Kickoff: Friday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Stanford, -17 Total: 55

No. 25 Stanford looks to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday night when it hosts the high-octane passing attack of Washington State.

Both teams are coming off close defeats last week. Washington State lost to California, 60-59, despite QB Connor Halliday throwing for 734 yards and six touchdowns. Now the Cougars have to hit the road against a Stanford team that is coming off a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame. Under coach Mike Leach, Washington State has done a good job of competing on the road as an underdog, going 6-0 ATS in that role over the past two seasons. However, last season at home, Washington State was blown out by Stanford, 55-17. The defense of the Cardinal stopped the Cougars' Air Raid offense, taking back two interceptions for touchdowns. This game being on a Friday night will also be an advantage for Stanford, as the Cardinal have done well on six days rest (21-10 ATS) under coach David Shaw. Neither school has any significant new injuries to concern themselves with.

Can Stanford cover the hefty spread in this Pac-12 showdown? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. Both StatFox Brian (3-1 ATS) and StatFox Dave (4-2 ATS) are coming off strong Week 6 showings.

Connor Halliday (3,052 passing yards, 68% completions, 26 TD) is coming off one of the greatest performances in college football history, throwing for 734 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Cougars enter this game leading the nation in passing offense (523 YPG) and ranking 27th in scoring (38 PPG). However, the run game is nearly non-existent, averaging only 56.5 YPG (125th in FBS). Jamal Morrow (49 carries, 187 yards) and Gerard Wicks (46 carries, 186 yards and 3 TD) both have gotten opportunities, but will need to continue to help Halliday out. While Halliday has been great under center, there are some very talented playmakers at the receiver position. Vince Mayle (51 catches, 703 yards and 6 TD), River Cracraft (43 catches, 576 yards and 6 TD), Isiah Myers (45 catches, 574 yards and 7 TD) and Dom Williams (24 catches, 496 yards and 6 TD) are all capable of having big games. Williams is the guy the Cougars look for to make the big play, as he leads the team by a wide margin with an average of 20.7 YPC. The Cougars have the talent on the offensive side of the ball, but it was the defense and special teams that let the team down last week. The defensive unit gave up 589 yards of offense, including 527 passing yards in the loss. Kicker Quentin Breshears missed a 19-yard FG with 19 seconds left in the game, which would have given the Cougars the victory. CB Daquawn Brown (50 tackles, 7 pass breakups, 4 TFL) is the leading tackler on the 106th-ranked scoring defense in the country (35.2 PPG). LB Ivan McLennan (17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) does a good job getting into the backfield, and he will have to do that in this game against the Cardinal.

Stanford had the game won against Notre Dame last Saturday, only to allow the Irish score on a 4th-and-11 play with less than a minute remaining. Despite that touchdown, the Cardinal are still the top scoring defense in the country (8.6 PPG). LBs Blake Martinez (37 tackles) and AJ Tarpley (33 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) are the heart and soul of this unit, and do a great job of flying around to the ball. LB Peter Kalambayi (16 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks) is an explosive athlete that gets into the backfield, and makes plays. The Stanford defense stacks up favorably to any unit in the nation, but the offense must improve. QB Kevin Hogan (1,041 passing yards, 8 TD, 4 INT) is doesn't make many mistakes, but has not proven to be able to give the offense the big play when it needs one. The Cardinal have been a dominant running team the past couple of seasons, but they rank only 89th in the country in rushing (141.8 YPG) and 91st in scoring (24.8 PPG) this year. RB Remound Wright (37 carries, 180 yards, 1 TD) leads the team in rushing, but Stanford right now is just not getting enough in the ground game. The Cardinal have one of the best receiving options in the country in WR Ty Montgomery (30 catches, 287 yards, 3 TD), but have been unable to get him the ball out in space enough to show off his speed. For the Cardinal, it all starts with the running game, which then opens up the passing opportunities on the outside.