Cougar football could use a little good luck in 2015

With college football still more than three months away, it's not too early for some preseason rankings is it? I, for one don't think so and SB Nation's Bill Connelly agrees with me. Connelly, of Football Study Hall fame, released his initial 2015 S&P+ projections Wednesday.

His projections have WSU as the No. 66 team in the country, right behind the mighty Broncos of Western Michigan. The ranking is two spots ahead of where the Cougars ended last season.

Per the projections, WSU's three easiest games of the season will be its first three. The two FBS schools the Cougs will play before they battle the Pac-12 are ranked 79th (Rutgers) and 115th (Wyoming). But, we all know after last season, that sweeping non conference foes is easier said than done.

Connelly projects two of WSU's conference opponents to be worse than the Cougars, although not by much. Colorado comes in at No. 75 and Oregon St at No. 70 in the initial projections. UW and Cal are also within striking distance of the Cougs as they are projected at 55th and 51st respectively.

Dragging WSU down in the projections is its weighted five year performance. It appears as if Mike Leach hasn't quite completely escaped the grasp of Paul Wulff.

Overall the projections, while not rosy, do provide a glimmer of hope. An optimist could read it as a couple good breaks and WSU goes 7-5, maybe even an eighth win in a bowl game. However, another person sees the rankings as a few bad breaks from a 3-9 season. Last year it all seemed to go wrong (looking at you Quentin Breshears), but maybe the Cougars will regress this season in the right direction, and pick up some good luck along the way. Where on the spectrum do you stand? Will they make strides and finish above .500 or will it just be another disappointing season of Cougar football?

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Football:

Washington State Cougars preview - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
The Cougars were expected to build on a 2013 bowl trip but fell back to their losing ways. Freshman QB Luke Falk was impressive filling in for the injured Connor Halliday over the final four games, but while Mike Leach’s offense has scored as expected, the D still isn’t close to making Wazzu a serious contender.

Pac-12 post-spring position unit rankings: Offensive lines - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Not a favorable review for the Cougars offensive line that returns all of its starters. At least the Cougs are ranked better than our ugly cousins from across the state.

Soccer:

Kaitlyn Johnson Playing for the Colorado Pride - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The WSU women's soccer player will spend her summer playing for the Pride of the USL W-League. Johnson was fourth on the team with seven points for WSU last season.

Baseball:

Cougars Host Stanford in Final Series of 2015 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Cougs haven't won a series over the Cardinal since 2011. WSU begins the weekend series Friday at 4 p.m. from Bailey-Brayton Field.