Wouldn’t it be poetically ironic if the only two teams that haven’t committed to leaving the PAC-12, Washington State and Oregon State, end up playing each other for the conference championship. I mean, it’s not going to happen, but for this week anyway the fantasy lives as the Cougars knocked off the No. 19. Big Ten Wisconsin Badgers at home in the Palouse in front of a packed stadium that ran out onto the field at the end. Asked afterwards what it meant to him head coach Jake Dickert said; “In this moment, it’s everything. We belong in the Power Five. These kids have worked their (tails) off. I’m so damn proud of them . . . This is a crux point for Washington State and Washington State football. We’re carrying the flag for all the transition, and this is a pivotal moment for where we want to go. Wherever we end up, we’ve got to commit to being great. And I think that’s what this statement [win] means is that we are here. We’re fighting, and even as college football is changing, we’re still getting pretty good results.” On a day in which former head coach Mike Leach was honored and the fans were dressed in pirate shirts, the team burst through the tunnel with eight players leading the way carrying pirate flags. I imagine Coach Leach had a big smile on his face from above when this one was over.
Neither team was able to score in their first possession of the game but the Cougars were first on the board after an eight play drive and Cameron Ward pass to Kyle Williams to go up 7-0 with over five minutes left in the 1st Qtr. The Badgers would come back 10 plays later but after a sack by Cougar Junior LB Kyle Thornton and a six yard loss on a third and eight had to settle for a field goal to make it 7-3. Washington State would pick up their next score with a little trickery as WR Lincoln Victor connected with Junior TE Cooper Mathers on a 39 yard pass to the Badger 1 yard line after which Victor would be rewarded for his efforts by catching a 1 yard TD pass from Ward to go up 14-3. And just like the previous time, Wisconsin drove down the field but after a pass fell incomplete on a three and six at the Cougar 16 yard line settled once again for a field goal to make it a 14-6 game. The Badger place kicker would pick up one more with just 30 seconds left in the half but only after Washington State picked up one of there own and were the beneficiary of two Wisconsin fumbles—one returned to the house to go up 24-9 at the break.
After what was probably a, “come-to-Jesus,” speech by first year head coach Luke Fickell, the Badgers seemed to get it together in the 3rd Qtr and the beginning of the 4th while holding the Cougars scoreless and scoring 13 points of their own to close the gap, now only down 24-22—forcing Washington State into three three-and-outs and one turnover on downs. With less than 10 minutes left and still trailing by just two points Wisconsin had the ball first and ten at the Washington State 49 and poised for a clock eating game winning drive. But it just wasn’t going to happen as the Badgers fumbled the ball away on their second play of the drive—their third of the game, all lost—leading to a Cougar TD ten plays later on a Nakia Watson run into the end zone to make it a two possession 31-22 lead with under six minutes to play. Seven plays later, including four incomplete passes, Wisconsin turned the ball back over to Washington State again after failing to move the chains on a 4th and sixth at the WSU 46 yard line with less than four minutes left. Eight plays and 3:34 later all the Cougars, players-coaches-and fans, celebrated in the middle of the field for a feel good PAC-12 win against a Top 20 Big Ten opponent. Washington State gets to stay home another week as they host Northern Colorado this coming Saturday.