2017 Washington State Cougars football team

The 2017 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by sixth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division.^[1] They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they lost to Michigan State.

2017 Washington State Cougars football
Holiday Bowl, L 17–42 vs. Michigan State
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Division	North Division
Record	9–4 (6–3 Pac-12)
Head coach	Mike Leach (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Alex Grinch (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple 3–4
Home stadium	Martin Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Pac-12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 20 Stanford xy		7	–	2					9	–	5
No. 16 Washington x		7	–	2					10	–	3
Washington State		6	–	3					9	–	4
Oregon		4	–	5					7	–	6
California		2	–	7					5	–	7
Oregon State		0	–	9					1	–	11
South Division
No. 12 USC xy$		8	–	1					11	–	3
Arizona State		6	–	3					7	–	6
Arizona		5	–	4					7	–	6
UCLA		4	–	5					6	–	7
Utah		3	–	6					7	–	6
Colorado		2	–	7					5	–	7
Championship: USC 31, Stanford 28
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Rankings

Further information: 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	24	20	21	18	16	11	8	15	15	25	19	15	14	21	21	RV
Coaches	RV	22	22	18	16	11	9	18	16	RV	20	16	15	22	21	RV
CFP	Not released									25	19	14	13	18	18	Not released

Schedule

Washington State announced their 2017 football schedule on January 18;^[2] the Cougars opened the season with five straight home games and six consecutive wins.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:30 p.m.	Montana State*	No. 24	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	FS1	W 31–0	30,254
September 9	7:30 p.m.	Boise State*	No. 20	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPN	W 47–44 3OT	32,631
September 16	2:30 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 21	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	W 52–23	32,487
September 23	3:00 p.m.	Nevada*	No. 18	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	W 45–7	30,317
September 29	7:30 p.m.	No. 5 USC	No. 16	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPN	W 30–27	33,773
October 7	5:00 p.m.	at Oregon	No. 11	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	FOX	W 33–10	56,653
October 13	7:30 p.m.	at California	No. 8	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ESPN	L 3–37	26,244
October 21	7:45 p.m.	Colorado	No. 15	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPN	W 28–0	31,461
October 28	6:30 p.m.	at Arizona	No. 15	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	P12N	L 37–58	42,822
November 4	12:30 p.m.	No. 21 Stanford	No. 25	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	FOX	W 24–21	32,952
November 11	2:30 p.m.	at Utah	No. 19	Rice-Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	P12N	W 33–25	45,826
November 25	5:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Washington	No. 13	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (Apple Cup)	FOX	L 14–41	71,265
December 28	6:00 p.m.	vs. No. 16 Michigan State*	No. 18	SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	FS1	L 17–42	47,092
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to game All times are in Pacific time

Source:^[3]

Conference opponents not played this season: Arizona State, UCLA

Coaching staff

Name	Title	Years at WSU	Alma mater
Mike Leach	Head coach	6	BYU, 1983
Alex Grinch	Defensive coordinator/secondary coach	3	Mount Union, 2002
Jason Loscalzo	Strength and conditioning coach	6	Humboldt State, 1999
Roy Manning	Outside linebackers coach	3	Michigan, 2004
Jim Mastro	Running backs coach	6	Cal Poly, 1994
Clay McGuire	Offensive line coach	6	Texas Tech, 2004
Eric Mele	Special teams coach	3	William Paterson, 2002
Dave Nichol	Outside receivers coach	2	Texas Tech, 1999
Jeff Phelps	Defensive line coach	1	Ball State, 1998
Derek Sage	Inside receivers coach	1	Cal State Northridge, 2002
Ken Wilson	Linebackers coach	5	North Central College, 1996

Source:^[4]

Game summaries

Vs. Montana State

See also: 2017 Montana State Bobcats football team

Montana State at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Bobcats 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 24 Cougars 7 7 7 10 31 Date: September 2 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game start: 7:35 pm PST Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 30,254 Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C), Clear, Wind S 5 mph Referee: Kevin Mar TV announcers (FS1): Brian Custer (play by play) and Ben Leber (color commentator) Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
9–0	September 11, 2010	Washington State, 23–22

Vs. Boise State

See also: 2017 Boise State Broncos football team

Boise State at Washington State

1 2 3 4 OT 2OT 3OT Total Broncos 7 3 7 14 3 7 3 44 • No. 20 Cougars 7 3 0 21 3 7 6 47 Date: September 9 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game start: 7:35 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 4:00 Game attendance: 32,631 Television network: ESPN

