COMMENTARY: WSU season fair to middling

With how Washington State’s football season ended, it might be easy to forget the Cougs finished with more wins than losses this year.

Blowout losses to Washington in the Apple Cup and Fresno State on Saturday in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl certainly put a sour taste in the mouths of Coug fans heading into the holidays.

For those who missed the 29-6 disappointment at SoFi Stadium, here are a few of the lowlights:

Cam Ward ran out the back of the end zone for a safety, shades of Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky.

Season lows in points, yards (182 ) and a questionable failed fourth-down attempt at their own 23-yard line that led to an FSU score.

501 yards allowed to the Bulldogs, including 209 and two TDs to running back Jordan Mims.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the Cougs had to hear late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel compare the WSU logo to a certain male body part being slammed in a car door on his nationally televised show the day before the game. Then, they had to watch the celebrity award the bowl game trophy to the Bulldogs after the loss.

Ouch.

While it wasn’t the ending it wanted, the WSU’s 2022 season also featured several moments to remember.

The Cougars finished the year at 7-6 for their sixth winning season since 2015 and they played in their seventh straight bowl game in that span — a bowl streak many teams across the nation would dream to have.

They upset then-No. 19 Wisconsin 17-14 at historic Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 10, bringing tears to coach Jake Dickert’s eyes in his home state.

They spanked Arizona and former quarterback Jayden de Laura 31-20 on Nov. 19 in a revenge game several players surely had circled even if they’d never say so publicly.

They also beat their border rival Idaho Vandals 24-17 in a reemergence of one of the nation’s longest-running rivalries Sept. 3.

And while it was a loss, they handed Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams one of his worst statistical performances of the season on Oct. 8 against then-No. 6 USC.

Looking back, WSU’s season really was a rollercoaster.

I’ll admit I didn’t have high hopes for the Cougars going into my first full season covering the team. I expected them to get no more than six or seven wins, considering all the key pieces they lost last year from a group that also went 7-6.

My record prediction may have come true, but it’s not much to brag about considering WSU beat all the teams it was supposed to beat and lost to teams that were better.

Of WSU’s six losses, five were to teams currently ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25 — No. 8 Utah, No. 10 USC, No. 12 Washington, No. 14 Oregon State and No. 15 Oregon.

The other is Fresno State, which finished the season 10-4 and surely will be in the top 25 when the end-of-year rankings are released in January.

Meanwhile, the teams WSU defeated all finished with losing records, minus Idaho (7-5), of the lower Football Championship Subdivision, and Wisconsin, which is 6-6 with its Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State still pending.

Call it an average season for the Cougars.

Just like last year, WSU will have several key players (and coaches) to replace. Gone are future NFL linebacker Daiyan Henley, the team’s top four wide receivers to transfer and graduation, offensive coordinator Eric Morris and defensive coordinator Brian Ward, to name a few.

Dickert rallied the troops and put together a barely winning season in his first full year as head coach.

It won’t get any easier in 2023.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.