NFL Tickets
I don’t know what would have happened to Mike Leach this last offseason at Washington State had he not been named Mike Leach, The Mad Pirate of Pullman. It does seem that 2015 is rather key in determining whether Leach will still be around in 2016.
The 2013 Cougars won enough games to get to a bowl, but they blew it (“Coug’d it,” in the lexicon) in historic fashion. With QB Connor Halliday being a big piece of the puzzle and returning in 2014, the team looked to be on the upswing, and the Cougs could say “promising” and not be laughed off the stage.
Of course, that promise didn’t happen. It didn’t happen like that at all. The Cougs had a big comeback win at Utah, but they lost to Rutgers in the opening game of the season. Wazzu pulled out all the stops and had eventual CFB-runner-up Oregon on the ropes, but they couldn’t find a way to land that knockout punch. Halliday set pretty much every single-game passing record against Cal, but the Cougs missed a game-winning 19-yard field goal and lost 60-59.
The truth is the Cougs were competitive for a 3-9 team in 2014, losing three games by a touchdown or less. Weirdly, WSU won the week after Halliday’s season-ending broken leg. But “competitive” is still just a fancy way of saying “and still kept losing.” The Cougs have to make enough plays to win, whether it’s converting a field goal that’s shorter than an extra point or coming up with something resembling a run game (the Cougs had 478 rushing yards the entire season).
The yearly schedule does them no favors; as part of the Pac-12 North they have to play Oregon, Stanford and of course in-state rival Washington every season. This year, the Southern Division schedule includes games at division champ Arizona and UCLA while hosting Arizona State. The Cougs will need to win at least two games on this list to get even close to bowl eligibility.
As for the future, with about a week to go before signing day Scout.com says the Cougs have the 26th best class in the nation. That’s smack dab in the middle of the Pac-12, with USC leading the way at No. 5 and ahead of Stanford and Arizona. But those recruits shouldn’t be counted on to make a big impact in 2015.
Depending on how Leach’s previous recruiting classes fare this season, those new recruits might have to learn a different head coach’s name by the time senior year rolls around. Even though he is Mike Leach, there’s only so long the name can keep him in Pullman when the wins don’t pile up like a pirate’s plunder.
Alex Drude is a Pac-12 writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Alex_Drude. “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google+.
Share 
