WSU ranked No. 24 in AP poll, No. 23 in coaches poll

PULLMAN – No. 18 UCLA, the victim of yet another fourth-quarter comeback by the 2015 Washington State Cougars, was the highest-ranked team the Cougars have beaten since defeating No. 16 Oregon in 2006.

That year, two head coaching changes ago, was also the last time the Cougars were ranked. That nine-year streak of unacknowledged teams ended Sunday, when the Associated Press Top 25 poll for Week 12 was released with WSU sitting at No. 24. The Cougars are No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

The rankings are the first tangible, concrete signs of national regard for a team whose leaders say that, despite its success in the competitive Pac-12, has not been getting the respect it deserves.

“No we haven’t,” said wide receiver Gabe Marks after the game. “Every one knows that. People were not going to give us respect until they absolutely had to, and I think now they have to.”

The Cougars (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) have not had an easy road to their lofty position, which currently sees them tied with Oregon at No. 2 in the Pac-12 North behind a Stanford team they were a field goal away from beating.

In Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and UCLA they beat teams who have almost always been superior for a decade, and they’ve done it with a quarterback, Luke Falk, who leads the NCAA in passing yards and has been twice sent to the sidelines after taking a hit to his head.

They have won games in which they scored a touchdown while trailing with one, three and 13 seconds left on the play clock. They trailed in the fourth quarter of four wins, and overcame a 14-0 deficit against Arizona State last week with a doubt-erasing 21-0 fourth quarter.

And because of those comebacks, the Cougars are off to their best start since going 8-2 in 2003.

“This team, more than any other team, has taken the personality of our coach and we just go on to the next thing,” Marks said. “If we’re up by 40 or we’re down by a touchdown, 10 points or whatever, there will still be the next drive so we have the opportunity to go out there and make a play.”

The Cougars cannot make the Rose Bowl: Stanford would win a two-way tie with the Cougars and Oregon would win a three-way tie with WSU and the Cardinal, by virtue of having the best inter-division record.

The AP currently has four Pac-12 teams ranked ahead of the Cougars: No. 15 Stanford, No. 18 Utah, No. 22 USC and No. 23 Oregon. But WSU, which has won five of its last six games, is likely to be favored in its remaining contests against Colorado (4-7, 1-6) and Washington (4-6, 2-5).

With Utah and Stanford proving their mortality against the Wildcats and Ducks, WSU is as scary an opponent as any Pac-12 team. And if it can just finish out its remarkable streak in two very winnable games, it will have a reasonable claim to being the conference’s best team.

“The coaches have preached to us all year that we’re the best team in the Pac-12, and we’ve got to play like it,” said linebacker Jeremiah Allison.