Washington State’s most memorable non-football moments of the 2018 football season

The 2018 version of the Washington State Cougars will go down as the winningest team in school history. But it was more than that. It was a team that endured an extremely difficult offseason that began with the death of Tyler Hilinski. The Cougs also said goodbye to six assistant coaches and saw their head coach nearly bail for the SEC.

They were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 North and expectations were low. Who was this graduate transfer named Gardner Minshew II, anyway? We’re going to put the offense in the hands of a guy who couldn’t hold the starting job on a bad East Carolina team? And where are the defensive linemen we need? We were doomed, it seemed.

But then a funny thing happened. Somehow, this group of 18- to 23-year-olds found a way to make this one of the most memorable seasons in WSU’s history.

Here, in no particular order, are the most memorable moments from the 2018 football season. There are no football plays included on this list. These are moments or things that happened outside the field or beyond the game.

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Easop Winston’s Pac-12 Network interview after beating Utah

Winston’s 89-yard touchdown catch-and-run with 4:14 left in the game brought Martin Stadium to life and helped WSU avoid its second loss in a row. Winston’s interview at the Pac-12 Network set was touching:

Minshew plants a mustache on Mike Leach

If you didn’t think this team had the most fun, you did after seeing this:

ESPN announces College GameDay is coming to Pullman

I had a feeling—given UW’s loss to Oregon that day, as well as Auburn’s loss to Tennessee, to a lesser extent—that there was a decent chance WSU could finally host College GameDay.

Sure enough, as I refreshed Twitter over and over the night of the bye week, Kirk Herbstreit popped up to say this:

What a feeling.

College GameDay buses roll into Pullman

How’s this for a welcome? Relive it here.

College GameDay broadcasts live from Pullman

Allen Kee / ESPN Images

You could probably pick a hundred great moments just from College GameDay. From Rece Davis’ NSFW welcome at 5:58 a.m., to the huge crowd, the crazy signs, the show open, Corso’s headgear pick....we could go on and on.

The feeling after beating Wyoming

Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

I know, Wyoming ended up being a bad team. But heading into the season opener on the road, many of us had no clue what to expect from this WSU team. Many of us picked Wyoming to win. We had no idea how Minshew would play and how a team full of new faces would fare after the terrible offseason.

Those fears were put to rest, though. Minshew was actually quite good, and Easop Winston’s hands were as advertised. Max Borghi didn’t feel like easing into things so he went out and scored two touchdowns to introduce himself to Cougar nation.

Getting that win to open the season was wildly more enjoyable than other season opening wins. That win lifted the angst and worry and we could simply enjoy Cougar football.

Fox broadcasting the field rush after beating Oregon

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

We’re used to TV networks rushing to get away from the end of a game so they can move on to their next bit of content. But Fox’s broadcast of WSU’s win over the Oregon Ducks on Oct. 20 was different. This was the College GameDay game, and a packed Martin Stadium saw WSU win to cap off a perfect day.

The crowd rushed the field, and instead of tossing it back to the studio, Tim Brando and the Fox crew stayed with the game for a long time, showcasing the beautiful views from Martin Stadium.

The Hilinski family raises the flag

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

The home opener against San Jose State saw the Hilinski family raise the flag prior to kickoff. It was a somber moment, but a memorable one. What this family has been through this year is unimaginable. Their courage to be there that day is admirable.

The quarterbacks invade Mike Leach’s office for some Christmas cheer

Did we mention this team has lots of fun?

The ‘Mississippi Mustache’ song

People come up with anthems for their favorite teams all the time. They’re usually pretty bad. This one is good.

And ignore the lines about winning the Apple Cup. It’s still a good song.

Mike Leach finds his favorite College GameDay sign

Just perfect.

Ol’ Ball Coach meets (naked?) Gardner Minshew

Thankfully, there is no photo evidence of this happening but there is this from Jayson Jenks of The Athletic, who shared this back and forth between Minshew and Hunter Dale:

Dale: “He has these bands that he does arm stretches with after practice. And it never fails, he’ll come in and just strip naked and start doing them.”

Minshew: “Usually I end up in my jockstrap, not all the way naked.”

Dale: “There’s been a couple naked ones.”

Minshew, nodding: “Yeah, there’s been a couple nakeds.”

Steve Spurrier knows about the bands. His son, Steve Spurrier Jr., is the Cougars’ receivers coach, and after a win this season, the Head Ball Coach wanted to talk to Minshew.

Minshew: “He came in the locker room looking for me, and I’m doing my bands in the jockstrap and I’ve got my shades on and my headband still on and he just comes in, looks and says, ‘Steve, just tell him I said good game.’ ”

Bonus: This picture

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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OK, that’s my list. What’s yours?