Washington State Falls One Spot in SP+ Rankings Ahead of Week 5

Joe Londergan | 2 Hours Ago

Sep 20, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars celebrates after a game against the San Jose State Spartans at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

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The Washington State Cougars are off to a 4-0 start this season, making it the second consecutive year that they have done so. This past Friday, WSU defeated the San Jose State Spartans in a double-overtime bout that ended with a score of 54-52.

Prior to that game, Washington State had a rating of 5.9, putting them at #48 in ESPN's SP+ rankings. Now heading into Week 5, the Cougars have a rating of 6.0, putting them one spot lower at #49 in the latest rankings.

What is SP+? In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.
- Bill Connelly, ESPN

The undefeated Cougars are running an average of 76.3 plays per game, inside the top 15 of FBS, and scoring an average of 46.2 points per game. However, WSU are also allowing 29.2 points per game, putting outside the top 100.

The Cougars play one of their toughest opponents this Saturday with a trip to the blue turf of Boise State University (#45 in SP+ this week). The Cougars and Broncos kick off at 7 PM PT on FS1.

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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.