When the meeting between Washington State and Boise State was announced, it was immediately circled by many to be one of the better games of the revamped Pac-12 slate. Especially in the timeslot it was put in. A late October matchup at 3pm in Pullman. College football is arguably at its peak around this time of the year. As the great Keith Jackson once said: “And in the fall, when the air turns crisp, the leaves turn gold, the sun shines bright on the Palouse hills, you get the spirit. This is Cougar country.”
It couldn’t be more true on this October 24th Homecoming weekend. The air was crisp at 54 degrees. The trees that align Glenn Terrell Mall and the south entrance of Martin Stadium had fully turned orange and gold and were falling onto the ground. The sun was shining on the rolling hills that overlook Pullman to the northeast through very little cloud coverage. And as Washington State was greeted by a fairly good crowd, that Cougar spirit was palpable.
Heading into the final 15 minutes of play, the newly installed LED lights were flashing crimson, and the new sound speakers were blaring music that almost everybody on the Cougar sideline was dancing along to. You could feel the energy radiating from the guys in crimson. They had the number 21 team in the country on the ropes, tied at 10 with a Homecoming crowd behind them…