Washington State was picked fifth in the pre-season Pac-10 conference poll. They were even classified by some[who?] as a sleeper pick for the national championship, withAlex Brink at the helm. They opened with three non-conference wins in September, but the results were different in league play. In the Pac-10 opener atOregon State, Brink passed for over 500 yards, but WSU lost by eleven.[1]
The Cougars lost their next three games (Stanford,UCLA,Cal), by a combined ten points; their inability to close out games cost them. After a blowout loss inLos Angeles to top-rankedUSC,[2] three-point setbacks at home toArizona State and #11Oregon followed, as the conference losing streak extended to seven games.[3] In theApple Cup atSeattle, they defeated struggling rivalWashington by four points to finish at 4–7 overall.[4]
