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Washington State Cougars Football: Is It Bowl or Bust?

By Matt Barry

PULLMAN, WA - SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars Talks with quarterback Tyler Hilinski #3 during the second half of the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Martin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Pullman, Washington. Washington State defeated Oregon State 52-23. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
PULLMAN, WA - SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Mike Leach of the Washington State Cougars Talks with quarterback Tyler Hilinski #3 during the second half of the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Martin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Pullman, Washington. Washington State defeated Oregon State 52-23. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /
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The Washington State Cougars open the 2018 college football today in Laramie, Wyoming. Matt Barry has our Cougars season preview.

You could make a case that no FBS football team is excited to play football more than the Washington State Cougars. After a 6-0 start to the 2017 campaign, the Cougars have had a rather interesting few months. It all started with a 37-3 drubbing at California, which led to a 3-4 end to the season and a 42-17 loss to Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl.

But the turmoil did not end there.

In January, backup quarterback Tyler Hilinski took his own life. It was later determined that Hilinski suffered from CTE. It was a devastating tragedy for head coach Mike Leach’s team to endure. Speaking of Leach, an email dated November 30 surfaced revealing that Leach would have accepted the Tennessee coaching position if it had been offered to him. Then there was a tweet of a fake Barack Obama video from Leach’s Twitter account. Needless to say, the offseason has been rather tumultuous.

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Outlook

On the field, the Washington State Cougars will have to replace their best player on either side of the ball. Quarterback Luke Falk set the PAC-12 career passing record and defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa was first team All PAC-12. The competition to be Falk’s replacement is led by graduate transfer Gardner Minshew. An East Carolina University transfer, Minshew started five games last season for the Pirates and chose the Cougars over Alabama. Junior defensive end Nnamdi Oguayo will also try to fill some of the void on defense left by Mata’afa.

In all, the Cougars return four offensive starters and six on defense. WSU still has the overall team speed on offense to score points in Leach’s high powered offense. Another obstacle to overcome is turnover in the coaching staff. Leach had to replace several coaches, including defensive coordinator Alex Grinch who took the Co-coordinator job at Ohio State. It will be interesting to see how these coaching changes will affect the program, which has been to four bowl games under Leach after eleven straight losing seasons.

A positive is their schedule. The Cougars open at Wyoming on September 2nd followed by home games against San Jose State and Eastern Washington. Becoming bowl eligible should be a little more attainable with seven home games. The Cougars will not play UCLA and get sixth-ranked Washington at home to end the regular season.

There are plenty of unknowns with the Washington State Cougars. Mike Leach should have his team competing in a bowl this season. He may need a winning season to keep his job. There is a new athletic director who did not hire him and his recent willingness to leave the program may not help his job security.

Next. Welcome to the Eye of the Sports Needle. dark

Oh, and keep the Twitter account about the football team, Coach.

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