American college football season
The1975 Washington State Cougars football team was anAmerican football team that representedWashington State University in thePacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the1975 NCAA Division I football season . In their eighth season under head coachJim Sweeney , the Cougars compiled a3–8 record(0–7 in Pac-8, last) and were outscored 295 to 262.[ 1] [ 2]
The team's statistical leaders included John Hopkins with 1,022 passing yards, Vaughn Williams with 662 rushing yards, and Brian Kelly with 371 receiving yards.[ 3]
With two wins to open the season,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] followed by seven consecutive losses,[ 7] the Cougars took out their frustrations on over-matched neighborIdaho in theBattle of the Palouse onNovember 15, scoring eight touchdowns in the first half on the way to an84–27 rout.[ 8] [ 9] [ 10] The next week atHusky Stadium inSeattle , WSU led rivalWashington 27–13 with three minutes left inDon James ' firstApple Cup , but gave up two long touchdowns to lose bya point.[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
Sweeney resigned a weeklater,[ 15] [ 16] [ 17] and was promptly hired atFresno State .[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21]
This was the first season for the concrete north grandstand atMartin Stadium ; the student section, it was formerly a wooden grandstand constructed in the 1930s as part ofRogers Field .[ 22] [ 23] [ 24] (1975 aerial photo)[ 25]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 13 atKansas * W 18–1433,378 [ 26] September 20 atUtah * W 30–1419,622 [ 27] September 27 California L 21–3324,500 [ 28] October 4 atIllinois * L 21–2751,060 [ 29] October 11 at No. 3USC L 10–2847,468 [ 30] October 18 No. 18UCLA L 23–3728,500 [ 31] October 25 atStanford L 14–5435,000 [ 32] November 1 Oregon Martin Stadium Pullman, WA L 14–2618,100 [ 33] November 8 atOregon State L 0–713,489 [ 34] [ 35] [ 36] November 15 Idaho * W 84–2717,300 [ 8] [ 9] November 22 atWashington L 27–2857,100 [ 37] *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
Game information Washington St Washington Warren Moon 4/22, 126 yards, 2 TDRobin Earl 9 rush, 51 yds Spider Gaines 2 rec, 107 yds, 2 TD
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WSU WASH 1 Washington St 40-yard field goal by Hedrick 3 0 1 Washington Rowland 1-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 3 7 1 Washington St Williams 3-yard touchdown run, Hedrick kick good 10 7 2 Washington St Hopkins 1-yard touchdown run, Hedrick kick good 17 7 2 Washington St Williams 1-yard touchdown run, Hedrick kick good 24 7 2 Washington Gaines 29-yard touchdown reception fromMoon , Robbins kick good 24 14 3 Washington St 36-yard field goal by Hedrick 27 14 4 Washington Interception returned 93 yards for touchdown byBurleson , Robbins kick good 27 21 4 Washington Gaines 78-yard touchdown reception from Moon, Robbins kick good 27 28 "TOP" =time of possession . For other American football terms, seeGlossary of American football . 27 28
1975 Washington State Cougars football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 41 Tony Cook Jr S 5 Rufus Cunningham Sr NT 82 Dennis Dobberpuhl Sr CB 37 Ken Greene So CB 25 Tony Heath Sr LB 57 Don Hover Jr DE 90 Mark Husfloen Sr LB 58 Scott Mullenix Sr DE 87 Tim Ochs Jr LB 94 Bill Patterson Sr CB 15 Mark Patterson So LB 63 Jerry Payne Sr DT 50 George Yarno Fr
Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 33 Chuck Diedrick Jr P 46 Gavin Hedrick So
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
[ 38] [ 39] [ 40] [ 41] [ 42] [ 43] [ 44] [ 45]
Four Cougars were selected in the1976 NFL draft
[ 46] [ 47]
^ "1975 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF) .WSUCougars.com . Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "1975 Washington State Cougars Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ Brown, Bruce (September 15, 1975)."Cougars happy, but shy of goal" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 19. ^ "Hopkins, Doornink push WSU past Utah 30-14" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. September 21, 1975. p. 1B.^ "Combo of two efforts WSU need this week" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. September 22, 1975. p. 13.^ Missildine, Harry (November 9, 1975)."Pass interception key to Oregon State win" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. D1. ^a b Barrows, Bob."WSU turns Battle of Palouse in 84-27 rout" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 1B. ^a b Missildine, Harry (November 16, 1975)."Cougars clobber Vandals" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. D1. ^ Brown, Bruce (November 17, 1975)."Runaway Cougs want UW victory" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 17. ^a b Missildine, Harry (November 23, 1975)."Bomb, theft beat Cougars" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. 