CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Washington State

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Pac-12), coached by Mike Leach.

Schedule and results

Washington State in 2017, game by game: won vs. Montana State 31–0; won vs. Boise State 47–44; won vs. Oregon State 52–23; won vs. Nevada 45–7; won vs. No. 5 USC 30–27; won at Oregon 33–10; lost at California 3–37; won vs. Colorado 28–0; lost at Arizona 37–58; won vs. No. 18 Stanford 24–21; won at Utah 33–25; lost at No. 15 Washington 14–41; lost vs. No. 18 Michigan State 17–42+38−34Won 31–0 vs. Montana State+31Montana StateWon 47–44 vs. Boise State+3Boise StateWon 52–23 vs. Oregon State+29Oregon StateWon 45–7 vs. Nevada+38NevadaWon 30–27 vs. No. 5 USC+3No. 5 USCWon 33–10 at Oregon+23OregonLost 3–37 at California-34CaliforniaWon 28–0 vs. Colorado+28ColoradoLost 37–58 at Arizona-21ArizonaWon 24–21 vs. No. 18 Stanford+3No. 18 StanfordWon 33–25 at Utah+8UtahLost 14–41 at No. 15 Washington-27No. 15 WashingtonLost 17–42 vs. No. 18 Michigan State-25No. 18 Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsMontana StateW 31–⁠088%
Sep 9vsBoise StateW 47–⁠4455%
Sep 16vsOregon StateW 52–⁠2380%
Sep 23vsNevadaW 45–⁠782%
Sep 29vs5USCW 30–⁠2740%
Oct 7atOregonW 33–⁠1048%
Oct 13atCaliforniaL 3–⁠3763%
Oct 21vsColoradoW 28–⁠067%
Oct 28atArizonaL 37–⁠5858%
Nov 4vs18StanfordW 24–⁠2145%
Nov 11atUtahW 33–⁠2548%
Nov 25at15WashingtonL 14–⁠4131%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs18Michigan StateHoliday BowlL 17–⁠4251%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 42–⁠17 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 20
  3. Wk 3: 21
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 11
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 15
  9. Wk 9: 15
  10. Wk 10: 25
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 21
  15. Wk 15: 21

Burlsworth TrophyLuke Falk, QB

2 consensus All-AmericansCody O’Connell, OL; Hercules Mata’afa, DL

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 4th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 8
Points
394–⁠335
Coach
Mike Leach
Elo
1585 +17 this season
SP+ rating
8.6 No. 40 of 128; offense No. 50, defense No. 30, special teams No. 76
SRS
6.5 No. 40 of 130 in FBS
Returning
77% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 44 roster talent No. 60 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Alex Grinch
Offense
Air raid
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense89th of 130
  • Defense13th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted89th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted13th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0545%1.1189th of 130
Defense-0.0440%1.1913th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
-0.03 def		44% off
39% def		—89th off
13th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.4own 3115% allowed
Defense3.1own 3418% caused

CORE rating 1.9, 56th of 130 (offense -7.0, defense -8.9).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsLuke Falk QB3,593 yds
Passing touchdownsLuke Falk QB30 TD
Rushing yardsJamal Morrow RB522 yds
Rushing touchdownsJamal Morrow RB4 TD
Receiving yardsTavares Martin Jr. WR831 yds
Receiving touchdownsTavares Martin Jr. WR9 TD
TacklesJalen Thompson S68 tkl
SacksHercules Mata’afa DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Thompson S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Jamire Calvin WR★★★★No. 311
Dontae Powell OT★★★No. 389
Abraham Lucas OT★★★No. 464
Connor Neville PRO★★★No. 523
Josh Talbott S★★★No. 610

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.870
Running backs23.00.840
Receivers33.30.853
Offensive line52.80.844
Defensive line52.60.810
Linebackers13.00.851
Defensive backs33.00.845
Athletes and specialists42.80.807
Whole class242.90.833

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 5Cole Madison OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Luke Falk QBTennessee Titans

Roster 109

The 2017 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Pac-12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠111–⁠312
Washington7–⁠210–⁠316
Stanford7–⁠29–⁠520
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠37–⁠6
Arizona5–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon4–⁠57–⁠6
UCLA4–⁠56–⁠7
Utah3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
California2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State0–⁠91–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.