Washington State Football: 5 Reasons Cougars will take down Oregon

5. Mike Leach has had Oregon’s number recently

The old Pullman Pirate took his lumps from Oregon and the rest of the PAC-12 as he began a massive rebuild at Washington State during his first few seasons on the sideline. But since Leach has figured things out, Washington State has been adept at handing out more punches than they have taken.

These last three seasons have been as good as any in a long time for the Cougars, and during that time Leach has led Washington State to a 3-0 mark against Oregon after they had lost the previous eight meetings with the Ducks.

The average final score in the three Washington State wins is 43-27. Leach took advantage of a couple of down Oregon squads in 2016 and 2017, but he also earned a win over a good Ducks squad in 2015, and pushed the last great Oregon team to the brink in 2014.

Leach has found a recipe that works against Oregon, and has been able to exploit their defensive issues and put his offense into positions to succeed. I don’t see this Saturday’s game being much different as Leach gameplans to take advantage of a weak Oregon secondary, and clinches his senior class going 4-0 against the Ducks while also signaling that his Cougars are a legitimate threat in the PAC-12 Championship race.