. 2 Stanford L 24-10

Sept. 16 at Utah W 38-21

Sept. 23 Idaho L 38-34

Sept. 30 at Cal W 21-17

Oct. 7 Boise St. W 42-35

Oct. 14 at Arizona L 53-47

Oct. 21 Arizona St. L 23-20

Oct. 28 at Oregon St. L 38-9

Nov. 4 Oregon L 27-24

Nov. 11 at USC W 33-27

Nov. 18 Washington 3:30 p.m.

UW schedule

Sept. 2 Idaho W 44-20

Sept. 9 Miami W 34-29

Sept. 16 at Colorado W 17-14

Sept. 30 at Oregon L 23-16

Oct. 7 Oregon St. W 33-30

Oct. 14 at Arizona St. W 21-15

Oct. 21 California W 36-24

Oct. 28 at Stanford W 31-28

Nov. 4 Arizona W 35-32

Nov. 11 UCLA W 35-28

Nov. 18 at WSU 3:30 p.m.

Pac-10 standings

Oregon 7 0 202 149 9 1

Oregon St. 6 1 252 148 9 1

Washington 6 1 207 180 9 1

UCLA 3 4 216 244 6 4

Arizona 3 4 186 174 5 5

Stanford 3 4 157 180 4 6

Arizona St. 2 5 199 218 5 5

WSU 2 5 164 209 4 6

California 2 5 174 204 3 7

USC 1 6 170 221 4 6

Today’s games

Washington at WSU

Oregon at Oregon State

Stanford at Cal

USC at UCLA