American college football season
The1951 Washington State Cougars football team was anAmerican football team that representedWashington State College during the1951 college football season . Second-year head coachForest Evashevski led the team to a 4–3 mark in thePacific Coast Conference (PCC) and 7–3 overall.[ 1]
Three home games were played on campus inPullman atRogers Field , and two inSpokane , both at night.[ 2] [ 3] rival Washington by two points for their first win inSeattle in21 years ,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] both final polls .
One of the stars of the 1951 Cougar team was Junior endEd Barker , a future NFL first round draft pick. After the season, Evashevski left forIowa in early January,[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Al Kircher was promoted the following week.[ 10] [ 11]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 22 atUSC L 21–3128,876 September 29 Santa Clara * W 34–2016,000 [ 12] October 5 Oklahoma A&M * Memorial Stadium Spokane, WA W 27–1318,000 October 13 No. 2California L 35–4217,500 October 20 atOregon State W 26–1315,500 [ 13] October 27 Oregon No. 18 W 41–612,000 November 3 at No. 11Stanford No. 16 L 13–2149,000 November 10 atIdaho No. 17 W 9–614,000 [ 14] [ 15] November 17 Montana * No. 17 W 47–104,000 [ 16] November 24 atWashington No. 17 W 27–2552,000 *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF) .WSUCougars.com . Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 74. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "Cougars stop Broncos 34-28" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. Associated Press. September 30, 1951. p. 8.^ "Cougars trim air-minded Oklahoma A. & M." Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. October 6, 1951. p. 8.^ "Second-half Washington State rally downs Huskies 27-25" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. Associated Press. November 25, 1951. p. 8.^ "Roffler star of WSC's win; Bud hailed over M'Elhenny" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. November 26, 1951. p. 17.^ Blake, Sherman (November 26, 1951)."Action is spectacular as Washington State wins from Washington 27-25" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. (photos). p. 19. ^ "Assistant coaches quit WSC with Evashevski; jobs open" .Wpokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. January 7, 1952. p. 9.^ "Evashevski leaves Washington State to take Iowa job" .Pittsburgh Press . United Press. January 7, 1952. p. 16.^ "Evashevski quits WSC to become Iowa coach" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. Associated Press. January 7, 1952. p. 2.^ "Al Kircher accepts Washington State football post" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. January 15, 1952. p. 13.^ "Kircher accepts head football position at Washington State on 5-year basis" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. Associated Press. January 16, 1952. p. 8.^ Harry Borba (September 30, 1951)."Broncs Defeated, 34-20" .The San Francisco Examiner . p. 35 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ United Press,"Cougars Take to Air, Crush OSC Beavers, 26–13," Fresno Bee, Oct. 21, 1951, p. 3-S (48). ^ Boren, Charlie (November 11, 1951)."Spirited Vandals hold powerful Cougars to 9-6 win" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 8. ^ "Idaho slows but cannot stop WSC, and Cougars win, 9 to 6" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. November 11, 1951. p. 1, sports.^ "Cougars wallop Montana, 47–10" .The Billings Gazette . November 18, 1951. RetrievedMay 2, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .Game program: Santa Clara vs. WSC at Spokane – September 29, 1951Game program: Oklahoma A&M vs. WSC at Spokane – October 6, 1951Game program: California at WSC – October 13, 1951Game program: Oregon at WSC – October 27, 1951Game program: Montana at WSC – Montana 17, 1951"Oregon State College vs. Washington State College, 1951," Washington State University Libraries: Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, via YouTube.com, 2013.(Video; OSC in black helmets.)
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons
