Week of wins...

[M-I-Coug]

WSU’s week of wins, Washington’s rotten play call and more | Analysis​

Jon Wilner

Sep. 15, 2024 at 9:07 am
Instant reaction to developments on and off the field …

1. WSU’s big wins​

If there has been a better 60 hours in the history of Washington State athletics, we are unaware.

Thursday morning: Pac-12 expansion secures a home for the Cougars after 13 months adrift in the realignment game.

Saturday afternoon: One of the sweetest of Apple Cups, in which the Cougars outplayed Washington, out-coached Washington, out-smarted Washington, out-quarterbacked Washington and celebrated a 24-19 victory at Lumen Field.

In fact, let’s expand the timeframe to eight and include WSU’s beatdown of Texas Tech on Sept. 7 in what, at the time, seemed like an audition.

It seems like months ago, but as recently as last weekend, Washington State and Oregon State formed a two-team conference with a murky future.

Each matchup with a power conference opponent — Texas Tech from the Big 12 and Washington from the Big Ten — felt like a chance for the Cougars to prove they belonged.

But Thursday morning brought security, in the form of a four-school raid of the Mountain West. With the Pac-12 set to endure, the pressure for WSU (and Oregon State) to impress seemed to dissipate.

Then came a narrow victory over their rival — over the school that took a leading role in the collapse of the Pac-12 on Aug. 4, 2023. The Cougars were tougher, more physical, more creative and more resilient.

“Just a helluva win,” coach Jake Dickert said. “I’m really proud for Cougs everywhere. To come on this neutral field — it’s just awesome.”

Would they trade an Apple Cup win for membership in the Power Four? Sure. They would trade 10 Apple Cup wins for membership in the Power Four. But in the real world, the Cougars were left to make the best of a brutal situation.

After a plethora of twists and turns over the course of 13 months, they produced a momentous week.

As a result, the Cougars are 2-0 against Power Four opponents, 3-0 overall and halfway to becoming bowl eligible with nine games remaining.

Above all, they wanted to be relevant this season. So far, so good.

2. Rotten Apple​

The Cougars did not win the Apple Cup by themselves. They had plenty of help from Washington, which looked exactly like a team that has a new coach, overhauled starting lineup and one-way ticket to the middle of the Big Ten standings.

The Huskies committed 16 penalties and had two offsides penalties that allowed WSU to run out the clock in the final minute.

But before that undisciplined debacle, Washington had a chance to take the lead with first-and-goal from the 9-yard line with two minutes remaining. That eventually became fourth-and-goal from the 1.

On the biggest play of the season to date, they ran a lemon: A slow-developing quarterback option to the short side of the field in which Will Rogers pitched to tailback Jonah Coleman too close to the sideline for Coleman to make positive yardage.

At least give one of your primary playmakers, Coleman and receiver Giles Jackson, a fair chance to win the game.

“That’s on me. I made a bad call,” coach Jedd Fisch told reporters after the game. “We didn’t execute the call. We lost the game, so I’ll take that.”

This figured to be a tough assignment for the Huskies given their retooled new roster and WSU’s massive motivational edge.

This also figured to be a difficult season for the Huskies given the roster situation and the competition in the Big Ten.

That said, the performance Saturday was below an acceptable standard.