[OutsiderFan]

Quick, inside the tackles pressure is the key.  It's tough to blitz from the outside because WSU's line splits are so wide.  Re-watching the 2013 game, Stanford most commonly rushed 4, sometimes rushed 3 and other times brought 5.  They were helped by several drops from the Cougs, but generally speaking Stanford didn't allow any receivers to get behind the deepest defender and tackled very well.  They basically followed the "bend but don't break, force them to string a bunch of first downs together without making mistakes" approach.  And WSU made a lot of mistakes.  If they dramatically limit their mistakes and Stanford makes more than usual, the Cougs will have a chance to win.  It's up to Stanford's defense to force mistakes and that is generally done by getting quick pressure on the QB.

[OutsiderFan]

Quick, inside the tackles pressure is the key.  It's tough to blitz from the outside because WSU's line splits are so wide.  Re-watching the 2013 game, Stanford most commonly rushed 4, sometimes rushed 3 and other times brought 5.  They were helped by several drops from the Cougs, but generally speaking Stanford didn't allow any receivers to get behind the deepest defender and tackled very well.  They basically followed the "bend but don't break, force them to string a bunch of first downs together without making mistakes" approach.  And WSU made a lot of mistakes.  If they dramatically limit their mistakes and Stanford makes more than usual, the Cougs will have a chance to win.  It's up to Stanford's defense to force mistakes and that is generally done by getting quick pressure on the QB.