The Cougs had a week six bye week to follow their 4-1 start to the 2024 season. Following a crushing loss to Boise State on the road, Wazzu received a much-needed chance to rest and reset. As WSU took its bye week, former and future Cougar opponents secured much-needed victories to bolster their own resumes, as well as Wazzu’s.
Texas Tech (5-1) 28-22 win over Arizona Wildcats (3-2)
WSU beat TTU by 21 points when they played in Pullman in week two. Since then, the Red Raiders are 4-0 with three Big 12 conference wins. The latest, a road victory over Arizona, is arguably the largest.
Arizona began the year ranked, and defeated then No. 10 Utah on the road in week four. The win for TTU was a show of strength, one that helped them and WSU. The Red Raiders now stand alone atop the B12 standings with a perfect conference record, suffering only one loss during the season to WSU.
If TTU can continue this run in the B12, it will only help Wazzu in terms of how the week two win is perceived. In the most recent AP Poll WSU received eight votes while TTU received seven, essentially ranking them 32nd and 34th respectively.
Week seven matchup: Home vs Baylor Bears (2-4)
Washington Huskies (4-2) 27-17 win over No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (4-2)
After a rough week five loss to Rutgers, UW returned home for a rematch of last year’s National Championship against UM. This time it was the Huskies who got the better of the Wolverines as quarterback Will Rogers threw two touchdowns and running back Jonah Coleman ran for 80 yards and a touchdown.
They held Michigan to just 113 total passing yards, dominating defensively against one of the best-rushing attacks in the nation. UM, which had one loss on the season to now No. 1 ranked Texas, was coming off Big 10 wins over then No. 11 USC and Minnesota.
The Wolverines now go on the road to face No. 23 Illinois, which could help re-establish their reputation after falling to 24th in the most recent AP Poll. UW, on the other hand, received four votes, placing them at 36th in the nation.
The win was huge for UW and the optics of WSU’s 24-19 Apple Cup victory in week three. Despite being bitter rivals, WSU fans should root for UW to succeed in improving the Coug’s strength of schedule. UW currently sits 6th in the B1G with tiebreakers.
Week seven matchup: At Iowa (3-2)
WSU defense pushes back against Washington offensive line in 2024 Apple Cup.
Boise State Broncos (4-1) 62-30 win over Utah State Aggies (1-4)
While this win does not make future WSU opponent USU look any tougher, it makes WSU’s previous schedule look tougher, while the future schedule looks easier. As always, RB Ashton Jeanty for BSU carved the defense, this time the Aggies’, for 186 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, sitting out the second half.
The win further proved the Broncos’ strength, moving them up to 17th in the most recent AP Poll. It also further proved that Jeanty is one of, if not the hardest player in the country to bring down, just one week after the Cougs struggled heavily to do so.
With the new College Football Playoff format, if BSU can win out and win the Mountain West Conference Championship, there is a very good chance it will be in this season’s playoff, only further helping WSU along the way.
Week seven matchup: At Hawaii (2-3)
WSU QB John Mateer fires a pass to receiver Tony Freeman in a week 5 matchup vs Boise State from Albertson Stadium in Boise, Idaho
San Jose State Spartans (4-1) 35-31 win over Nevada (2-4)
It was an ugly one, but SJSU got the win in week six to stay undefeated against opponents other than WSU. While the win over the Spartans can still be chalked up to a poor Cougar performance, it cannot be denied that SJSU’s only loss was 54-52 in double overtime to Wazzu.
Despite two touchdown passes, SJSU QB and former Coug Emmett Brown went 12-for-28, being benched in favor of Walker Eget. Eget went 10-for-13 with 141 yards passing to lead the Spartans to a comeback victory.
The Cougs win in week four over SJSU is certainly lower on the totem pole of big wins this season, but they’ll take what they can get, and that is a win over the current No. 1 team in the MWC standings through six weeks with a 2-0 conference record.
Week seven matchup: At Colorado State (2-3)
WSU offense lines up against the SJSU defense in a week four matchup from Gesa Field in Pullman, WA.
Oregon State Beavers (4-1) 39-31 win over CSU
Another slugfest, but another win for the Cougs. Current Pac-12 running mate OSU secured its fourth win of the season in double overtime over CSU, mimicking the Cougs win over SJSU in many ways.
This victory is important, as the Beavers are now 4-1 with a Big 10 win over Purdue, and their only loss coming at the hands of current No. 3 ranked Oregon, one of the best teams in the country.
If the Beavs can continue to win, it could present another resume-boosting opportunity when the Cougs face them in week 13 on the road.
Week seven matchup: At Nevada (2-4)
Final takeaways
The only other game takeaway was San Diego State’s 27-24 win over Hawai’i, who WSU will play on the road in three weeks.
Next up on the docket for the Cougs is 3-2 Fresno State on the road, a team that has shown flashes of greatness, but also face-planted in its last game. Both teams had a bye week in week six.
It may have been a week off, but as Wazzu reset in week six, its opponents did serious work to improve the Cougs’ strength of losses, wins and the schedule overall.
