Washington State Football: 5 takeaways from 2017 regular season

Washington State football finished 9-3 in 2017. Here are five takeaways from the Cougars’ 2017 regular season.

Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars finished the 2017 football season 9-3 overall heading into the Holiday Bowl. The Cougars will face the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday, Dec. 28, in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Calif. Leach’s squad came into the season ranked 40th by Bill C’s S&P+ rankings and finished the regular season ranked 31st heading into the bowls.

Much of that improvement came from a big upset over the USC Trojans on Sept. 29 in Pullman. The Cougars were led not by their Air-Raid offense but by Alex Grinch’s defense.

The quirky head coach seemingly has flirted with leaving Pullman with rumors about following his athletic director to Lincoln, Neb., to head up the Cornhuskers or even to put out the tire fire that was the Tennessee Volunteers coaching search.

In the end, it’s rumored that coming close to hiring Leach is what got former Vols A.D. John Currie fired and Phil Fulmer put in place. That said, he is back for another season of Wazzou Cougars football.

Here are my five takeaways from the 2017 regular season.