ESPN College GameDay considers visiting WSU

PULLMAN – Fans bearing the Washington State flag have made 170 pilgrimages to college towns across the country to visit the ESPN live pregame broadcast show College GameDay.

Now, ESPN is considering making its first trip to Pullman.

ESPN spokesperson Rachel Siegal confirmed in an email to The Spokesman-Review that WSU is one of eight sites being considered for the Oct. 31 GameDay broadcast.

The Cougars will play host to No. 10 Stanford at 7:30 p.m. that Saturday, which is also Halloween, and ESPN is already scheduled to broadcast the game.

The three-hour telecast every Saturday morning during college football season, typically outside the stadium of the home team in what is considered to be one of the weekend’s premier games.

Fans and students crowd behind the set where hosts Lee Corso, Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit preview the day’s upcoming action. A WSU flag has been visible among the various signs and flags since Oct. 18, 2003, the longest such streak in the country.

The streak nearly ended at 166 earlier this year when the flag was lost in transit on its way to Tucson, Arizona, for the Wildcats’ game against UCLA. But ESPN sent a flag via express mail and Hunter Hughes, an employee of the Cougar Athletic Fund, flew a flag from Pullman to Phoenix, via Spokane and Seattle, and drove to Tucson to ensure the streak survived.

While College GameDay has never been to Pullman, the show did visit Texas Tech in 2008, when WSU coach Mike Leach and his then-Red Raiders upset No. 1 Texas.

“I’m sure there would be Coug flags flying all over, as there always is on College GameDay,” Leach said. “College GameDay, it’s difficult to watch, because we’re always preparing for a game. We’re always getting ready to do our game, so I hear about College GameDay from my relatives and stuff. If we were on College GameDay that would be exciting.”

Luani named Pac-12 Player of the Week

Washington State safety Shalom Luani was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the week after recording two interceptions and 11 tackles against Oregon State.

Luani, a junior college transfer, has made a sizable impact in his short time with the Cougars. His 33 unassisted tackles are second on the team only to middle linebacker Peyton Pelluer’s 34 and Luani leads the team with three interceptions, all of which have come in the last two games.

He is WSU’s first Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week since Damante Horton won it in Week 2 of the 2013 season following WSU’s win at USC.

The junior safety’s first interception came late in the fourth quarter and was returned 84 yards for a touchdown, accounting for the team’s only points in the second half of the 52-31 win. He then ended the subsequent OSU possession with another pick.

Luani became the fourth Pac-12 player with a two-interception game this season and his 84-yard return is the longest in the conference this year.

“He’s a really quick guy,” Leach said. “I think he’s reasonably fast, but he’s really quick and then I think it’s just kind of coming together for him. He’s getting into a rhythm, playing faster; he’s seeing it better and that type of thing.”

Before he started regularly taking the ball away from opposing offenses, Luani made a name for himself as the team’s hardest-hitter, regularly punishing ball carriers and would-be receivers. Leach has called him possibly the hardest hitter he’s had at WSU, and certainly the most violent tackler relative to his size. Luani is listed at 6-foot, 201-pounds.

“I think guys on the opposing team are scared to cross the middle back there,” said WSU defensive lineman Darryl Paulo. “He’s a hard hitter and he’s fun to watch on film.”

Leach says defenders need to stick to assignments

While the WSU defense is improved in many aspects, the Cougars have had an issue giving up too many explosive running plays. WSU has given up 13 runs of 20 or more yards, which ranks 105th out of 128 teams nationally.

Leach said players do not stick to their assignment or try to fulfill a teammate’s role and those mental mistakes lead to big plays.

“Well, the thing is, for whatever reason it’s tempting to do that. ‘Should I or shouldn’t I? Should I or shouldn’t I?’ ” Leach said. “And then you give up an explosive. ‘No. You’re an idiot. Don’t do it.’ So there’s a point where it’s just like some kid that’s wondering if something’s hot and sticking his hand on it. So we’ve got a bunch of guys that need to let the blisters heal and not get blisters again.”