1985 Washington State Cougars football team

1985 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record4–7 (3–5 Pac-10)
Head coach
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Seasons
← 1984
1986 →
1985 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 UCLA $ 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 1
Arizona 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Arizona State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Washington 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
USC 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Oregon 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Washington State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Stanford 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Oregon State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
California 2 – 7 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record (3–5 in Pac-10, tied for seventh), and outscored their opponents 313 to 282.[1][2] Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The team's statistical leaders included Mark Rypien with 2,174 passing yards, Rueben Mayes with 1,236 rushing yards, and Kitrick Taylor with 489 receiving yards.[3]

This season's offense included the "RPM" backfield: Rypien at quarterback,[4] with Kerry Porter and Mayes at running back.[5][6] All three were previous first team all-conference selections (Porter as a sophomore in 1983), and expectations were high; injuries on defense took a toll and five of their losses were by a touchdown or less.[7][8]

In the Apple Cup, the Cougars won again in Husky Stadium for their third win over Washington in the last four years.[9][10][11][12] With frigid temperatures and snow on the Palouse prior to the game, the Cougars held indoor practices in the evening at the Kibbie Dome in neighboring Moscow, Idaho.[7][8]

Mayes rushed for over 150 yards in each of the last four games and repeated as the Pac-10 offensive player of the year.[13][14] Defensive lineman Erik Howard and return specialist Kitrick Taylor were also named All-Pac-10.[13]

  1. ^ "1985 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "1985 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Grummert, Dale (November 22, 1985). "Rypien". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  5. ^ Devlin, Vince (August 30, 1985). "Tooth and nail". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 21.
  6. ^ "WSU begins 'preseason' play". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 21, 1985. p. 1C.
  7. ^ a b Devlin, Vince (November 21, 1985). "Their Cup hardly runneth over". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  8. ^ a b Grummert, Dale (November 23, 1985). "Cougars, Huskies in Apple Cup redemption matchup". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  9. ^ Devlin, Vince (November 23, 1985). "Apple Cup's lost some appeal". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  10. ^ "WSU stuns bowl-bound UW, 21-20". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 24, 1985. p. 6C.
  11. ^ Cour, Jim (November 25, 1985). "Loss didn't cost UW its Freedom". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B2.
  12. ^ Grummert, Dale (November 25, 1985). "It was inevitable Cougar players would prove their points to UW". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  13. ^ a b "WSU's Mayes captures Pac-10 honor". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). staff and wire reports. November 27, 1985. p. 1C.
  14. ^ "Mayes earns Pac-10 player award again". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 27, 1985. p. C2.