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Washington State Cougars Tumble to 15th in National Poll

By Ben Renner

BERKELEY, CA - OCTOBER 13: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks on while his team warms up during pregame warm ups prior to playing the California Golden Bears in an NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA - OCTOBER 13: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars looks on while his team warms up during pregame warm ups prior to playing the California Golden Bears in an NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The Washington State Cougars fell to no. 15 in the College AP Poll after their drubbing by Cal on Friday. Can they recover?

The excitement was slowly building for the possibility of an Apple Cup in which the winner takes the Pac-12. It could still happen, but not between two undefeated teams, like many Washington State Cougars fans were hoping for.

The Cougars didn’t inexplicably lose to a random team early in the year this season, and appeared headed on a collision course with Washington for a Pac-12 North title.

Coming into the disastrous Cal game, the Washington State Cougars had an exciting offense and appeared to be clicking in all phases of the game. Their defense was stepping up. Quarterback Luke Falk could do no wrong.

Then Falk threw five interceptions against the Cal Bears. WSU’s offensive line couldn’t block the Bears front seven, and all hell broke loose in a terrible 37-3 loss. The Cougars had just cracked the top-ten in the country, but the blowout now throws their season into jeopardy.

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There’s still plenty to play for, of course, in Pullman, but especially considering the Washington Huskies’ loss to Arizona State late Saturday night, the Cougars could have taken control in the Pac-12.

Instead, now three teams are in the conversation for Pac-12 North dominance. Stanford is now creeping into divisional contention. The Cardinal drubbed the hapless Oregon Ducks 49-7 on Saturday to move to 5-2 with games against both Washington and Washington State on its schedule.

The Huskies’ loss of course opens the door for the Washington State Cougars to rebound and take control of the North division, but hard questions must be answered before Colorado comes to Martin Stadium this Saturday.

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First, how will the offensive line regain its confidence after getting flattened by Cal? Falk has had his bad games, and will likely rebound at home, if Colorado doesn’t succeed in using the same approach that Cal did to disrupt the offense. How the Washington State Cougars respond in Pullman this week will be telling, indeed.

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