The Washington State Cougars got punished in the Week 10 college football rankings. After getting ranked No. 16 last week in the Coaches Poll, this week WSU has dropped off the list. Counting the votes, they are ranked No. 27 by the coaches, a consequence of losing to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday (Oct. 28).
WSU has dropped to 7-2 on the season, becoming one of the best teams to not be in the Week 10 Coaches Poll. The voters were not kind to the Cougars this time around, but coach Mike Leach and fans in Pullman have been equally hard on the team.
After starting out the season 6-0, the Cougars have now lost two of their last three games. The Week 10 college football rankings shifted quite a bit at the top due to more upsets as well.
The AP Top 25
The Associated Press voters were a little kinder to the Washington State Cougars, placing them as the No. 25 ranked team in the country. That’s a 10-spot dip from last week, but at least the writers kept them ranked in the poll. The Arizona Wildcats passed WSU in the Week 10 rankings, sliding in at No. 23 to get ranked for the first time this season. It seems they have been rewarded a lot for beating WSU in Week 9.
WSU has three games left in the regular season, with two of them coming against teams ranked in both major college football polls.
Those teams are No. 12 Washington (7-1) and No. 18 Stanford (6-2), setting up a really tough road between the Cougars and a top bowl game in the postseason. The other game that WSU has left on their schedule is a road game against the tough defense of the Utah Utes.
College Football Playoff
Thoughts of making it to the College Football Playoff this year are likely gone for fans of the Washington State Cougars.
Losing two games to unranked teams this season (California and Arizona) brought those hopes to an end. It doesn’t rule out the team making it to one of the New Year’s Six bowl games, though, as WSU could still win the Pac-12 Championship Game and advance to one of the elite bowl games. That won’t be easy to do though.
WSU gets to at least play No.
18 Stanford at home next Saturday (Nov. 4). The Pac-12 Conference already revealed that the game will begin at 12:30 PM PT and that FOX will be providing live television coverage. It’s a must-win situation for the Washington State Cougars if the team wants to remain in contention to win the Pac-12 North and possibly move on to the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win over the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup.
