Bowl eligibility and a win over Arizona State gave Washington State athletic director Bill Moos a lot to talk about alongside Derek Deis and Jason Gesser after some brief microphone malfunctions.

The Cougars got off to a slow start in Saturday’s sold out game, giving up two touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the contest. They picked up, however, and Moos said leadership on the team had everything to do with it.

If it were not for the defense rising to the occasion and forcing a turnover on downs inside the Cougars’ 5-yard line, the Sun Devils would have gone up by three scores in the first quarter.

“The crowd was waiting in anticipation of something big to happen and something big to take place and nothing really happened, but then that fourth down stop was absolutely huge,” Gesser said.

The Cougars’ ability to bounce back and not let their confidence waver is an incredibly strong asset held by this season’s team Gesser said.

Moos credited redshirt senior Gunnar Eklund for stepping in at left tackle and doing an exceptional job.

Eklund played left tackle for an entire season two years ago, but it is one of the toughest positions at any level because the player is required to protect the blindside of the quarterback.

Gesser commended freshman wide receiver Kyle Sweet, who led the team with seven receptions.

“A year ago this time he was thinking about his date to the homecoming dance and now he’s stepping into a major college football game with a packed house and a lot on the line. He knew this was his job and it was his business,” Gesser said.

Gesser also talked about how Head Coach Mike Leach and his staff make their players compete for their spots in the game.

“The demand they put on them in practice and the mindset of ‘I don’t care if you are a true freshman and I don’t care if you have never played left tackle before’ … We are going to come out here and here’s the expectation we are going to set on you,” Gesser said.

The 38-24 win over the Sun Devils put the Cougars’ record at 6-3 and officially made them bowl eligible.

Reporting by Payton Dineen