Scoring summary 1 12:07 BSU A. Mattison 4-yard rush (H. Hoggarth PAT). BSU 7–0 1 4:47 WSU R. Taylor 7-yard fumble return (E. Powell PAT). TIED 7–7 2 9:14 BSU H. Hoggarth 34-yard field goal. BSU 10–7 2 0:41 WSU E. Powell 20-yard field goal. TIED 10–10 3 4:10 BSU M. Cozart 14-yard rush (H. Hoggarth PAT). BSU 17–10 4 14:53 BSU C. Wilson 47-yard pass from M. Cozart (H. Hoggarth PAT). BSU 24–10 4 10:53 BSU C. Weaver 55-yard fumble return (H. Hoggarth PAT). BSU 31–10 4 8:00 WSU J. Calvin 17-yard pass from T. Hilinski (E. Powell PAT). BSU 31–17 4 5:51 WSU P. Pelluer 36-yard interception return (E. Powell PAT). BSU 31–24 4 1:44 WSU J. Morrow 6-yard pass from T. Hilinski (E. Powell PAT). TIED 31–31 OT BSU H. Hoggarth 29-yard field goal. BSU 34–31 OT WSU E. Powell 22-yard field goal. TIED 34–34 2OT WSU G. Wicks 1-yard rush (E. Powell PAT). WSU 34–41 2OT BSU C. Wilson 15-yard pass from M. Cozart (H. Hoggarth PAT). TIED 41–41 3OT BSU H. Hoggarth 37-yard field goal. BSU 44–41 3OT WSU J. Morrow 22-yard pass from T. Hilinski. WSU 44–47 Sources: ESPN

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
5–1	September 10, 2016	Boise State, 31–28

Vs. Oregon State

See also: 2017 Oregon State Beavers football team

Oregon State at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Beavers 2 7 7 7 23 • No. 21 Cougars 7 21 14 10 52 Date: September 16 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game start: 2:30 p.m. PST Game attendance: 32,487 Television network: PAC-12 Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
52–47–3	October 29, 2016	Washington State, 35–31

Vs. Nevada

See also: 2017 Nevada Wolf Pack football team

Nevada at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Wolf Pack 0 0 0 7 7 • No. 18 Cougars 14 21 3 7 45 Date: September 23 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
3–1	September 5, 2014	Nevada, 24–13

Vs. USC

See also: 2017 USC Trojans football team

USC at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 5 Trojans 7 10 3 7 27 • No. 16 Cougars 3 14 3 10 30 Date: September 29 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game attendance: 33,773 Referee: Steve Strimling

Scoring summary 1 11:41 WSU E. Powell 44-yard field goal. WSU 0–3 1 7:46 USC S. Darnold 4-yard rush (C. McGrath PAT). USC 7–3 2 14:48 WSU T. Martin Jr. 28-yard pass from L. Falk (E. Powell PAT). WSU 7–10 2 11:25 USC R. Jones 86-yard rush (C. McGrath PAT). USC 14–10 2 9:47 USC C. McGrath 20-yard field goal. USC 17–10 2 0:13 WSU J. Morrow 1-yard rush (E. Powell PAT). TIED 17–17 3 8:20 WSU E. Powell 33-yard field goal. WSU 17–20 3 0:16 USC C. McGrath 29-yard field goal. TIED 20–20 4 10:14 WSU J. Morrow 23-yard pass from L. Falk (E. Powell PAT). WSU 20–27 4 5:01 USC S. Darnold 2-yard rush (C. McGrath PAT). TIED 27–27 4 1:40 WSU E. Powell 32-yard field goal. WSU 27–30 Sources: ESPN CBS

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
10–59–4	November 1, 2014	USC, 44–17

At Oregon

See also: 2017 Oregon Ducks football team

Washington State at Oregon

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 11 Cougars 7 6 10 10 33 Ducks 10 0 0 0 10 Date: October 7 Location: Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
41–47–7	October 1, 2016	Washington State, 51–33

At California

See also: 2017 California Golden Bears football team

Washington State at California

1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Cougars 0 3 0 0 3 • Golden Bears 10 7 3 17 37 Date: October 13 Location: California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA Game start: 7:41 PST Elapsed time: 3:26 Game attendance: 26,244 Referee: Kevin Mar TV announcers (ESPN): Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek, Molly McGrath Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
27–46–5	November 12, 2016	Washington State, 56–21

