Associated Press ranks Cougars at No. 11
Yuling Liu | Daily Evergreen File
(Left) junior cornerback Darrien Molten, (center) junior defensive back Sean Harper Jr. and (right) senior cornerback Marcellus Pippins celebrate their team’s work in a game against the Trojans on Friday.
October 1, 2017
WSU football climbed five spots to No. 11 in Associated Press’ top 25 poll released Sunday morning.
The ranking is the highest for the Cougars since 2003. They reached No. 3 in 2002. The leap came after the Cougars (5-0, 2-0) outlasted University of Southern California (4-1, 2-1), winning 30-27 Friday night at Martin Stadium. As a result, the Trojans fell nine spots to No. 14 in the poll.
The victory was WSU’s first against a top-five opponent in 14 years, and the first against the Trojans in Pullman since 2002.
University of Washington remained at No. 6 in the poll, after defeating Oregon State 42-7. Utah (4-0, 1-0), another Pac-12 team, stayed at No. 20 following their bye week.
The top four teams in the country – Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Penn State – did not change rank placements. Georgia replaced USC at No. 5 after shutting out Tennessee 41-0.
WSU will travel to Eugene this week to face Oregon (4-1, 1-1) for its first road game of the year. The Ducks received 19 top 25 votes after defeating California 45-24 over the weekend.
Reporting by Ryan Blake
