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It will be an Apple Cup like few others.No. 6 Washington will play at No. 23 Washington State on Friday, with the Pac-12 North title on the line for both teams. The game, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Pullman, Wash., will mark just the sixth time since the AP poll debuted in 1936 that both teams are ranked.For the Huskies (10-1 overall, 7-1), there is more than just a berth in the conference title game on the line. They could have a spot in the College Football Playoff with two more victories.I just want them to prepare like they have and go over and compete like they have, which I know they will, Washington coach Chris Petersen said of his team.We know its like, All this hard work kind of comes down to this. But its really hard for me to say, like, OK, now were really all-in on this. I just think theyve really been invested this whole year, every game.But itll be exciting. They get the rivalry. They get that were playing a heck of a team in a really hostile situation.Washington bounced back from its only loss, to USC, with a 44-18 win over Arizona State on Saturday. Washington State (8-3, 7-1) had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 38-24 loss at Pac-12 South-leading Colorado.There hasnt been so much on the line for both teams since 1981. Washington won that Apple Cup 23-10 to deny Washington State the Pac-10 title, which the Huskies won when USC beat UCLA on the same day.Both Petersen and Cougars coach Mike Leach put their players off limits to the media this week.Theres a lot of distractions. I dont want them distracted, Leach said. I want them focused in on just playing.As for that stuff on the field, Washington will try to draw inspiration from last seasons 45-10 win over Washington State, although that comes with a caveat. The Cougars didnt have quarterback Luke Falk.That always frustrated me (that Falk didnt play), because all the Cougar fans, theyre like, Oh, if we had Luke Falk ..., Huskies defensive tackle Elijah Qualls told the Seattle Times. Come on, man. Im not going to lie: The dude is good. But 35 points? I dont know about that.It will be a battle of two brilliant quarterbacks.Falk has 3,935 passing yards this season, fourth-most in Washington State single-season history. Falk, directing Leachs prolific Air Raid system, tops the nation in completions per game (34.6) and completion percentage (71.4).Leach said Monday he expects Falk to return for his senior season.Washington quarterback Jake Browning leads the Pac-12 with 37 touchdown passes -- one more than Falk -- and is fourth nationally in passing efficiency with a rating of 180.7.He does a really job from the neck up, Leach said of Browning. Him and Luke are very similar that way, I think.Both quarterbacks have elite receivers. Washington States Gabe Marks is the Pac-12 career leader with 301 receptions, including 74 this season, with 12 going for touchdowns. Ross has all kinds of speed, with 64 catches for 991 yards and 15 touchdowns.Ross has a sidekick in Dante Pettis, who has four 100-yard receiving games this season. Marks lost his main sidekick two games ago when receiver River Cracraft suffered a season-ending knee injury.Washingtons offense is more traditionally balanced, as the Huskies have gone over 200 yards on the ground seven times this season, led by running back Myles Gaskin.Washington State is 114th nationally in rushing at 132.5 yards per game, but the Cougars can run the ball more effectively than most Leach teams behind the trio of Jamal Morrow, James Williams and Gerard Wicks. They have combined for 1,515 yards.Washington has lost two of its top defenders to season-ending injuries -- linebackers Joe Mathis and Azeem Victor -- but still managed to limit USC and Arizona State to 128 rushing yards on 63 carries in the past two weeks.The Huskies are often able to generate a pass rush without blitzing, which would give them ample numbers in the back end to defend against Washington States spread attack. Cornerbacks Sidney Jones and Kevin King, and safety Budda Baker, are postseason award candidates in one of the nations best secondaries.Washington State is no slouch defensively. The Cougars, led up front by defensive end Hercules Mataafa, are first in the Pac-12 against the run, allowing 129.7 yards per game. WSU also got back senior nose tackle Robert Barber last week. He had missed three games following legal entanglements. Vapormax Til Salg . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Nike Joyride Run Norge . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/vapormax-herre-norge/vapormax-plus.html . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Vapormax Svart Dame Norge .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Vapormax Flyknit Herre Norge . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week.Sky Sports News HQs Alex Hammond provides a race-by-race guide to Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival. 1.30 JLT NOVICES CHASEBristol De Mai was beaten by Garde La Victoire on his chase debut but he has progressed since and won the Scilly Isles Novices Chase at Sandown last time out. The step up to this trip has been the making of him. The news that Killultagh Vic was missing the race promoted him to favouritism, but hes not for me. One horse that is very well fancied is the Willie Mullins trained Outlander, who is a better chaser than he was a hurdler. Hes 3/3 over fences and looks to be getting better all the time. Connections of Garde La Victoire have opted for the JLT Chase Garde La Victoire has had three untroubled starts over fences this season for Philip Hobbs and I am glad he missed the Arkle to wait for this. It looks like hell have no trouble staying two and a half miles and it will probably suit better. He has won over the trip and is a smart novice. Black Hercules was unfortunate to fall at the last at Navan in February, but heavy ground seems to suit best. I cant split Garde La Victoire and Outlander. Alex Hammond is joined by Ed Chamberlin to look ahead to an exciting week of racing at the Cheltenham festival 2.10 PERTEMPS NETWORK FINALThis is a race where you are looking for a likely plot! Irish trainer Charles Byrnes is shrewd and knows how to train a horse for the Festival. He has Leave At Dawn in this, who won at Cheltenham in November on his penultimate start and is owned by JP McManus. The