The Oregon State Beavers were supposed to be the dangerous, tricky opponent that made life difficult for Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest and the top tier of the Pac-12 Conference this football season.
Instead, Washington State has emerged as that team.
Oregon State has Oregon and Washington on its schedule. The Beavers were viewed before the season as a team which could knock off either the Ducks or Huskies and make a surprising — but not overly shocking — dark-horse run to the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Washington State has replaced the Beavers after beating them in Week 4.
Washington State’s schedule has Oregon and Washington, just as Oregon State does. The rest of WSU’s schedule is very soft with the exception of an October 7 game at UCLA. If the Cougars can win that one in Pasadena, they will likely finish no worse than 7-2 in Pac-12 play this year. If they beat UCLA and can then pick off either Oregon or U-Dub, they will have a chance at 8-1, which would very likely get them to the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Note: USC and Washington State do not play this year. That is a benefit to both the Trojans and Cougars.
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