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TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Fans in the state of Washington already are looking ahead to next week's Apple Cup, when more than mere bragging rights could be on the line. But Washington State cannot afford to look past Saturday's Pac-10 Conference contest at Arizona State, which is capable of pulling an upset at home. Just ask Washington. When the Huskies visited the desert two weeks ago, they escaped with a 33-31 victory on John Anderson's 30-yard field goal as time expired. If Washington (which plays at Oregon State) and Washington State (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) post victories this weekend, they will play for at least a share of the Pac-10 title next week in Seattle. Such a scenario would be a repeat of 1997, when Ryan Leaf led Washington State to the Rose Bowl. Oregon also may have a say in the Pac-10 race, entering the weekend in a three-way tie for first place with the two Washington schools. The Ducks visit UCLA this weekend, then have three weeks off before facing Oregon State on December 1. Senior safety Lamont Thompson set a school record with four interceptions as Washington State took advantage of seven turnovers to post a 20-14 victory over UCLA last week. Thompson set another school mark and tied a conference record with 21 career interceptions. He preserved the win by picking off UCLA's Cory Paus on each of the Bruins' final two possessions. For his efforts, Thompson was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week. The Cougars again played without running back Dave Minnich, who has four 100-yard rushing games this season but sat out for the fourth time in five games with a knee injury. Minnich still leads Washington State in rushing with 680 yards and six touchdowns on 143 carries. Jason Gesser has completed 151-of-283 for 2,294 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His favorite target is Nakoa McElrath, who has 60 receptions for 936 yards and eight scores. McElrath is averaging 104 yards per game, putting him on pace to challenge single-season records for receptions and receiving yards. Arizona State (4-4, 1-4) suffered its second straight loss last week with a 42-24 setback at Oregon. The Sun Devils allowed Joey Harrington to tie a school record with six touchdown passes. Arizona State has won four straight against Washington State to increase its lead in the all-time series to 16-9-2. The Sun Devils posted a 23-20 overtime victory last year and handed the Cougars their only regular-season defeat in 1997 with a 44-31 win in Tempe.
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