After starting out the season winning their first four, two against the ranked teams of Wisconsin and Oregon State, the Cougars have lost their last five and have become painful to watch. In those wins Washington State was averaging 45+ points per game while holding their opponents to 25. In their five consecutive losses they are averaging just 16+ points per game while giving up an average of over 32. What happened? They lost this one 10-7 to a Stanford team with a defense that is in the bottom 10 nationally. A Stanford team who gives up an average of 440+ total yards of offense a game and 34+ points.
Greg Woods, who writes for the Spokesman-Review, probably sums up their demise best when he wrote; “There comes a point in every team’s undoing when it loses the ability to make supporters believe. Wins turn to losses, the slide hits several games and suddenly, the facade vanishes. Those who held onto hope, even when it made more sense to believe in the Loch Ness Monster, turn their backs. With this 10-7 loss to Stanford on Saturday evening, Washington State can no longer suspend disbelief. The Cougars are who they are, and now that this losing streak has hit five games, they’ve painted an ugly picture: A toothless group that can’t solve the same issues that have surfaced every week, an inconsistent team that looks like an impostor of the one that won four straight games to open this season.” Head Coach Jake Dickert added; “We were out of sync. We were out of rhythm. Balls are on the ground, whether it was drops, whether it was runs, whether it was missed blocks, missed protections. The drop-eight narrative, you keep hearing about that. We need to get over the hump, and to do that we need to be able to run the ball.” Washington State rushing 24 times for just 4 yards in this one—not a typo—is all the evidence you need as to why Woods continues in his article to make the accurate observation that; “The reality is nobody in the PAC-12 respects WSU’s rushing defense.” And without a run game that keeps the defense honest there won’t be much of a passing offense either, indicated by their almost 30 point drop-off per game starting in Week-5.
There’s not a lot to write about regarding this game. The Cougars held Stanford scoreless through the first half and still found a way to lose. They put up seven points in the 2nd Qtr but were held scoreless themselves in the other three while Stanford put up ten after the break to win the game. For Washington State, Cameron Ward connected on 24-of-40 for 241 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception during their first possession of the 2nd half which led to a Stanford TD and 7-7 tie at the time. The Cougars had a chance to score again after a Stanford interception with time running out in the 3rd Qtr but after only moving the ball nine yards over the next six plays were forced to try a 43 yard field goal sitting 4th and 17 at the Stanford 26. They missed and Stanford kicked and made a 31 yard field goal of their own 12 plays later to take the lead 10-7 with almost six minutes left. But after holding Washington State to a three-and-out on their next possession the Cardinals ran out the clock for the win.
Hopefully Stanford gets a little bit of time to enjoy just their third win of the year as they’ll hit the road to Corvallis this next Saturday to face an Oregon State team that has only lost one game at home over the last three years. The Cougars need to win two of their last three in order to become bowl eligible and since they’ll be facing No. 5 Washington in the Apple Cup the Friday after Thanksgiving they need to get it done over the next two weeks against Cal on the road and Colorado at home.