Vs. Colorado

See also: 2017 Colorado Buffaloes football team

Colorado at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total Buffaloes 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 15 Cougars 0 14 7 7 28 Date: October 21 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game start: 7:45 p.m. PST Game attendance: 31,461 Game weather: Rain Television network: ESPN Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
4–6	November 19, 2016	Colorado, 38–24

At Arizona

See also: 2017 Arizona Wildcats football team

Washington State at Arizona

1 2 3 4 Total No. 15 Cougars 7 7 13 10 37 • Wildcats 10 13 14 21 58 Date: October 28 Location: Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
16–26	November 5, 2016	Washington State, 69–7

Vs. Stanford

See also: 2017 Stanford Cardinal football team

Stanford at Washington State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 18 Cardinal 0 7 14 0 21 • No. 25 Cougars 0 14 3 7 24 Date: November 4 Location: Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Game attendance: 32,952 Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
26–40–1	October 8, 2016	Washington State, 42–16

At Utah

See also: 2017 Utah Utes football team

Washington State at Utah

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 19 Cougars 13 7 6 7 33 Utes 0 10 0 15 25 Date: November 11 Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium Stadium Salt Lake City, UT Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
7–7	September 27, 2014	Washington State, 28–27

At Washington

See also: 2017 Washington Huskies football team

Washington State at Washington

1 2 3 4 Total No. 14 Cougars 0 0 0 14 14 • No. 15 Huskies 7 17 10 7 41 Date: November 25 Location: Husky Stadium Seattle, WA Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
32–71–6	November 25, 2016	Washington, 45–17

vs Michigan State

See also: 2017 Michigan State Spartans football team and 2017 Holiday Bowl

Washington State vs Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 18 Spartans 0 21 14 7 42 No. 21 Cougars 3 0 7 7 17 Date: November 25 Location: SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA Sources:

Overall record	Previous meeting	Previous winner
2–5	September 17, 1977	Washington State, 23–21

Awards

Player	Award	Date
Peyton Pelluer	Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week[5]	September 11, 2017
Luke Falk	Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week[6]	September 18, 2017
Jahad Woods	Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week[7]	October 2, 2017
Erik Powell	Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week[7]	October 2, 2017
Luke Falk	Davey O'Brien QB of the Week[8]	October 3, 2017
Erik Powell	Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week[9]	October 9, 2017
Luke Falk	Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week[10]	November 6, 2017
Hercules Mata'afa	Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week[11]	November 13, 2017
Erik Powell	Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week[11]	November 13, 2017
Luke Falk	2017 Burlsworth Trophy Winner[12]	December 4, 2017
Cody O'Connell	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team Offense[13]	December 5, 2017
Hercules Mata’afa	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team Defense[13]	December 5, 2017
Cole Madison	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Offense[13]	December 5, 2017
Jalen Thompson	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Defense[13]	December 5, 2017
Erik Powell	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Specialists[13]	December 5, 2017
Andre Dillard	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[13]	December 5, 2017
Luke Falk	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[13]	December 5, 2017
Frankie Luvu	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[13]	December 5, 2017
Jamal Morrow	2017 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[13]	December 5, 2017

2017 Football Roster

Name	Height	Weight
DAVONTAVEAN MARTIN	6'3"	182LBS
JOSH TALBOTT	5'10"	179LBS
ROBERT TAYLOR	5'10"	186LBS
Tyler Hilinski	6'3"	213LBS
DARRIEN MOLTON	5'10"	185LBS
Luke Falk	6'4"	223LBS
MARCUS STRONG	5'9"	177LBS
TRAVELL HARRIS	5'9"	177LBS
JAMIRE CALVIN	5'10"	152LBS
KIRKLAND PARKER	6'1"	190LBS
TREY TINSLEY	6'3"	211LBS
Tavares Martin	6'1	183LBS

Source:^[14]

References

1. "2017 Pac-12 Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
2. Cougars Announced 2017 Football Schedule. January 18, 2017. WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
3. 2017 Washington Cougars football schedule. FBSchedules.com. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
4. 2017 Football Coaching Staff. WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
5. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 2. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
6. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 3. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
7. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 5. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
8. "Falk grabs second career Quarterback of the Week honor". DaveyOBrienAward.org. Davey O'Brien Foundation. October 3, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
9. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 6. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
10. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 10. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
11. Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 11. Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
12. Archived 2017-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Burlsworthtrophy.com. Burlsworth Trophy Winner. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
13. . Pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
14. "2017 Football Roster". WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. Retrieved September 19, 2021.