# 2017 Washington State Cougars football team

The 2017 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by sixth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they lost to Michigan State.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 24 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 21 | 21 | RV |
| Coaches | RV | 22 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 16 | RV | 20 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 21 | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 25 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 18 | Not released |

## Schedule

Washington State announced their 2017 football schedule on January 18; the Cougars opened the season with five straight home games and six consecutive wins.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:30 p.m. | Montana State* | No. 24 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | FS1 | W 31–0 | 30,254 |
| September 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Boise State* | No. 20 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | ESPN | W 47–44 $^{3OT}$ | 32,631 |
| September 16 | 2:30 p.m. | Oregon State | No. 21 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | P12N | W 52–23 | 32,487 |
| September 23 | 3:00 p.m. | Nevada* | No. 18 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | P12N | W 45–7 | 30,317 |
| September 29 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 5 USC | No. 16 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | ESPN | W 30–27 | 33,773 |
| October 7 | 5:00 p.m. | at Oregon | No. 11 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | FOX | W 33–10 | 56,653 |
| October 13 | 7:30 p.m. | at California | No. 8 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | ESPN | L 3–37 | 26,244 |
| October 21 | 7:45 p.m. | Colorado | No. 15 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | ESPN | W 28–0 | 31,461 |
| October 28 | 6:30 p.m. | at Arizona | No. 15 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | P12N | L 37–58 | 42,822 |
| November 4 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 21 Stanford | No. 25 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | FOX | W 24–21 | 32,952 |
| November 11 | 2:30 p.m. | at Utah | No. 19 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | W 33–25 | 45,826 |
| November 25 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Washington | No. 13 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA (Apple Cup) | FOX | L 14–41 | 71,265 |
| December 28 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. No. 16 Michigan State* | No. 18 | SDCCU StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | FS1 | L 17–42 | 47,092 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||
    Source:
Conference opponents not played this season: Arizona State, UCLA

## Coaching staff

| Name | Title | Years at WSU | Alma mater |
| Mike Leach | Head coach | 6 | BYU, 1983 |
| Alex Grinch | Defensive coordinator/secondary coach | 3 | Mount Union, 2002 |
| Jason Loscalzo | Strength and conditioning coach | 6 | Humboldt State, 1999 |
| Roy Manning | Outside linebackers coach | 3 | Michigan, 2004 |
| Jim Mastro | Running backs coach | 6 | Cal Poly, 1994 |
| Clay McGuire | Offensive line coach | 6 | Texas Tech, 2004 |
| Eric Mele | Special teams coach | 3 | William Paterson, 2002 |
| Dave Nichol | Outside receivers coach | 2 | Texas Tech, 1999 |
| Jeff Phelps | Defensive line coach | 1 | Ball State, 1998 |
| Derek Sage | Inside receivers coach | 1 | Cal State Northridge, 2002 |
| Ken Wilson | Linebackers coach | 5 | North Central College, 1996 |
Source:

## Game summaries
### Vs. Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 24 Cougars | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 9–0 | September 11, 2010 | Washington State, 23–22 |

### Vs. Boise State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| Broncos | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 44 |
| • No. 20 Cougars | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 47 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 5–1 | September 10, 2016 | Boise State, 31–28 |

### Vs. Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beavers | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| • No. 21 Cougars | 7 | 21 | 14 | 10 | 52 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 52–47–3 | October 29, 2016 | Washington State, 35–31 |

### Vs. Nevada

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolf Pack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • No. 18 Cougars | 14 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 45 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 3–1 | September 5, 2014 | Nevada, 24–13 |

### Vs. USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Trojans | 7 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| • No. 16 Cougars | 3 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 10–59–4 | November 1, 2014 | USC, 44–17 |

### At Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 11 Cougars | 7 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 33 |
| Ducks | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 41–47–7 | October 1, 2016 | Washington State, 51–33 |

### At California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Cougars | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Golden Bears | 10 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 37 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 27–46–5 | November 12, 2016 | Washington State, 56–21 |

### Vs. Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 15 Cougars | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 4–6 | November 19, 2016 | Colorado, 38–24 |

### At Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 Cougars | 7 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 37 |
| • Wildcats | 10 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 58 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 16–26 | November 5, 2016 | Washington State, 69–7 |

### Vs. Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Cardinal | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| • No. 25 Cougars | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 26–40–1 | October 8, 2016 | Washington State, 42–16 |

### At Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 19 Cougars | 13 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
| Utes | 0 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 25 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 7–7 | September 27, 2014 | Washington State, 28–27 |

### At Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Cougars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| • No. 15 Huskies | 7 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 32–71–6 | November 25, 2016 | Washington, 45–17 |

### vs Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 18 Spartans | 0 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| No. 21 Cougars | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Overall record | Previous meeting | Previous winner |
| 2–5 | September 17, 1977 | Washington State, 23–21 |

## Awards

| Player | Award | Date |
| Peyton Pelluer | Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week | September 11, 2017 |
| Luke Falk | Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week | September 18, 2017 |
| Jahad Woods | Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week | October 2, 2017 |
| Erik Powell | Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week | October 2, 2017 |
| Luke Falk | Davey O'Brien QB of the Week | October 3, 2017 |
| Erik Powell | Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week | October 9, 2017 |
| Luke Falk | Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week | November 6, 2017 |
| Hercules Mata'afa | Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week | November 13, 2017 |
| Erik Powell | Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week | November 13, 2017 |
| Luke Falk | 2017 Burlsworth Trophy Winner | December 4, 2017 |
| Cody O'Connell | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team Offense | December 5, 2017 |
| Hercules Mata’afa | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team Defense | December 5, 2017 |
| Cole Madison | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Offense | December 5, 2017 |
| Jalen Thompson | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Defense | December 5, 2017 |
| Erik Powell | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Specialists | December 5, 2017 |
| Andre Dillard | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention | December 5, 2017 |
| Luke Falk | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention | December 5, 2017 |
| Frankie Luvu | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention | December 5, 2017 |
| Jamal Morrow | 2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention | December 5, 2017 |

## 2017 Football Roster

| Name | Height | Weight |
| DAVONTAVEAN MARTIN | 6'3" | 182LBS |
| JOSH TALBOTT | 5'10" | 179LBS |
| ROBERT TAYLOR | 5'10" | 186LBS |
| Tyler Hilinski | 6'3" | 213LBS |
| DARRIEN MOLTON | 5'10" | 185LBS |
| Luke Falk | 6'4" | 223LBS |
| MARCUS STRONG | 5'9" | 177LBS |
| TRAVELL HARRIS | 5'9" | 177LBS |
| JAMIRE CALVIN | 5'10" | 152LBS |
| KIRKLAND PARKER | 6'1" | 190LBS |
| TREY TINSLEY | 6'3" | 211LBS |
| Tavares Martin | 6'1 | 183LBS |
Source: