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Wilner's pick:
The matchup: The game of the year in the Pac-12, based on what we know now and what the Hotline believes will happen the rest of the way, which is this:
The winner Friday night wins the North with no more than two losses, beats the South champ in the title game and is smack in the middle of the semifinal race.
Remember, Fridays winner will essentially have a two-game lead because of the head-to-head component in the tiebreaker.
*** From here, the most important element in the matchup is Washingtons state of mind.
Stanford plays a bevy of big games every year. It knows how to handle the emotions and the momentum swings and rarely beats itself.
But Washington hasnt played a game of this significance in ages. How will the Huskies respond?
So often we see short-circuiting from teams not used to the spotlight the players get too cute, or try to do too much, and the fabric breaks down.
If UW executes at a reasonable level, it should be close deep into the fourth quarter. If the Huskies malfunction repeatedly, Stanford should win handily.
Washington is favored by 3 points the home field advantage.
My call: Stanford 23, Washington 21 on a late field goal by Conrad Ukropina.