Washington State Cougars at midseason – Going forward from here
As the Washington State Cougars take their bye week, we look at what went right and what needs improvement. Additionally, where do the Cougs’ go from here?
This isn’t how the Washington State Cougars wanted to go into their bye week. After a successful start to the season, which included a win at Wisconsin, WSU has lost three of its last four games.
Dropping games against Oregon and USC weren’t backbreakers because the Pac-12 season is one of attrition. Teams can go to the championship game with two losses. But, the most difficult “L” came last Saturday at Oregon State.
There is no way to sugarcoat it. This was a game WSU needed to win to stay in contention for a top-two finish. Instead, the Cougs’ offense laid an egg in Corvalis.
Just because they won’t be the 2022 Pac-12 Champs doesn’t mean they should pack it in. So, where do the Washington State Cougars go from here?
Playing for the postseason
Despite three losses this season, WSU is still very much in the hunt to play in a bowl game. A team needs six wins to become bowl eligible, and the Cougs put four in the win column so far.
They also have Stanford, Arizona, and Arizona State left on the schedule. The trio has a combined record of 7-12. It seems likely they’ll win at least two of those games.
Don’t count Wazzu out against their other two opponents, Utah and Washington. Before the Cougs hit the back half of the conference slate, they need to improve in a few areas.