1974 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1974 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their seventh season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 2–9 record (1–6 in Pac-8, seventh), and were outscored 272 to 162.[1][2]

1974 Washington State Cougars football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
1974 record	2–9 (1–6 Pac-8)
Head coach	Jim Sweeney (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jack Elway (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Donovan (1st season)
Home stadium	Martin Stadium, Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane)

1974 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	0	–	1			10	–	1	–	1
Stanford	5	–	1	–	1			5	–	4	–	2
California	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
UCLA	4	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	2
Washington	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Washington State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included John Hopkins with 522 passing yards, Ron Cheatham with 616 rushing yards, and Carl Barschig with 423 receiving yards.[3]

In Eugene, the Cougars defeated Oregon for the fourth straight year;[4][5] it was WSU's only conference victory, and the Ducks went winless in the Pac-8. The Cougars had an opportunity for an unprecedented third consecutive victory over rival Washington,[6][7] but lost by seven points in Spokane.[8][9]

This was the first season for the concrete north grandstand at Martin Stadium, the student section was formerly a wooden grandstand constructed in the 1930s as part of Rogers Field.[10][11][12]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 14	Kansas*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	L 7–14	29,350
September 21	Idaho*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	W 17–10	19,300
September 28	at No. 18 Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 19–21	40,594
October 5	vs. No. 1 Ohio State*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–42	50,000
October 12	No. 7 USC	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	L 7–54	32,000
October 19	at UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 13–17	30,686
October 26	Stanford	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 18–20	22,000
November 2	at Oregon	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 21–16	21,500
November 9	Oregon State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 3–17	17,500
November 16	at No. 19 California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 33–37	26,573
November 23	Washington	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	L 17–24	27,800
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Source:[2][13]

Roster

1974 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 69 Bob Aldrich Sr TE 80 Carl Barschig Jr QB 12 Wally Bennett So FB 30 Vern Chamberlain Jr HB 42 Ron Cheatham Sr G 60 Jon DesPois So RB 11 Dan Doornink Fr WR 44 Duke Fergerson Jr QB 18 John Hopkins So FB 39 Andrew Jones Sr WR 27 Ray Kimble Jr WR 3 Mike Maenhout Jr G 68 Wilbur McKinney Sr C 55 Steve Morton Sr G 62 Steve Ostermann Sr T 78 Earl Owens Sr WR 1 Dennis Pearson Fr QB 13 Chuck Peck Sr C 65 Geoff Reece Sr T 75 Robin Ross Jr T 73 Dan Smith Jr QB 14 Jack Thompson  Fr HB 24 Vaughn Williams Jr G 70 Mark Young Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 36 Mike Carter Sr SS 41 Tony Cook Jr CB 40 Robert Crow Jr FS 5 Rufus Cunningham Jr DE 79 Joe Daniels Sr DT 82 Dennis Dobberpuhl Jr CB 37 Ken Greene Fr CB 25 Tony Heath Jr LB 57 Don Hover So DE 90 Mark Husfloen Jr CB 22 Basil Kimbrew Sr LB 66 Gary Larsen Sr FS 10 Mike Mitchell Sr LB 58 Scott Mullenix Jr DT 87 Tim Ochs So DE 94 Bill Patterson Jr MG 67 Dean Pedigo Fr LB 52 Steve Robert Sr CB 20 Andre Stuckey Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Joe Danelo Sr P 46 Gavin Hedrick Fr	Head coach Jim Sweeney (7th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jack Elway – (OC) Larry Donovan – (DC) Mike Price – (RB) Ron Mims – (DB) Walt Cubley – (DL) Bill Cords – (TE, JV) Tom Keele – (OL) Dick Roach – (LB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

All-conference

Three Washington State seniors were named to the All-Pac-8 team; guard Steve Ostermann, center Geoff Reece, and linebacker Gary Larsen.[24][25] Ostermann was named to the first team for a third consecutive year and Reece was a repeat selection.

NFL Draft

Three Cougars were selected in the 1975 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Andrew Jones	RB	3	60	New Orleans
Geoff Reece	C	3	61	Los Angeles Rams
Joe Danelo	PK	10	257	Miami Dolphins

Source:[26][27][28][29]

• List of Washington State Cougars in the NFL Draft

References

1. "1974 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
2. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
3. "1974 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
4. Withers, Bud (November 3, 1974). "For Oregon, 21-16 not much better than 66-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
5. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 3, 1974). "'Mr. Hyde' Cougs come alive to dump Ducks". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 17.
6. Missildine, Harry (November 23, 1974). "Cats, Dogs fight for Apple in traditional game at Albi". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 14.
7. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 23, 1974). "Cougars-Huskies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
8. Missildine, Harry (November 24, 1974). "Washington's Fitzpatrick terrific as Huskies subdue Cougs 24-17". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
9. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 24, 1974). "Huskies brush aside late Cougars rally, win 24-17". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
10. Felgenhauer, Neil (March 8, 1974). "Stadium to seat more". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 1.
11. "Stands demolished". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 21, 1974. p. 1.
12. "Pre-cast for Cougars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). June 10, 1975. p. 24.
13. 1974 Washington State Cougars Schedule & Results. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
14. Brown, Bruce (September 12, 1974). "Secondary facing test". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 49.
15. "Vandals vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 21, 1974. p. 12.
16. "Trojans vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 12, 1974. p. 14.
17. "Cardinals vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 26, 1974. p. 12.
18. "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 2, 1974. p. 1B.
19. "Beavers vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 9, 1974. p. 10.
20. "WSU vs, Washington (rosters)". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 22, 1974. p. 17.
21. "Cougs-Huskies (starting lineups)". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 23, 1974. p. 1B.
22. "Huskies vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 23, 1974. p. 14.
23. "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
24. "3 Cougars on Pac-8 all-stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1974. p. 49.
25. "Donnelley on Pac-8 squad". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 5, 1974. p. 1C.
26. "Two Cougs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 29, 1975. p. 15.
27. "Jones, Reece picked in pro draft". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 29, 1975. p. 1B.
28. "Miami tabs Danelo today; he's 3rd Cougar drafted". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 29, 1975. p. 13.
29. Emerson, Paul (January 30, 1975). "Pro draft holds some surprises". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.

External links

• Game program: Ohio State vs. WSU at Seattle – October 5, 1974
• Game program: USC vs. WSU at Spokane – October 12, 1974
• Game program: Stanford at WSU – October 26, 1974
• Game program: Oregon State at WSU – November 9, 1974
• WSU Libraries: Football game films – archive