Washington State football: 3 bold predictions for 2022 season

3. The Cougars go 10-3 and win the Alamo Bowl

Let’s be real, Washington State University is not blind or deaf to all the noise they’ve heard this offseason, specifically about their uncertain future with the Pac-12. From Athletic Director Pat Chun to coach Dickert, there’s one real cure to these concerns — win. The Cougars need to build off of the moderate success they’ve experienced the past seven seasons, and need to kick it up a notch. The more successful seasons and higher level bowl games, the higher profile they can become.

That journey under Dickert begins this season as I have the Washington State Cougars going 9-3 in the regular season. The season will be decided by five crucial games this season, two on the road against Wisconsin and USC, and three at home against Oregon, Utah and Washington.

While I expect the games to be more competitive than what many national pundits may think, I do believe that the Cougars will fall to both Wisconsin and USC. I also believe Ward will bring an energy to the stadium that we haven’t seen since Minshew was playing, and the Cougars will win the three crucial home games. That’s right, I believe the Cougars will play a major role in knocking both Oregon and Utah out of the college football playoff discussions.

The Cougars will be on upset alert after such a big win against Utah, and I have a road game at Stanford picked as one to look out for.

In the end, and what many of you Cougs care about most, yes, I believe the Cougars will defeat the Washington Huskies in the 2022 Apple Cup, making it a winning streak against their hated rivals, and the first home Apple Cup victory in a decade.

While the Cougars miss out on the Pac-12 title game, I have them finishing third, and heading to the Alamo Bowl. Champs of the bowl game just a couple of years ago, Ward will lead them back to a San Antonio celebration as he outduels Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders and Washington State upset the Cowboys in a top 15 showdown.

With a record of 10-3, the Cougs finish top ten in rankings and celebrate one of the most successful seasons in program history.

The only thing left to wonder at the season’s end is how high will Cameron Ward go in the NFL draft.