Washington State Cougars On SI

Washington State Drops 5 Spots in SP+ Rankings Despite Apple Cup Win

Joe Londergan

Sep 14, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; The against the Washington State Cougars during warmups before the game against the Washington Huskies at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; The against the Washington State Cougars during warmups before the game against the Washington Huskies at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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Washington State's win over the Washington Huskies in last weeks' Apple Cup will stick in the brains of Cougar fans for a long time. However, it was not enough to move them up in the post-week three SP+ rankings. WSU actually dropped from #43 to #48

ESPN's Bill Connelly, creator of the system, describes it as a "tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency." It's not necessarily a power ranking.

While the Cougars are 3-0, their most recent win was by a margin of only five points. Their first two wins by 40 and 21 points, respectively. Cougs fans likely don't care what the exact score is in a win against the program's biggest rivals, but that smaller margin of victory clearly played a role in this specific system.

After the first two weeks of the season, the Cougars had a rating of 6.0. Now, following their most-recent performance, they dipped just slightly to 5.9.

WSU's next game brings them back to Pullman, where they host San Jose State on Friday at 7 PM PT on The CW.

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Joe Londergan
JOE LONDERGAN

Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.

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