2018 Washington State Cougars football team

Last updated

2018 Washington State Cougars football
Washington State Cougars wordmark.svg
Pac-12 North Division co-champion
Alamo Bowl champion
Alamo Bowl, W 28–26 vs. Iowa State
Conference Pac–12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record11–2 (7–2 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive scheme Air raid
Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys (1st season)
Home stadium Martin Stadium
Uniform
Washington state football unif.png
Seasons
←  2017
2019  →
2018 Pac-12 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
North Division
No. 13 Washington xy$  7 –2   10 –4  
No. 10 Washington State x  7 –2   11 –2  
Stanford  6 –3   9 –4  
Oregon  5 –4   9 –4  
California  4 –5   7 –6  
Oregon State  1 –8   2 –10  
South Division
Utah xy  6 –3   9 –5  
Arizona State  5 –4   7 –6  
USC  4 –5   5 –7  
Arizona  4 –5   5 –7  
UCLA  3 –6   3 –9  
Colorado  2 –7   5 –7  
Championship: Washington 10, Utah 3
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were led by 7th-year head coach Mike Leach and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. [1]

Contents

The 2018 season was one of the greatest in Washington State history. The Cougars won a school record-tying ten games, the first time they had won that many in the regular season since the Rose Bowl year of 2002. They also surged as high as seventh in major polling and went into the Apple Cup with a chance to clinch the Pac-12 North title and a shot at the Rose Bowl, but lost 28–15 to rival Washington in the snow in Pullman, a sixth consecutive loss to the Huskies. The 10–2 Cougars were invited to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio to play the Iowa State Cyclones. They won 28–26 for a school record 11th win.

Mike Leach's air raid offense was led by grad transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew, who led FBS in passing completions and attempts, and finished second in passing yards. [2] Minshew was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was the recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He and offensive tackle Andre Dillard were named first-team all-conference. Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Abraham Lucas was named to several national all-freshman teams, and was joined on the all-conference second-team by defensive end Logan Tago. Mike Leach was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second time of his career.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

AwardPlayerPositionYear
Rimington Trophy [3] Frederick MauigoaCJR
Chuck Bednarik Award [4] Jalen Thompson SJR
Wuerffel Trophy [5] Peyton PelluerLBSR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award [6] Gardner Minshew QBSR
Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award [7] Gardner MinshewQBSR

Pac-12 media days

The 2018 Pac-12 media days were held July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Mike Leach (HC), Kyle Sweet (WR/P) & Jalen Thompson (S) represented Washington State at this event. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Cougars predicted to finish in fifth place at Pac-12 North division. [8]

Media poll (North)
Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1Washington249 (40)
2Stanford198 (2)
3Oregon178 (2)
4California108
5Washington State98
6Oregon State45

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 112:30 p.m.at Wyoming *
 CBSSN W 41–1924,131
September 88:00 p.m. San Jose State *
 P12N W 31–026,141
September 155:00 p.m.No. 6 (FCS) Eastern Washington *
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
P12NW 59–2432,952
September 217:30 p.m.at USC
ESPNL 36–3952,421
September 293:00 p.m. Utah Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
P12NW 28–2430,088
October 66:00 p.m.at Oregon State
P12NW 56–3734,429
October 204:30 p.m.No. 12 Oregon No. 25
 FOX W 34–2033,152
October 274:10 p.m.at No. 24 Stanford No. 14
P12NW 41–3839,596
November 37:45 p.m. California No. 8
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
 ESPN W 19–1332,952
November 1012:30 p.m.at Colorado No. 8
 ESPN W 31–745,587
November 177:30 p.m. Arizona No. 8
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
ESPNW 69–2822,400
November 235:30 p.m.No. 16 Washington No. 8
FOXL 15–2832,952
December 286:00 p.m.vs. No. 24 Iowa State *No. 13
ESPNW 28–2660,675

Conference opponents not played this season: Arizona State, UCLA

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP —RVRVRV—RVRV2514101087121210
Coaches RVRVRVRVRVRVRV231511997131310
CFP Not released88881313Not released

Game summaries

At Wyoming

Washington State at Wyoming – Game summary
Period1234Total
Cougars10372141
Cowboys2143019

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY

Game information

San Jose State

San Jose State at Washington State – Game summary
Period1234Total
Spartans00000
Cougars14100731

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington at Washington State – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 6 (FCS) Eagles01014024
Cougars141472459

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

At USC

Washington State at USC – Game summary
Period1234Total
Cougars3216636
Trojans71071539

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA

Game information

Utah

Utah at Washington State – Game summary
Period1234Total
Utes1473024
Cougars7140728

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

At Oregon State

Washington State at Oregon State – Game summary
Period1234Total
Cougars141472156
Beavers14106737

at Reser Stadium, Corvallis, OR

Game information

Oregon

Oregon at Washington State – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 12 Ducks0017320
No. 25 Cougars7200734

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

At Stanford

Washington State at Stanford – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 14 Cougars14371741
No. 24 Cardinal14143738

at Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA

Game information

California

California at Washington State– Game summary
Period1234Total
Golden Bears0103013
No. 10 Cougars3100619

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

At Colorado

Washington State at Colorado – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 10 Cougars01071431
Buffaloes70007

at Folsom Field, Boulder, CO

Game information

Arizona

Arizona at Washington State– Game summary
Period1234Total
Wildcats7714028
No. 8 Cougars213401469

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

Washington

Washington at Washington State– Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 16 Huskies776828
No. 7 Cougars078015

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Game information

Vs. Iowa State (Alamo Bowl)

Alamo Bowl– Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 25 Cyclones01010626
No. 12 Cougars7140728

at Alamodome, San Antonio, TX

Game information

Awards

PlayerAwardDate
Gardner Minshew Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week [9] September 17, 2018
Travell HarrisPac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week [10] September 17, 2018
Jahad WoodsPac-12 Defensive Player of the Week [11] November 19, 2018

Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year: Gardner Minshew II
Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Mike Leach [12]

NFL draft

PlayerPositionRoundOverallNFL club
Andre Dillard OT122 Philadelphia Eagles
Gardner Minshew QB6178 Jacksonville Jaguars

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References

  1. ↑ "Cougars Announce 2018 Football Schedule". wsucougars.com. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  2. ↑ "2018 College Football Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Semifinalists for 2018 Davey O'Brien Award announced". November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Washington picked as Pac-12 favorite in preseason media poll". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 3" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 3" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 12" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  12. ↑ Pac-12.com. Retrieved 2018-Dec-27.
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