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When WSU takes on Oregon State in Corvallis on Saturday, the Cougars still won’t do so with a number next to their name.
Even after beating Arizona State on Saturday, the Cougs failed made their debut in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches college football polls this morning, showing up in the “others receiving votes” category for the third consecutive week.
WSU was “ranked” 26th in both polls, having gotten leapt by Virginia Tech, which beat Miami handily at home. If you’re wondering if WSU would have been ranked had they posted a more impressive victory, we’ll obviously never know, but if the voters thought VT’s win was that impressive, it’s hard to imagine anything other than a blowout over the Sun Devils changing their minds.
With that, the Cougs will have to wait another week to be ranked for the first time since late last season, presuming they can beat Oregon State. The Cougars were ranked for two weeks last season and reached a high of No. 20 heading into the Apple Cup. The last time WSU was ranked in consecutive seasons was 2002 and 2003, and it’s only happened six other times in program history.