College Football Playoff: Which Top 25 teams are contenders, pretenders?
Mike Leach has always delivered a unique brand of college football. Since his days at Texas Tech, Leech-run teams have always relied on his patented Air Raid offensive scheme, and its abundant use of spread out, vertical passing concepts that can absolutely decimate an opposing secondary.
With senior quarterback Luke Falk returning to Pullman for one final crack at college football greatness, the team is averaging an incredible 504.3 yards per game, and have recorded 20 touchdowns on offense alone, good for the 15th best total offense in the nation.
While offense is never a problem for Mike Leech teams, an Air Raid offense can only go as far as their defense allows, and in 2017, Washington State’s defense has really shined. After finishing the 2016 season with the 62nd ranked defense in the nation, the team currently boasts the 12th ranked unit in the entire nation, and has only allowed eight touchdowns to opposing offenses.
With 1,378 yards on 130 completions for 14 touchdowns in only four games, Luke Falk is putting together an incredibly promising resume in Leech’s offense, but the fate of Washington State’s season could very well come down to how they perform in their Week 5 game against Pac-12 rivals the USC Trojans.
In a battle of the undefeateds, the Cougars will be challenged on both sides of the ball, and have to rise to the occasion if they want to make a run for the Pac-12 North. While USC may be overrated in the Pac-12, don’t sleep on this high-powered Washington Cougars team, because they very well could end up in the college football playoffs.