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FACTS & STATS: Site: CenturyLink Field (72,000) -- Seattle, Washington. Television: Versus. Home Record: WSU 3-3, Washington 5-1. Away Record: WSU 1-4, Washington 1-4. Neutral Record: WSU 0-0, Washington 0-0. Conference Record: WSU 2-6, Washington 4-4. Series Record: Washington leads, 66-31-6.

GAME NOTES: Intrastate and Pac-12 rivals Washington State and Washington are set to square off Saturday night in the Apple Cup at CenturyLink Field.

Washington owns a 66-31-6 advantage in the head-to-head series with the Cougars, and that includes a 35-28 victory in last year's meeting in Pullman, courtesy of a touchdown pass in the final minute.

The Cougars have played nine games at CenturyLink Field since the start of the 2002 season, including earlier this year against Oregon State. Ever since a five-game losing streak, the team has played much better over the last two games. The Cougars notched a 37-27 win over Arizona State on Nov. 12, and followed that up with a tough 30-27 overtime loss to Utah last weekend.

As for the Huskies, they enter the tilt looking to snap a three-game slide. Those three consecutive losses have come after the team earned bowl eligibility by beating Arizona at the end of October. Most recently, Washington was upended at Oregon State last weekend, 38-21.

Washington State has some injury issues at quarterback. Jeff Tuel suffered a broken left clavicle in late-October, and redshirt freshman Connor Halliday, who has taken most of the snaps over the last two games, is not available after suffering a lacerated liver in last week's contest. Halliday played through several big hits and finished the game, but later complained of severe pain and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. That leaves former starter Marshall Lobbestael as the last man standing. However, it is a big blow for the Cougars, who have played significantly better with Halliday at the helm the last two weeks. He came off the bench against Arizona State and threw for 494 yards and four touchdowns to lead WSU to victory, and later was named the West Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. His passing total was the second- highest in school history and shattered the previous freshman mark of 385 yards, held by Drew Bledsoe. Assuming Lobbestael gets the nod, he would be well served to look in the direction of sophomore wideout Marquess Wilson, who has eclipsed Brandon Gibson as the school's all-time single-season receiving leader. Through 11 games, Wilson has 1,280 yards on 75 catches while averaging 116.4 yards per game to go along with 10 TDs.

All things considered, Washington State's defense did a nice job mitigating the damage after four interceptions from Halliday. On the first three of those interceptions, the defense held its ground and forced Utah to punt. However, the fourth pick came in overtime, and the Utes were well within range to kick the game-winning field goal. Snowy conditions also played a role in both teams' ability to move the ball. C.J. Mizell recovered a Utes' fumble on their second possession of the second half, setting the WSU offense with the ball at the Utah 24. However, that drive netted only three points. Later, Utah took over possession with a three-point lead and just over three minutes to play in regulation. The Cougar defense was able to hold its ground and force a punt, giving the offense the ball back with 52 seconds left and no time-outs. Halliday then drove the team down the field to set up a 17-yard field goal to force overtime. Chester Su'a notched a game-high 11 tackles in a losing effort. As a unit, the Cougars registered 9.0 tackles for a loss of 27 yards, in addition to two forced fumbles.

At his weekly press conference on Monday, Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed that sophomore Keith Price will start at quarterback on Saturday. Price did not start last week's game after spraining his left knee the previous week against USC. But with the team trailing 31-14 in the fourth quarter against Oregon State, Sarkisian inserted Price, who promptly got the Huskies back in the game with an 85-yard touchdown drive. Price, who is also battling soreness in his ankle and shoulder but said he is healthy enough to play, is three TD passes away from breaking Cody Pickett's school record set in 2001. However, there is some shuffling along the offensive line. Starting left guard Colin Tanigawa suffered a significant knee injury against Oregon State and will not be available. While Nick Wood replaced him in that game, Sarkisian said he was also considering moving right tackle Erik Kohler to left guard and starting Micah Hatchie at right tackle. It will be interesting to see if that shuffling impacts the effectiveness of star rusher Chris Polk, who owns the school record with 19 career 100-yard games, including eight this year. He ranks third in the conference and 16th nationally with an average of 112.9 rushing yards per tilt.

While the Huskies are dealing with some lineup changes on offense, their defense will also have some new faces in new places. Mammoth defensive tackle Danny Shelton, a true freshman who has played in all 11 games, will be given the starting nod this week after making several key plays against Oregon State, coach Sarkisian confirmed this week. Elsewhere, safeties Justin Glenn (concussion) and Will Shamburger (stinger) are banged up but are expected to play, albeit likely in limited roles. Nate Fellner is likely to start alongside Sean Parker. Regardless who takes the majority of snaps at safety, the Cougars are likely to try and take some shots against Washington's secondary. The Huskies enter the weekend ranked 105th nationally in scoring defense (34.5 ppg) and are giving up 278 passing yards per tilt, which ranks 112th. Last week, the defense came up with three takeaways against the Beavers, but the offense was unable to turn that into any points. For the game, Oregon State racked up 484 total yards and came away with points on six of seven trips inside the red zone, including five touchdowns.

Under different circumstances, the Cougars could be considered a candidate for a letdown game after last week's loss ended their hopes of becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2006. However, this is no ordinary matchup, and tensions are always high when these two rivals clash. Look for a hard- fought game on both ends, although both teams are dealing with injuries at the quarterback position. If Price is indeed able to play and is not hindered by his knee, the Huskies will have the advantage.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Washington 31, Washington State 24