Washington State Cougars vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 10/18/25

The Virginia Cavaliers have been promoted all the way up to the 18th ranked team in the country without having a lot of national attention. Virginia went into Louisville last week and won 30-27 in overtime despite starting the game as 6.5-point underdogs. Starting quarterback Chandler Morris threw for 149 yards and 1 touchdown, and running back J’Mari Taylor led the team in rushing with 68 yards and 1 touchdown. With the win, Virginia handed Louisville their first loss and now have the attention of the national spotlight. Their opponent this week will be the Washington State Cougars. Washington State is currently sitting at 3-3 but are coming off a close loss to Ole Miss. Despite being 32.5-point underdogs, the Cougars kept this game close and even had a 14-10 lead late in the 3rd quarter. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus threw for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns, and running back Kirby Vorhees led the team in rushing with 88 yards and 1 touchdown. 

Washington State was able to keep the game close against Ole Miss by playing a clean game with no turnovers. Playing mistake free football could be their path towards keeping this game against Virginia close as well. While Virginia did play well against Louisville, they benefitted heavily from two huge turnovers committed by their opponent. The first turnover was a bobbled and fumbled pitch by the Louisville running back that was scooped up and ran back for a defensive touchdown. The second turnover was an ill-advised pass thrown by Louisville’s quarterback as he had a defender on his back that was intercepted and also returned for a touchdown. Without those two avoidable mistakes from their opponent, Virginia may not have been 5-1 heading into this game. Washington State has struggled with offensive consistency to start the season, but they showed some ability to be explosive last week against an SEC defense. Their defense which ranks 56th in the FBS in total yards allowed and 40th against the pass should be equipped to provide enough resistance to the Cavalier offense to keep this game close.

Washington State +17 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number