Spokesman.com
The Pac-12 chaos bowl math for Cougs to sort
The math for the Cougs right now is quantum physics, and not the fun kind. Jon Wilner's latest bowl projections lay it out cold: Washington State needs five wins in five games just to get to six and be bowl-eligible. That's not a stretch run. That's a Hail Mary from your own end zone with no time left.
The rest of the Pac-12 legacy schools are sorting through their own chaos. UCLA and Utah are undefeated, Oregon has two losses, and somehow Oregon State is a juggernaut with a path to the College Football Playoff. Five legacy schools are one win away from locking in a bowl. The other seven, including the Cougs, are doing calculus, trigonometry, and long division just to see if they can get to six wins.
For Wazzu, the answer is probably no. Wilner suggests the Cougars should turn their attention to 2027, and he's not wrong. They've already flipped play-callers and quarterbacks. There aren't many cords left to pull. You can read more about one of those tough tests ahead in "Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yet."
But here's the thing: even if the bowl math doesn't add up, you still show up on Saturday. You still yell. You still wear the flag. Because being a Coug was never about the math.
Go Cougs.
