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The pick: Why Washington State will beat California

WSU takes the field to face Arizona during the first half of a college football game on Saturday, Oct 15, 2016, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. TYLER TJOMSLAND tylert@spokesman.com (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Jacob Thorpe

PULLMAN – The two teams playing in Martin Stadium on Saturday will boast the best offenses in the Pac-12. But only one has any semblance of a defense.

California and Washington State rank No. 1 and No. 2 in total offense, respectively, and while the Cougars have the top-ranked passing offense, the Golden Bears are right behind them.

We should expect plenty of points to be scored on Saturday, and it will be a mild upset if there are not more than 1,000 combined passing yards between the two teams.

But the Cal defense has given up 48 touchdowns this season, nearly twice as many as the WSU’s defense’s 25 touchdowns allowed. The Golden Bears have also given up nine more passing touchdowns, though each team is giving up 7.6 yards per passing attempt.

I just don’t see Cal’s defense being able to stop the Cougars, while I think the WSU defense will be able to stifle the Golden Bears at times. Furthermore, the Cougars have the wind at their backs right now and the Golden Bears have been blown out the last two weeks.

The line: WSU by 14.5

The pick: WSU 55-31