Three reasons why WSU Cougars might beat Syracuse in Holiday Bowl
Scott Hanson
Dec. 26, 2024
By
Seattle Times staff reporter
You can’t blame Washington State football fans if they are feeling very pessimistic about the Cougars’ chances of beating No. 21 Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl at 5 p.m. Friday in San Diego. The game will be aired on FOX.
Washington State has had 26 players, including 13 starters, enter the transfer portal. The Cougars have lost their head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, running backs coach and quarterbacks coach.
It’s no wonder that Syracuse, which opened as a 4 ½-point favorite, is now favored by 16½ points, tied for the largest spread (with Army) in any of the bowl games.
But enough of the negativity. Here are three reasons why Washington State can pull off a big upset.
QB Zevi Eckhaus could have a big game
It was certainly a big blow to the Cougars when star quarterback John Mateer entered the transfer portal and then committed to Oklahoma. But Eckhaus, the presumed starter Friday, is a proven passer and pushed Mateer for the starting job in the spring and in the fall.
Eckhaus threw for 10,215 yards at Culver City (Calif.) High School, then had three prolific seasons at Bryant University, an FCS school in Rhode Island.
Eckhaus threw for 10,285 yards and 75 touchdowns at Bryant. Sure, it’s a step below FBS competition, but those are impressive numbers at any level. His vast experience and success will be a huge help for Washington State.
The moment will not be too big for him and it would not be surprising if he threw for more than 300 yards.
The players will rally around acting head coach Pete Kaligis
The Cougars made a good choice by selecting Kaligis, the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach, to be the acting coach for WSU at the Holiday Bowl.
Kaligis is a passionate coach and known to be popular with his players. You can count on Kaligis, a starting offensive lineman on the Washington Huskies’ national title team in 1991, to have his team fired up for the game.
Kaligis has done this before, serving as acting coach for one game with Wyoming in 2012 when the head coach was suspended for a game. The Cowboys lost 45-14 to a powerful Boise State team that finished 11-2 under coach Chris Petersen and beat Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Kaligis’ challenge Friday is less daunting than the one against Boise State.
The ACC is struggling
Syracuse is in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is off to a terrible start in this postseason.
ACC teams are 0-3, with every loss by more than 10 points. California lost 24-13 to UNLV in the LA Bowl, Southern Methodist lost 38-10 to Penn State in the College Football Playoffs and Clemson lost 38-24 to Texas in its playoff game.
To be fair, the ACC teams were underdogs in each of those games, but the conference’s poor showing has to give Cougar fans some hope — something they badly need these days.
Scott Hanson:
shanson@seattletimes.com.