money has come for him. Cup Final is trained by Nicky Henderson and is another for McManus. He is progressive and stays well. Warren Greatrex trains Missed Approach who qualified for this in November at Newbury and hasnt been seen since. That was his first run for almost a year and he is unexposed and open to improvement. Greatrex is keen on his chance and wasnt too fazed by a 20lb rise in the handicap. Alex fancies Missed Approach to go close in the Pertemps Final If In Doubt is trained by Hobbs for McManus. He was raised 6lbs for winning at Wincanton on Boxing Day and hasnt been seen since, as I guess they didnt want him to be raised further in the weights once he had managed to qualify for this. He was 9th in this two years ago and 5th in the RSA last season and is now rated 146. Box Office is another McManus-owned horse, this time with Jonjo ONeill. He is yet to win since coming over from France, where he won three from four, and was beaten by six lengths in the Fred Winter at last years Festival; he should be competitive off 135. He didnt enjoy bad ground at Haydock when pulling up latest and is dangerous to discount. Arpege DAlene comes here in good form after a win at Chepstow recently and is also rated 146. He has had a breathing op and, as he didnt appear to be hugely fancied last time, there could be more to come. For me, Ill be on both Leave At Dawn and Missed Approach.2.50 RYANAIR CHASEI think Vautour may have ended up in the race that suits him best. Rich Ricci had been keen to go for the Gold Cup with last years impressive JLT winner but he couldnt win the King George and I couldnt see him staying in the Gold Cup. I think hes a shoo-in here. As for the Gigginstown horses, Valseur Lido is at his best over further distance than this trip, but has a chance despite that. He was desperately unlucky to unseat in the Irish Gold Cup and fell in the King George prior to that. Lets not forget he was a dual Grade 1 winning novice chaser. Could this be the year for Al Ferof in the Ryanair? Road To Riches needs to bounce back from a defeat in tthe Irish Gold Cup behind Carlingford Lough (when Valseur Lido unseated at the last and was very unlucky).dddddddddddd He has shown his effectiveness at this trip, but Noel Meade made no secret of the fact he would have preferred to run in the Gold Cup, as he feels this trip might be too sharp for him. Al Ferof has had his limitations exposed at the very highest level but is going well for new trainer Dan Skelton and cant be ruled out, maybe this is his year. Josses Hill is another that falls short at the highest level, but he did have a confidence booster at Kempton last time out and has his backers. Smashing probably needs testing ground to show his best.3.30 RYANAIR WORLD HURDLEI was confident of a Cole Harden win in this last year and win he did….at 14/1! Id love to see him win again and dont think its unrealistic for him to repeat the performance. The ground should be spot on for him by Thursday, so that ticks that box. He has been trained purely with this race in mind and has had another breathing operation. Trainer Greatrex feels that hot favourite Thistlecrack has largely been bullying horses on bad ground this winter and said last week that he wont bully Cole Harden. Alex thinks Cole Harden can win the World Hurdle for the second year in a row Having said that, Thistlecrack has looked pretty formidable this season and his overall record is outstanding. He deserves to be hot favourite, but is short enough in the market. Saphir Du Rheu was runner-up in this last year, but hasnt fulfilled his potential over fences this season and reverted to hurdles when well beaten behind Thistlecrack in the Long Walk at Ascot. Im going to stick with Cole Harden again and hes an attractive price to boot.4.10 BROWN ADVISORY & MERRIEBELLE STABLE PLATEThis is a tough race to find the winner of, with big priced winners often the norm. Johns Spirit has dropped to an attractive mark for ONeill and is a regular at this track with 13 outings here resulting in three wins and a second. Stilletto is rated 142, which is up 10lbs since winning at Leicester, but I think he can still be competitive off his revised mark as his form stacks up and he is a progressive novice. Stilletto looks a likely contender for the 4.10 4.50 TRULL HOUSE STUD MARES NOVICES HURDLEI have mixed feelings about this race. The charity race, the St Patricks Derby, was always the final race on the Thursday, but that has been lost to make way for this race and with it hundreds of thousands of pounds in sponsorship raised for charity, and the thrill for ordinary folk like myself of riding at the Festival. Back to the matter in hand, though, and many people will have the Mullins-trained Limini as a banker here. She was useful on the Flat in France and is now 2/2 over hurdles for Mullins. There look to be some better priced alternatives to finish in the first three, particularly as the favourite doesnt appear to be the slickest of jumpers. Bloody Mary for Henderson comes here with a stretch of seven races unbeaten, just one of those for Henderson since coming over from France. The one I like is Smart Talk, shes the model of consistency and won a Grade 2 at Doncaster last time out for Brian Ellison. Shes got bags of scope, is progressing, and shouldnt be out of the frame. Bloody Mary is among the mares looking to upset the hot favourite in the 4.50 5.30 FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR CHALLENGE CUP HANDICAP CHASEJockey bookings are worth taking note of here, with the leading Irish amateurs usually snapped up for the fancied runners. Cause Of Causes has been well supported for this for McManus, so hes no double figure price. He has winning Festival form, having landed the NH Chase last term. He hasnt won since, was eighth in the National, and is likely to have had this as his target for a while. He runs off a rating of 142 and is another leading contender for trainer Gordon Elliott. Doctor Harper got off the mark at the third attempt at Leicester last time out and is a progressive novice. He has smart form and rates as one of David Pipes best chances at the meeting. The yard won it last year with The Package. I think its between those two, with Cause Of Causes getting the nod. Alex will end the day on a high if Cause Of Causes can land the Kim Muir Also See: Champion glory for Annie Power Cheltenham latest ' ' '