Cougs wait for news
PULLMAN – What a mess.
That’s about all that’s left to say after Washington State spoiled a potentially special season by losing its last three games – the Cougars were favored in all three – and turned a 6-3 start into a .500 finish.
The repercussions are many, and some may end up costing the Cougars well into the future, but for the time being their focus has to fall on the bowl picture, and the myriad permutations that will sort themselves out over the next two weeks.
Put differently, the Cougars will have no choice but to sit and stew while other teams help to decide their future, since they themselves bungled three chances to control it themselves.
In all likelihood, WSU has a chance at only four bowl games, and to say that it is a favorite to get a bid to any one of them might be a stretch:
“Hawaii Bowl. This is probably WSU’s best shot, but it will mean being chosen in a sixth-place tiebreaker over another Pac-10 foe. The Cougars have to hope for an Arizona win over Arizona State, which would probably mean that WSU and UCLA would be going head-to-head for the right to play Hawaii in Honolulu on Dec. 24. Oregon could end up in that same tie, but with seven overall wins it would probably earn a fifth-place bid to San Francisco’s Emerald Bowl.
“Poinsettia Bowl. The first bowl game of the year, this Dec. 19 contest in San Diego pits a Mountain West Conference team against an at-large team. This and all the other two at-large possibilities, however, could end up being moot if other middling teams around the country win. No 6-6 team can earn an at-large bowl bid until every squad with a winning record has a berth. Currently, 48 teams are already at seven or more wins, and 20 are at six wins.
“MPC Computers Bowl. Played in Boise on New Year’s Eve, the Cougars could benefit from the ACC’s inability to fill its eight bowl slots.
“Motor City Bowl. There is almost no chance WSU ends up playing in Detroit on Dec. 26, but it’s currently the only bowl guaranteed to have an at-large bid available because a conference (the Big Ten, in this case) didn’t have enough teams to go around.
Three weeks ago, many of the above scenarios seemed silly. But the Cougars managed to back themselves to the ledge with shoddy play, poor coaching and overconfidence down the stretch.
Now, they’ve left it to teams like Arkansas State and Kent State – both 6-5 right now – to give them one final push.