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HCA: Ranking the top 5 days in Cougar history

Here are my picks in a very subjective category.

Oregon v Washington State Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images

With the amazing day that last Saturday was with GameDay and the big win over the Oregon Ducks, I heard a lot of talk about if the was the best day in Washington State Cougar history. In thinking about that, I thought it would be fun to look back and rank the top five days in Cougar football history. I think that this list is extremely subjective and lot will have to do with where you watched the game and with who etc. With that being said here are my picks for the top 5 all-time Cougar days.

5. October 30, 1988

WSU upsets Troy Aikman and No.1 UCLA in the Rose Bowl 34-30. This was my first Cougar team I followed closely as a 12 year old. I was lucky enough to follow this terrific Dennis Erickson coached team and became a Cougar fanatic ever since then. This game sealed the deal. I still remember my Dad and I jumping up and down in our basement as the Cougars knocked away a potential game winning pass in the end zone to win the game.

4. November 21, 1992

The Cougars destroy the No.5 Huskies 42-23 behind Drew Bledsoe and Shaumbe Wright-Fair. My Dad and I along with some Husky friends drove down to Pullman for the game and witnessed an all-time classic. The combination of beating up on Don James, the crazy snow and raucous crowd made for a phenomenal day. Needless to say our Husky friends were very quiet on the long snowy drive back to Spokane.

3. November 21, 1997

The Cougars defeat the Huskies 41-35 to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl. This was the culmination of a dream season for the Cougar fan base. My Dad and I made the trip over to Seattle for the game and celebrated on the field at Husky Stadium after the game. I spotted my old high school teammate Steve Gleason down there and we embraced with him telling me “We did it for you guys” (meaning the long-suffering die hard Coug fans).

2. January 1, 1998

Somehow this ranks this high even with the game being a 21-16 loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl. This felt like the biggest game WSU had ever been a part of and the energy was off the charts. In tailgating before the game it felt like all of Pullman had been transported to Pasadena. It was perfect weather and just felt like we gone to heaven as a fan base and not even a close loss could stain the greatness of that day.

1. October 20, 2018

Maybe this is recency bias but I don’t think this last Saturday can be topped. GameDay in Pullman plus a win over the conference front-runner made for something really special. Martin Stadium sounded like Century Link-like when the Cougars were on defense. Probably the loudest i have ever heard it there. Things have come full circle as I am now the Dad who was able to share this all time experience with my sons who will now probably become Cougar fans for life.

Well those are my top 5 days. What are yours? What made the experience so special?

Football

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