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The pick: Why Washington State will beat Stanford

PULLMAN – With regards to personnel, it’s been an especially disheartening week for the Pac-12 North teams meeting early Saturday afternoon at Martin Stadium.

Stanford enters its 10th game of the season without arguably its best player on offense, quarterback K.J. Costello, and unarguably its most talented on defense, cornerback Paulson Adebo. That starting safety Malik Antoine will also be missing for the Cardinal only adds to the woes for a team that’s pulled off a few stunning wins but also absorbed its share of bad losses. Three offensive linemen have also suffered long-term injuries, including All-American tackle Walker Little, who’s been out since Week 2.

Washington State’s injury report isn’t as long as Stanford’s, but its defection report is probably longer. The Cougars lost one defensive starter and two rotational backups in the span of three days, when linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae chose to enter the NCAA transfer portal, and defensive backs Daniel Isom and Trey Davis were booted for a violation of team rules.

It’s almost impossible to guess what either team will do once a football is kicked into the air, but the Cougars have gone 16-2 in their past 18 home games against opponents other than Washington.

While they’ve gone through a fair deal of turbulence, it still doesn’t match what the Cardinal have endured this season.

The pick: Washington State 41, Stanford 38.