2018 Washington State Cougars football team

2018 Washington State Cougars football
Pac-12 North Division co-champion
Alamo Bowl champion
Alamo Bowl, W 28–26 vs. Iowa State
ConferencePac–12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record11–2 (7–2 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive schemeAir raid
Defensive coordinatorTracy Claeys (1st season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 13 Washington xy$   7 2     10 4  
No. 10 Washington State x   7 2     11 2  
Stanford   6 3     9 4  
Oregon   5 4     9 4  
California   4 5     7 6  
Oregon State   1 8     2 10  
South Division
Utah xy   6 3     9 5  
Arizona State   5 4     7 6  
USC   4 5     5 7  
Arizona   4 5     5 7  
UCLA   3 6     3 9  
Colorado   2 7     5 7  
Championship: Washington 10, Utah 3
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were led by 7th-year head coach Mike Leach and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.[1]

The 2018 season was one of the greatest in Washington State history. The Cougars won a school record-tying ten games, the first time they had won that many in the regular season since the Rose Bowl year of 2002. They also surged as high as seventh in major polling and went into the Apple Cup with a chance to clinch the Pac-12 North title and a shot at the Rose Bowl, but lost 28–15 to rival Washington in the snow in Pullman, a sixth consecutive loss to the Huskies. The 10–2 Cougars were invited to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio to play the Iowa State Cyclones. They won 28–26 for a school record 11th win.

Mike Leach's air raid offense was led by grad transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew, who led FBS in passing completions and attempts, and finished second in passing yards.[2] Minshew was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was the recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He and offensive tackle Andre Dillard were named first-team all-conference. Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Abraham Lucas was named to several national all-freshman teams, and was joined on the all-conference second-team by defensive end Logan Tago. Mike Leach was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second time of his career.

  1. ^ "Cougars Announce 2018 Football Schedule". wsucougars.com. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "2018 College Football Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2019.