Washington State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Washington State football had a nice eight-win season in 2016, but the Cougars want more in 2017.

Mike Leach has been at Washington State for five years now. The head coach has engineered a 29-34 record, but many are expecting him to get his overall mark to just about .500 following the 2017 season, and it’s very possible.

In fact, he’s been putting together quite the turnaround for the Cougars after two 3-9 seasons in his first three years with the program. When he took over, things looked grim, but the program has finally come together and things are looking up.

Washington State had been a Pac-12 bottom-dweller for years, but he’s won at least eight games in each of the past two seasons, including an 8-5 record in 2016. He has one of the best quarterbacks in the country to thank for the recent success.

Still, there’s more to be done. If Washington State wants to compete for Pac-12 titles, it needs to rely more on the other aspects of the game — not just quarterback. The Cougars have talent, but they just need to prove it.

Entering the 2017 season, there is plenty to be excited for in Pullman. The Cougars are coming off a solid season, but there are even higher expectations this year. Can Washington State live up to the high expectations from fans or will the Cougars crumble under pressure?

Offense

We all know what Washington State returns at the quarterback position, but what about the rest of the offense?

Gone are Gabe Marks and River Cracraft who combined for 142 receptions and 1,595 yards last season. They also combined for 18 touchdown receptions. That’s a big loss for Luke Falk as two of his favorite weapons have moved on. However, Tavares Martin Jr. returns.

The junior receiver was second on the team with 64 receptions for 728 yards and seven touchdowns last season and is expected to be that No. 1 guy in 2017. He will surpass the 1,000-yard mark. Senior Robert Lewis is also back with some starting experience at receiver — he had nearly 400 yards last season with three scores.

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Kyle Sweet and Isaiah Johnson-Mack are the two other projected starters at receiver. They combined for 62 receptions and 603 yards last season. There’s no shortage of experience in the receiving corps.

However, the run game struggled. Washington State averaged just 120 yards per game on the ground, good for 114th in the country. James Williams led the team, but he’s gone, giving way to Jamal Morrow. He averaged 6.4 yards per touch last season, but was only given 90 carries.

The offensive line returns three starters, so maybe the run game will gain some traction.

Luke Falk carrying the load again?

If you’re Luke Falk, you have to be asking yourself: where’s my help? He passed for 4,468 yards and 38 touchdowns last season while completing 70 percent of his throws, yet the Cougars finished just 8-5. How much more could he possibly do?

The running backs didn’t get much of a chance to prove their worth despite averaging over 5.0 yards per carry each and that may have put extra pressure on Falk.

We all know Mike Leach likes to have his quarterbacks throw the ball more than most, but can he get the run game going this year and take some pressure off his star quarterback?

Defense

Washington State was known for its offense a season ago with Luke Falk leading one of the best aerial attacks in the nation, but the defense wasn’t as bad as you may think — excluding the secondary.

The front-seven combined to boast the 29th-best rushing defensive in the country, allowing just 134 yards per game on the ground. There are four returning starters in that group, including potential All-Pac-12 end Hercules Mata’afa. He had 47 tackles, 13.5 for loss and 5.0 sacks as a sophomore. He will be joined by senior tackle Daniel Ekuale and sophomore end Nnamdi Oguayo.

Peyton Pelluer will lead the way at middle linebacker after pacing the team in tackles last season, 93. He’s another potential all-conference performer and will be anchored by fellow senior returning starter, Frankie Luvu.

The line and linebackers are strong and could prove to be a nightmare for opponents.

Nowhere to go but up for secondary

It was a forgettable season for the Washington State secondary in 2016. Not only did the Cougars struggle to slow down opposing passing attacks, but they were the main reason for multiple losses. In fact, you can just go back and check out the early-season losses to Eastern Washington and Boise State.

Eastern Washington passed for nearly 500 yards which led to their upset of the Cougars and Boise State threw for 300. It was a rough start to the year, but the secondary came together in the following weeks. Washington State reeled off eight straight wins before struggling in the final three games — all losses.

Luckily, there are four returning starters in the secondary. Senior cornerback Marcellus Pippins is the only one that may not be projected to start in 2017, though. The rest — Darrien Molton, Robert Taylor and Jalen Thompson — are back as projected starters.

This unit can’t get much worse than its 112th ranking from last season against the pass.

2017 schedule

The first month of Washington State’s schedule looks winnable. Heck, the Cougars don’t leave Pullman until Oct. 7 when they travel to Eugene to take on Oregon. The Ducks will be much-improved from last year’s team, so that will mark two straight difficult Pac-12 contests.

After the Oregon game, the Cougars will travel to California before hosting Colorado. The Buffaloes were a surprise contender in 2016, and could be just as good in 2017. That game is far from a sure victory for Washington State.

Three of the final four games of the season will come on the road, making up for that stretch of home games to begin the year. The Cougars will travel to Arizona, Utah and Washington, all marking tough games. The only home game in that stretch is against the Stanford Cardinal who may very well be contending for the Pac-12 North at the time.

Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017

Prediction: 7-5, 4-5 Pac-12

Is this the year Leach leads Washington State to 10 wins? Probably not. While the Cougars will likely begin the year 4-0 with a revenge victory against Boise State at home, final fourth of the schedule is rough. It starts with a home game against Stanford which will be tough and then away contests against Utah and Washington won’t get any easier. Despite starting the year 7-2, Washington State will falter in the final three games for the second straight season.