Washington State Cougars College Football Betting
To his credit Mike Leach was one of the most successful head coaches in Washington State football history. The Pirate of the Palouse ended a ten-year bowl drought and put the Cougs into the post season his last five years on the job. The only two blemishes on Leach’s record was his inability to get past the arch rival Washington Huskies and failure to win a Pac 12 North Division title. Leach did lead the Cougars to one of their greatest ever seasons in 2018 when they went 11-2 and a final national rankling of 10th. Last year Wazzu stepped back a notch falling to 6-7 that ended in a Cheez It Bowl loss to Air Force. As usual defense was the culprit for Wazzu as they ranked 113th overall and 95th for points allowed. This offset the highly productive Air Raid offense that ranked sixth overall and 10th for scoring. Sensing he had maxed out at Pullman, Leach bolted for Mississippi State of the SEC. Nick Rolovich takes over the program for 2020-21.
2020 Washington State Cougars at a Glance
Nick Rolovich arrives at Washington State after resuscitating the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors program. Rolovich inherited a mess but ended a six-year bowl drought in his first season on the job. Last year Hawaii enjoyed a 10-5 season that ended in a Holiday Bowl triumph. Rolovich was named Mountain West Coach of the Year. The fact that Rolovich won at a low budget outpost school makes him well suited for Washington State. Although he does not run Leach’s Air Raid offensive system Rolovich does run a similar run and shoot attack. His successful Hawaii team had similar metrics to Leach’s Wazzu squad. Hawaii finished 13th in the nation for total offense and 91st in the land for overall defense.
Washington State has always been considered the outpost of the Pac 12. And the Cougars have one of the smallest fan bases and budgets in the league. This is in sync with what Rolovich had to deal with at Hawaii. Rolovich also brings a unique if not polarizing personality which is in like manner to Leach. By resume and playing style Rolovich looks like the perfect fit at Pullman. And Leach did leave the Wazzu program in far better shape than what it was in when he took over.
2020 Washington State Cougars Regular Season Preview
Rolovich faces on immediate challenge upon taking over as head coach of Washington State. He does not inherit an experienced starting quarterback. Then again with his new system that may end up being a positive. Washington State has been a mixed bag at the quarterback position. They have had their last three quarterbacks selected in the NFL Draft. But there hasn’t been much in the way of continuity for the Cougars.
Redshirt sophomore Cammon Cooper and true freshman Jayden de Laura were to compete for the starting quarterback position. However, there was no spring football and then the fall football season was announced as postponed. Assuming the Pac 12 does go through with its intended winter campaign Rolovich will finally get a good look at these two prospects. Cooper was once the nation’s 15th ranked high school quarterback in the pro style category. While de Laura won two state championships as a high school quarterback at Hawaii’s Saint Louis.
A major contributor that can keep defenses honest is junior running back Max Borghi, who posted 1400 all purpose yards with 16 touchdowns in 2019. Borghi will help share the workload and pressure with whoever ends up as quarterback.
Washington State lost its top three receivers but the cupboard isn’t bare. Seniors Davontavean Martin and Richard Bell along with junior Travell Harris should keep defenses on edge. All three players had over 500 yards receiving last year.
As for the defense the good news is that things can’t get much worse. Rolovich will employ a 4-3 base defense led by coordinator Jake Dickert.
With the delay of the Pac 12 season until winter Rolovich has time to educate his players on a new system to come out off and running.
2020 Washington State Cougars Schedule
| Date |
Opponent |
| Nov 7 |
@ Oregon State |
| Nov 14 |
vs. Oregon |
| Nov 21 |
@ Stanford |
| Nov 27 |
vs. Washington |
| Dec 4 |
@ USC |
| Dec 12 |
vs. California |
NCAA Football Teams
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