Washington State (9-2, 6-2) advanced one spot to 13th in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night on ESPN, while Washington (9-2, 6-2) also moved up one place to No. 17. The Cougars were idle last week while the Huskies scored a 33-30 victory over the University of Utah with a 38-yard, Tristan Vizcaino field goal as time expired.
USC (10-2), at No. 11 and the Pac-12 South winner, is the highest-ranked Pac-12 school in this week’s rankings, which determine the four participants in the college football national semifinal playoffs. Stanford, which lost to Washington State in Pullman but beat Washington in Palo Alto, is No. 21.
Alabama (11-0) is No. 1 for the second consecutive week, followed by No. 2 Miami (10-0), No. 3 Clemson (10-1), No. 4 Oklahoma (1o-1), No. 5 Wisconsin (11-0), No. 6 Auburn (9-2), No. 7 Georgia (10-1), No. 8 Notre Dame (9-2), No. 9 Ohio State (9-2) and No. 10 Penn State (9-2).
The Cougars can win the North Division and earn a berth opposite USC in the Dec. 1 Pac-12 title game in Santa Clara, CA., by beating Washington in Saturday’s 110th Apple Cup at Husky Stadium. If the Cougars lose, Stanford will represent the North.
Washington has won the past four Apple Cups and hasn’t lost a rivalry game to WSU in Seattle since 2007.
The 5 p.m. game is on FOX.
