Washington State Football: 3 fixes to make for 2020 season success

3. Accept a culture change

The coaching change from Leach to Rolovich means much more to the program than just a different person leading the team. Leach’s unorthodox attitude and funny charisma put the Cougars on a national spotlight off the field. Another trait of Leach was his favoritism towards the air raid offensive scheme. This scheme relied on a variety of a strong-armed quarterback, multiple fast-break receivers, and a stout and consistent offensive line.

This offense has turned them into one of the most passing offenses in the nation year after year. The Huskies under Leach have created high-volume passers like Minshew, Luke Falk, and Anthony Gordon. The downside to this offensive scheme is the lack of efficient run game that can balance out the offense. Last season, the Cougars were 11th in the nation in points per game (37.8) because they were ranked first overall in passing yards per game (437.2). The Cougars were 129th (second-to-last) in rushing yards per game (68.1), which made the offense too one-dimensional.

Leach put Washington State back in the spotlight of College Football on-and-off the field. His quotes and press conferences were certainly enjoyable to average fans and the media. He was not shy about his humorous ideas of which mascots could beat each other up. While many players respected him, it didn’t bring the wins that they needed to make them Pac-12 Conference Championship contenders.

The Cougars had not beaten their rivals in the Washington Huskies since 2012, which is Leach’s first season with Washington State. In his just a few short weeks with Rolovich as head coach of Washington State, he has built a countdown clock that ticks down to Apple Cup matchup versus Washington. Rolovich is looking to create a much strict and down to business football program.