ANALYSIS: Grading WSU football games at the season's half
Oct. 19—From rising up to No. 13 in the country to its worst loss in 10 years, the Washington State football season has reached the midpoint already featuring massive highs and epic lows.
The midterms are in. Here's a game-by-game look back at how WSU (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) grades out at the halfway point of the season:
At Colorado State, 50-24 win: B
Putting up 50 points on the road and getting a breakout performance by beloved team captain Lincoln Victor (11 catches, 168 yards) was a rewarding start to the season for a team entering with a dozen new starters and a plethora of new faces at key reserve spots. WSU did, however, allow three Rams touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Vs. No. 19 Wisconsin, 31-22 win: A+
Sixth-year senior edges Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson added to their Cougar legacies with a pair of Stone strip-sacks and Jackson fumble recoveries, one of which went for a defensive touchdown. Every home game since then, that play has been included in the compilation video that plays with the song "Back Home" by Andy Grammer between the first and second quarters — a Gesa Field tradition.
Vs. Northern Colorado, 64-21 win: A
Not much to say about this one. The Cougars beat up on a winless Big Sky school and got several bench players some solid playing time.
Vs. No. 14 Oregon State, 38-35 win: A+
The Cougars get some extra credit for style in this one. Wide receiver Josh Kelly had two wild, one-handed catches and another touchdown grab in which he made about five Beavers miss on a 44-yard touchdown. WSU needed every one of those catches to hold on and beat OSU for its second ranked win of the season and second field-rushing moment in September.
At UCLA, 25-17 loss: C-
Kapena Gushiken's 88-yard interception return for a touchdown gets high marks, but this game was the first dud of the season for WSU. The offense failed to sustain drives and the defense ran out of gas at the end. The other only positive for the Cougars was they somehow only lost by eight points.
Vs. Arizona, 44-6 loss: D-
This game was the equivalent of studying for the wrong exam. WSU wasn't prepared in any facet of the game, except for maybe special teams, and the final margin was the worst loss in Pullman since a 69-0 thrashing by USC in 2008. Talk about a bad time to have an off day.
Season as a whole: B+
Despite the recent letdowns, the Cougars have still exceeded expectations this year based on what they accomplished in their first four games. This is still a young team with a lot of new faces. WSU only has to win two of its remaining six games to earn a berth to its eighth straight bowl game, which should be more than doable if the players can regain the confidence they had during their 4-0 start.
Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2277, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.
