WSU Football Bowl Hunt: Oregon State AD Says WSU Will Get the Nod Ahead of the Beavs

Nov 29, 2013; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Josh Andrews (69) holds Oregon State Beavers running back Terron Ward (28) following a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

It continues to be the longest week in a decade for Washington State fans, at least it seems that way. The Cougs are in a hunt for a bowl bid and can’t do a thing about it this week, sitting around to watch all their possible scenarios play out.

It is however nice to know that competing teams for these final bowl spots aren’t feeling very good about their chances up against our Cougs, so that’s a point we’re going to run with for a moment.

Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis isn’t on the WSU bandwagon or anything, but it looks like his faith in his own football team has been shaken, or at least he realizes the gravity of his team’s five game losing streak  against a streaking Mike Leach team. It’s been over almost two months since the Beavers used an explosive fourth quarter to crush the Cougars in Pullman. That was also a week before their final win against Cal.

Since then they have lost five in a row and De Carolis is bummin’ about the Beavs chances against a Cougar team that finished 2-1 over the final three weeks of the season.

"The bowl situation is quite the mess. Obviously there are going to be two (Pac-12) teams on the outside looking in, and we’re probably one of them.We don’t know this for sure, but I would guess Washington State would get a bid because they haven’t been in a bowl game since (2003), so there’s pent up emotion in their fan base. They finished pretty strong, and they’re going to buy tickets and go wherever."

A vote of confidence? Probably not, but we can sure hope he’s right. For what it’s worth, this was kind of our thought on the situation as well. WSU has grown since the OSU game, while the Beavs have flattened. To me, the embarrassing loss at home, giving up 69 points to the Huskies is going to be the killer for them.

The Cougs had an opportunity in the final 5:00 to beat UW, so while it’s said that strength of schedule doesn’t necessarily matter for bowl selection like it does for say, the NCAA Tournament, similar match-ups must certainly make a difference in a case like this. Who’s playing better right now? Who will generate the most buzz? Who will bring the most fans to the stadium? Who has the best story and are there multiple stories?

Gotta believe if it’s between WSU and OSU, the Cougs get the nod on all of those, especially in New Mexico and/or Texas.

Go Cougs!