Theo Lawson

Armauni Archie, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound corner from El Cerrito High in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced Friday on Twitter he’d be suiting up for the Cougars in 2019, giving WSU its 11th verbal commit and first defensive back commit.

With a 5-1 record through six weeks of the 2018 season, the Washington State football team will work toward its fourth consecutive bowl bid – and potentially much more – when the second half commences next week against Oregon.

From what we’ve gleaned through the first six weeks of the season, No. 7 Washington and No. 17 Oregon are not only the front-runners in the North, but also the best the conference has to offer at the moment.

Everyone except for Arizona and Arizona State either moves up or down after a positive weekend of results for the South.

Minshew, a graduate transfer QB from East Carolina who signed with the Cougars after originally committing to Alabama, won a starting spot during fall camp and has led WSU to a 5-1 record through the first six weeks of the season.

Washington State University President Kirk Schulz has been chosen as the newest member and Pac-12 representative of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers, the organization announced Monday.

Fans won't have to stay up too late to view Washington State's next home game and those that don't attend will be able to watch it on a national television network.

The degree of difficulty will ramp up for Washington State immediately when the 17th-ranked Oregon Ducks visit on Oct. 20 – the first of a six-game stretch that will test WSU’s mettle and determine if the Cougars head into a third straight Apple Cup with Pac-12 title game implications, or if this is a team that will settle for six or seven wins and be unable to challenge the hard-hitting heavyweights in the North.

The wait continues for Washington State, which once again was denied a place inside the Associated Press Top 25 despite an impressive 56-37 win over Oregon State Saturday in Corvallis that improved the Cougars to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in Pac-12 play.

Martin caught a team-high eight passes and finished with 119 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars improved to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in Pac-12 Conference play.

Washington State didn’t need to worry much about its offense Saturday night at Reser Stadium. In another prolific showing from their graduate transfer quarterback, the Cougars rode Gardner Minshew from start to finish, squeezing out five touchdowns and 430 yards from the fifth-year senior whose mustache has given him instant fame among WSU fans, and whose big arm and deceptive athleticism have given Mike Leach’s offense a potency it didn’t even have under Luke Falk.

Difference makers from Washington State’s 56-37 victory over Oregon State

The Cougars hadn’t blocked a punt since Dylan Hanser did it in 2015 at UCLA and hadn’t returned a punt block for a touchdown in 15 years.

Washington State defensive end Nnamdi Oguayo, middle linebacker Dillon Sherman and wide receiver Rodrick Fisher didn’t make the trip to Corvallis for Saturday’s game against Oregon State.

The last time the Cougars came here, it took a dominant finish to recover from an uninspired start in order to knock off the Gary Andersen-era Beavers.

Though he’s never worn a black and orange polo, never roamed the home sideline at Reser Stadium and never tried to convince someone to play college football in the small community of Corvallis, Mike Leach understands Jonathan Smith’s position and it wasn’t all that long ago the Washington State coach was sitting in a similar chair.

Keys to a potential Washington State victory Saturday against Oregon State at Reser Stadium.

You won’t find Royce Freeman, Phillip Lindsay, Ryan Nall, Ronald Jones or Jamal Morrow in the end zone this season – and Bryce Love isn’t getting there quite as often – but the Pac-12 has certainly restocked its cupboard at the running back position.

Entering the 2018 season, Washington State fans were cautiously optimistic, but never bullish, about the Cougars’ chances of claiming a postseason berth for the fourth time in four years.

It’s still a tale of two divisions in the Pac-12 Conference. In the North, everyone but Oregon State has at least three wins and the Beavers are the only ones with more than one loss. Atop the South, No. 21 Colorado is still unbeaten at 4-0, but five other teams have at least two losses each and not including the Buffaloes, the division is just 10-13.

A full transcript of Wednesday's Cougar football live chat with Spokesman-Review Washington State beat writer Theo Lawson.

The 6-3, 215-pound Linfield Christian standout becomes just the second defensive four-star prospect (using 247sports rankings) to sign at WSU and he could be the first to carry out a full career for the Cougars.

After a lopsided result in South Bend – one that wasn’t totally unpredictable – we flip Nos. 1 and 2 for the second time in as many weeks. And after a blowout win over ranked BYU, it seems like the Huskies could hold on to the top ranking for the long haul.

A slow-starting recruiting season for Washington State has picked up steam these last few weeks and continued to crescendo Tuesday morning when the Cougars received their highest-profile commitment in the class of the 2019.