1. ^a b Barrows, Bob (November 23, 1975)."Cougs bit from behind" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 1B. ^a b "WSU gets greedy, falls to Huskies" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. wire services. November 23, 1975. p. 3B.^a b Brown, Bruce (November 24, 1975)."Changes due at WSU" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 25. ^ "Sweeney uses option, quits as WSU boss" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. wire services. December 1, 1975. p. 1B.^ Missildine, Harry (December 1, 1975)."Cougar coach Jim Sweeney resigns" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. 14. ^ "Cougar coach Jim Sweeney calls it quits" .The Bulletin . Bend, Oregon. Associated Press. December 1, 1975. p. 10.^ Derrick, Merle (December 9, 1975)."Sweeney takes Fresno post" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 31. ^ Missildine, Harry (December 10, 1975)."Sweeney to Fresno" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. 25. ^ "Sweeney goes south" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. Associated Press. December 10, 1975. p. 2D.^ "Jim Sweeney named Fresno State coach" .The Bulletin . Bend, Oregon. Associated Press. December 10, 1975. p. 12.^ Felgenhauer, Neil (March 8, 1974)."Stadium to seat more" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 1. ^ "Stands demolished" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. November 21, 1974. p. 1.^ "Pre-cast for Cougars" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. June 10, 1975. p. 24.^ "Moscow & Pullman set progressive pace in Palouse country" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. (Sunday Magazine). December 27, 1975. p. 28.^ "Cougars, Diedrick boot KU 18–14" .The Wichita Eagle & Beacon . September 14, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Cougars throttle Utes 30–14 as Doornink gets three TDs" .The Spokesman-Review . September 21, 1975. RetrievedOctober 17, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Muncie, Roth set off California" .The Spokesman-Review . September 28, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Illini bounce back" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch . October 5, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Cougs 28–10 victims of Bell, Trojans" .The Bellingham Herald . October 12, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "UCLA deals Cougars 4th straight loss, 37–23" .The Sunday Oregonian . October 19, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Erring Cougars easy victim for Stanford" .Contra Costa Times . October 26, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Ducks boot Cougars, 26–14" .The Olympian . November 2, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Conrad, John (November 9, 1975)."OSU wins first with 'guts football' " .Eugene Register-Guard . p. 1B. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaGoogle News Archive . ^ Drosendahl, Glenn (November 9, 1975)."Cougar offense stalls in 7-0 loss" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 1B. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaGoogle News Archive . ^ Missildine, Harry (November 9, 1975)."Pass interception key to Oregon State win" .Spokesman-Review . p. D1. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaGoogle News Archive . ^ "Huskies' wild finish stuns Cougars 28–27" .Tri-City Herald . November 23, 1975. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Probable starters" .Lawrence Journal-World . Kansas. September 12, 1975. p. 13.^ "Probable starters" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. September 12, 1975. p. 24.^ "Bears vs. Cougars" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. (probable starters, rosters). September 27, 1975. p. 12.^ "Bruins vs. Cougars" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. (probable starters, rosters). October 18, 1975. p. 12.^ "WSU Cougars: Probable starters, coaches" .Stanford Daily . California. (Stanford University). October 25, 1975. p. 5.^ "Ducks vs. Cougars: probable starters" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. (rosters). November 1, 1975. p. 17.^ "Vandals vs. Cougars" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. (probable starters, rosters). November 15, 1975. p. 12.^ 2010 Washington State football media guide ^ "Four Cougars, Vandal taken in NFL's draft" .Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. April 10, 1976. p. 10.^ "Three Palouse gridders drafted" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. April 10, 1976. p. 1B.
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