1985 Washington State Cougars football team

Last updated

1985 Washington State Cougars football
Washington State Football Helmet 1976-1987.png
Conference Pacific-10 Conference
Record4–7 (3–5 Pac-10)
Head coach
Home stadium Martin Stadium
Seasons
  1984
1986  
1985 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 UCLA $ 6 2 09 2 1
Arizona 5 2 08 3 1
Arizona State 5 2 08 4 0
Washington 5 3 07 5 0
USC 5 3 06 6 0
Oregon 3 4 05 6 0
Washington State 3 5 04 7 0
Stanford 3 5 04 7 0
Oregon State 2 6 03 8 0
California 2 7 04 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record (3–5 in Pac-10, tied for seventh), and outscored their opponents 313 to 282. [1] [2] Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

Contents

The team's statistical leaders included Mark Rypien with 2,174 passing yards, Rueben Mayes with 1,236 rushing yards, and Kitrick Taylor with 489 receiving yards. [3]

This season's offense included the "RPM" backfield: Rypien at quarterback, [4] with Kerry Porter and Mayes at running back. [5] [6] All three were previous first team all-conference selections (Porter as a sophomore in 1983), and expectations were high; injuries on defense took a toll and five of their losses were by a touchdown or less. [7] [8]

In the Apple Cup, the Cougars won again in Husky Stadium for their third win over Washington in the last four years. [9] [10] [11] [12] With frigid temperatures and snow on the Palouse prior to the game, the Cougars held indoor practices in the evening at the Kibbie Dome in neighboring Moscow, Idaho. [7] [8]

Mayes rushed for over 150 yards in each of the last four games and repeated as the Pac-10 offensive player of the year. [13] [14] Defensive lineman Erik Howard and return specialist Kitrick Taylor were also named All-Pac-10. [13]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 31 Oregon L 39–4225,900 [15]
September 7 California
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
W 20–1930,135 [16]
September 14at Arizona L 7–1246,437 [17]
September 21at Utah *L 37–4428,576 [18]
September 28at No. 5 Ohio State *L 32–4889,954 [19]
October 12at Oregon State W 34–027,236 [20]
October 19No. 18 UCLA Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 30–3132,302 [21]
October 26 Arizona State
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 16–2114,875 [22]
November 2at USC L 13–3146,954 [23]
November 16 Montana State *
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
W 64–146,807 [24]
November 23at Washington W 21–2059,887 [25]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

At Washington

1985 Washington State game film vs. Washington (silent) on YouTube

Personnel

1985 Washington State Cougars football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 10Ed BlountJr
WR 24Rick ChaseJr
G 77Mike DreyerSr
G 59Peter EmskySr
WR 88Michael JamesSo
C 61Curt LadinesSr
TE 83Jeff LamsonSo
TE 89Chris LeightonJr
G 66Ian LindnerJr
RB 36 Rueben Mayes Sr
FB 30Kerry PorterJr
QB 17 Mark Rypien Sr
OT 67Mike SchusterSr
WR 47Cotton SearsJr
RB 38 Junior Tautalatasi Sr
WR 8 Kitrick Taylor Jr
OT 56Bill WilliamsSr
OT 60 Mike Utley Fr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 97Mike BeasleySr
CB 16Cedrick BrownJr
LB 91Ben CarrilloSr
DE 67Rob ClevelandSo
S 25Ron CollinsJr
LB 35Dave FitzgeraldSr
LB 57Brian FordeSo
S 19Artie HolmesFr
DT 73 Erik Howard Sr
S 28Steve HaubSr
LB 51James KrakoskiJr
LB 49Jeff LoomisJr
LB 40Maury MetcalfFr
DE Mike NathlichFr
LB Bob O'NealSo
DT 99Tim PetekFr
CB 20 Ricky Reynolds Jr
S 6Kevin ThomassonJr
LB 27Dean TuruljaSo
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 1Glenn HarperSr
K 4John TrautSr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Jim Burrow
  • Dave Elliott
  • Jon Fabris
  • Gary Gagnon
  • Lindsay Hughes
  • Steve Morton
  • Mel Sanders
  • Del Wight
  • Ken Woody

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

[6] [8] [26] [27] [28]

NFL draft

Four Cougars were selected in the 1986 NFL draft.

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Erik Howard DT246 New York Giants
Rueben Mayes R357 New Orleans Saints
Mark Rypien QB6146 Washington Redskins
Junior Tautalatasi RB10261 Philadelphia Eagles

[29]

References

  1. "1985 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. "1985 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. Grummert, Dale (November 22, 1985). "Rypien". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  5. Devlin, Vince (August 30, 1985). "Tooth and nail". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. p. 21.
  6. 1 2 "WSU begins 'preseason' play". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. September 21, 1985. p. 1C.
  7. 1 2 Devlin, Vince (November 21, 1985). "Their Cup hardly runneth over". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  8. 1 2 3 Grummert, Dale (November 23, 1985). "Cougars, Huskies in Apple Cup redemption matchup". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  9. Devlin, Vince (November 23, 1985). "Apple Cup's lost some appeal". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  10. "WSU stuns bowl-bound UW, 21-20". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. November 24, 1985. p. 6C.
  11. Cour, Jim (November 25, 1985). "Loss didn't cost UW its Freedom". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. B2.
  12. Grummert, Dale (November 25, 1985). "It was inevitable Cougar players would prove their points to UW". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  13. 1 2 "WSU's Mayes captures Pac-10 honor". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. staff and wire reports. November 27, 1985. p. 1C.
  14. "Mayes earns Pac-10 player award again". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. November 27, 1985. p. C2.
  15. "Miller leads Ducks to a 42–39 upset win over Cougars". The Los Angeles Times. September 1, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Cal loses late lead, falls 20–19 to WSU". The Sacramento Bee. September 8, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Arizona edges WSU". Tri-City Herald. September 15, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Utah gets offensive with WSU". The Daily Herald. September 22, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Bucks romp 48–32". The Times Recorder. September 29, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Washington State bombs Oregon State, 34–0". Anchorage Daily News. October 13, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Luck eludes Cougars, UCLA wins 31–30". The Sunday Oregonian. October 20, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Washington State comeback effort falls just short". The Daily Inter Lake. October 27, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Knight leads Trojans past Cougars, 31–13". The Los Angeles Times. November 3, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  24. "WSU way too much for Bobcats". Great Falls Tribune. November 17, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Cougars ease frustrations, nip Huskies". Corvallis Gazette-Times. November 24, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. August 31, 1985. p. 2B.
  27. "The lineups". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 23, 1985. p. C4.
  28. "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  29. Devlin, Vince (April 30, 1986). "An early start, late finish for WSU trio". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. D1.