Washington State Rise One Spot in SP+ Rankings After Close Oregon State Loss

Joe Londergan | 1 Hour Ago

Nov 23, 2024; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Washington State Cougars linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah (0) scores a touchdown on an interception during the fourth quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images / Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The Washington State Cougars suffered their second consecutive loss over the weekend, falling to the Oregon State Beavers by a score of 41-38. This moves the Cougs to 8-3 overall.

That loss proved another decent outing for John Mateer and the WSU offense, despite a critical late fumble. Meanwhile, the Cougs' defense struggled to limit the Oregon State offense. That being said, the Cougars moved up one spot from #58 to #57 in ESPN's SP+ rankings ahead of Week 14...however, their overall SP+ rating fell slightly from 3.0 to 2.7.

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

- Bill Connelly, ESPN

That aforementioned offensive performance continued to move the Cougs up in offensive rating as well, now up to 35.9 (#14 in the nation).

"We got to do a little bit better," head coach Jake Dickert said following the loss. "I got to put them in the best situations to utilize our personnel, to go out there and win football games that we're capable of winning."

Washington State will close out the 2024 regular season this week hosting the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday at 3:30 PM PT. The 2-9 Cowboys find themselves at #119 in the nation this week in SP+

---

More Reading Material From Washington State Cougars On SI

AP POLL: Washington State Fall Out of Top 25 Following Oregon State Loss

TAKEAWAYS: #25 Washington State Drop Tight Pac-12 Battle At Oregon State 41-38

WATCH: Jake Dickert Talks Washington State's Close Loss At Oregon State