Washington State Football: Can defense complement electric offense?

Easy non-conference slate should help Cougars bowl push

The Cougars play in the toughest division in the PAC-12, which means they have games against Washington and Oregon on deck and the crossover games against the south division are against the three best teams in USC, Utah, and Arizona State. This is not an easy schedule and a bowl game is not promised.

• Game 1: Utah State (W)- The Cougars should start the season off with a win against the rebuilding Aggies.
• Game 2: Portland State (W)- Washington State should win big here before PAC-12 play begins the following week.
• Game 3: USC (L)- USC blew out the Cougars last season and I think the Trojans’ offense will score at will in this game.
• Game 4: At Utah (L)- Utah should have a bounce-back year after a down 2020 and they are always a tough opponent on the road.
• Game 5: At California (L)- This should be a close game, but I think Cal’s defense can slow down the Cougars and the Golden Bears should move the ball on this defense.
• Game 6: Oregon State (W)- Expect a shootout here and I think the Cougars come out on top.
• Game 7: Stanford (W)- I am not very high on Stanford this season and I think Washington State is the better team here.
• Game 8: BYU (W)- BYU is never an easy team to play, but they are losing a lot of talent from last season and they will fall back quite a bit.
• Game 9: At Arizona State (L)- The Sun Devils are facing some off-the-field uncertainty, but I like them at home in this game.
• Game 10: At Oregon (L)- Washington State put a scare into the Ducks last season, but I think Oregon will be rolling by this point in the season and on their way to win the division.
• Game 11: Arizona (W)- Arizona will be the worst team in the conference and Washington State wins big and gets to bowl eligibility.
• Game 12: At Washington (L)- Three of the last four games against top conference contenders is a brutal way to end the season and I think the Cougars will once again fall to their rival in the Apple Cup.

Final Record: 6-6, 3-6 PAC-12

The non-conference slate is manageable and that should help the Cougars get past a brutal conference schedule that includes road games at Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona State. The offense should be electric, but the defense will prevent this team from pulling any big upsets.