1974 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1974 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their seventh season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 2–9 record (1–6 in Pac-8, seventh), and were outscored 272 to 162.[1][2]

1974 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Record2–9 (1–6 Pac-8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJack Elway (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorLarry Donovan (1st season)
Home stadiumMartin Stadium,
Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane),
Husky Stadium (Seattle)
Seasons
← 1973
1975 →
1974 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 USC $ 6 0 1 10 1 1
Stanford 5 1 1 5 4 2
California 4 2 1 7 3 1
UCLA 4 2 1 6 3 2
Washington 3 4 0 5 6 0
Oregon State 3 4 0 3 8 0
Washington State 1 6 0 2 9 0
Oregon 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included John Hopkins with 522 passing yards, Ron Cheatham with 616 rushing yards, and Carl Barschig with 423 receiving yards.[3]

Martin Stadium hosted three games; top-ranked Ohio State was played in Seattle (at Husky Stadium), and three games were at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, including the Apple Cup.

In Eugene, the Cougars defeated Oregon for the fourth straight year;[4][5] it was WSU's only conference victory, and the Ducks went winless in the Pac-8. The Cougars had an opportunity for an unprecedented third consecutive victory over rival Washington,[6][7] but lost by seven points in Spokane.[8][9]

This was the first season for the concrete north grandstand at Martin Stadium, the student section was formerly a wooden grandstand constructed in the 1930s as part of Rogers Field.[10][11][12]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 14Kansas*L 7–1429,350–30,142
September 21Idaho*W 17–1019,300[13]
September 28at No. 18 Illinois*L 19–2140,594
October 5vs. No. 1 Ohio State*L 7–4250,000
October 12No. 7 USC
  • Joe Albi Stadium
  • Spokane, WA
L 7–5432,000
October 19at UCLAL 13–1730,686
October 26Stanford
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 18–2022,000
November 2at OregonW 21–1621,500
November 9Oregon State 
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 3–1717,500
November 16at No. 19 CaliforniaL 33–3726,573
November 23Washington
L 17–2427,800
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2][14]

Roster

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1974 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 69 Bob Aldrich Sr
TE 80 Carl Barschig Jr
QB 12 Wally Bennett So
FB 30 Vern Chamberlain Jr
HB 42 Ron Cheatham Sr
G 60 Jon DesPois So
RB 11 Dan Doornink Fr
WR 44 Duke Fergerson Jr
QB 18 John Hopkins So
FB 39 Andrew Jones Sr
WR 27 Ray Kimble Jr
WR 3 Mike Maenhout Jr
G 68 Wilbur McKinney Sr
C 55 Steve Morton Sr
G 62 Steve Ostermann Sr
OT 78 Earl Owens Sr
WR 1 Dennis Pearson Fr
QB 13 Chuck Peck Sr
C 65 Geoff Reece Sr
OT 75 Robin Ross Jr
OT 73 Dan Smith Jr
QB 14 Jack Thompson   Fr
HB 24 Vaughn Williams Jr
G 70 Mark Young Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
SS 36 Mike Carter Sr
SS 41 Tony Cook Jr
CB 40 Robert Crow Jr
FS 5 Rufus Cunningham Jr
DE 79 Joe Daniels Sr
DT 82 Dennis Dobberpuhl Jr
CB 37 Ken Greene Fr
CB 25 Tony Heath Jr
LB 57 Don Hover So
DE 90 Mark Husfloen Jr
CB 22 Basil Kimbrew Sr
LB 66 Gary Larsen Sr
FS 10 Mike Mitchell Sr
LB 58 Scott Mullenix Jr
DT 87 Tim Ochs So
DE 94 Bill Patterson Jr
MG 67 Dean Pedigo Fr
LB 52 Steve Robert Sr
CB 20 Andre Stuckey Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 3 Joe Danelo Sr
P 46 Gavin Hedrick Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

All-conference

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Three Washington State seniors were named to the All-Pac-8 team; guard Steve Ostermann, center Geoff Reece, and linebacker Gary Larsen.[25][26] Ostermann was named to the first team for a third consecutive year and Reece was a repeat selection.

NFL Draft

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Three Cougars were selected in the 1975 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Andrew Jones RB 3 60 New Orleans
Geoff Reece C 3 61 Los Angeles Rams
Joe Danelo PK 10 257 Miami Dolphins

[27][28][29][30]

References

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  1. ^ "1974 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "1974 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Withers, Bud (November 3, 1974). "For Oregon, 21-16 not much better than 66-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  5. ^ Drosendahl, Glenn (November 3, 1974). "'Mr. Hyde' Cougs come alive to dump Ducks". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 17.
  6. ^ Missildine, Harry (November 23, 1974). "Cats, Dogs fight for Apple in traditional game at Albi". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 14.
  7. ^ Drosendahl, Glenn (November 23, 1974). "Cougars-Huskies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  8. ^ Missildine, Harry (November 24, 1974). "Washington's Fitzpatrick terrific as Huskies subdue Cougs 24-17". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  9. ^ Drosendahl, Glenn (November 24, 1974). "Huskies brush aside late Cougars rally, win 24-17". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  10. ^ Felgenhauer, Neil (March 8, 1974). "Stadium to seat more". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 1.
  11. ^ "Stands demolished". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 21, 1974. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Pre-cast for Cougars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). June 10, 1975. p. 24.
  13. ^ Brown, Bruce (September 23, 1974). "WSU's potential stays dormant". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 15.
  14. ^ 1974 Washington State Cougars Schedule & Results. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  15. ^ Brown, Bruce (September 12, 1974). "Secondary facing test". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 49.
  16. ^ "Vandals vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 21, 1974. p. 12.
  17. ^ "Trojans vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 12, 1974. p. 14.
  18. ^ "Cardinals vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 26, 1974. p. 12.
  19. ^ "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 2, 1974. p. 1B.
  20. ^ "Beavers vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 9, 1974. p. 10.
  21. ^ "WSU vs, Washington (rosters)". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 22, 1974. p. 17.
  22. ^ "Cougs-Huskies (starting lineups)". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 23, 1974. p. 1B.
  23. ^ "Huskies vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 23, 1974. p. 14.
  24. ^ "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  25. ^ "3 Cougars on Pac-8 all-stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1974. p. 49.
  26. ^ "Donnelley on Pac-8 squad". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 5, 1974. p. 1C.
  27. ^ "Two Cougs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 29, 1975. p. 15.
  28. ^ "Jones, Reece picked in pro draft". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 29, 1975. p. 1B.
  29. ^ "Miami tabs Danelo today; he's 3rd Cougar drafted". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 29, 1975. p. 13.
  30. ^ Emerson, Paul (January 30, 1975). "Pro draft holds some surprises". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
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