WSU hopes to rebound on the road

Members+of+the+WSU+football+team+enter+CenutryLink+Field+for+a+game+against+Stanford+on+Sept.+28%2C+2013.

Members of the WSU football team enter CenutryLink Field for a game against Stanford on Sept. 28, 2013.

Almost halfway into the football season, the Washington State Cougars will enter the Saturday game ready to face a worse off Pac-12 team.

The Cougars (3-2) will match up against the California Golden Bears (1-3) Saturday and try to bounce back from a blowout loss to Stanford that stalled their three-game winning streak.

Coincidentally, the Golden Bears are coming off a similar loss to the Oregon Ducks, a Pac-12 powerhouse like Stanford. Cal lost 55-16 last week on the road and returned to Berkeley ready to welcome the Cougars on their home field.

“I feel like this year we’ve played really good on the road…we always practice having a loud crowd, no matter if we’re preparing for a home game or not,” running back Marcus Mason said. “It’s not really distracting to us. Every game is just played on a different field against a different team.”

That field could be the site of an offensive explosion by both teams, but WSU and Cal might have to alter their strategies to put points on the board against each other.

The Cal defense has given up about twice the amount of rushing yards as the offense has accumulated this season. The offense has relied heavily on the pass, averaging 373 yards per game through the air.

Meanwhile, Cal has held its opponents to 250 passing yards per game, which could pose an issue for the Cougars’ Air Raid offense. Connor Halliday suffered an injury against Stanford, but was able to practice as soon as Sunday.

Head Coach Mike Leach said Halliday is tough, and he expected the quarterback would be at practice even after getting hit hard by the Stanford defense.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Apodaca will likely step in to replace Halliday if the starter is unable to play. Apodaca has two touchdowns compared to one interception this season, and he has completed 50 percent of his passes.

Either way, the Cal team has allowed 30 or more points to each of its four opponents so far this season. The Cougar defense comes in to the game ranked No. 11 in the nation in passing defense, so the defense will look to keep the Golden Bears below their average of about 29 points per game.

The secondary will also need to pay attention to sophomore wide receivers Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper, who each have more than 300 yards receiving this season. On the Cougars’ side, only sophomore wide receiver Gabe Marks has more than 300 receiving yards.

WSU has a chance on Saturday to get above .500 in the Pac-12 Conference and will have the opportunity to get rid of some bad mojo against Cal. The Cougars have lost the last eight games against the Golden Bears.

This year’s game will start at 1 p.m., and will air on Fox Sports 1 and the IMG College Sports Network.