Surging No. 7 Washington State eyes Pac-12 North title

PULLMAN, WASH. >> A year that began in tragedy for Washington State is wrapping up with the Cougars on the brink of unparalleled success.

Players began spring workouts with heavy hearts after the January suicide of quarterback Tyler Hilinski. The offseason departure of six assistant coaches and head coach Mike Leach’s flirtation with the Tennessee job then contributed to the outside perception that little should be expected of the Cougars this year. They were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 North.

“Everyone was projecting us to go 3-9,” freshman running back Max Borghi said.

The picture today is so much different. Washington State (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) will play No. 16 Washington (8-3, 6-2) on Friday in the Apple Cup. A victory would give the seventhranked Cougars their first Pac-12 North title and set a program record for wins in a season. It would also keep alive talk of Washington State’s longshot bid for the College Football Playoff, however unlikely that may be.

Leach said the team’s secret weapon may be how much everyone is enjoying themselves.

“In the locker room, everybody’s really having a good time,” Leach said. “This is a very tight team. I think that’s helped us to play well.”

Having perhaps the best time is quarterback Gardner Minshew, the graduate transfer from East Carolina who became a star in his first and only season for the Cougars. Minshew has captured the imagination of fans with stellar play, as well as his facial hair. Minshew is nicknamed the Mississippi Mustache and it has become a thing among Cougars fans to post a selfie while sporting a fake mustache.

After one recent game, Minshew sneaked up behind Leach as the coach was conducting a television interview and slapped a fake mustache on his upper lip.

“I was the victim cruel joke,” Leach later.

Minshew has become one of the faces of college football this season, mobbed by fans, pursued by reporters, pushed as a of a said Heisman

All the success comes from working as a team, he said.

“Man, this team has just come together so well,” Minshew said. “We believe that we are going to win every game. I think that belief goes a long, long way.”

Leach also is having a ball in his seventh season at Washington State. He’s often relaxed when meeting the media, happy to answer offbeat questions.

Asked who would win a mythical fight among all 12 conference coaches, he opined Utah’s Kyle Whittingham Trophy candidate. and Arizona State’s Herm Edwards because: “They work out.”

Asked what bands he would like to see at a Woodstock-style festival in Pullman, he said The Doors, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jimmy Buffett, then added 10 more.

And so on.

Of course, what’s really fun is winning.

The Cougars won their first three games then stumbled at Southern California, losing a close game when they missed a tying field goal in the closing two minutes. They have since won seven straight.