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1954 Washington State Cougars football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1954 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record4–6 (3–4 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRogers Field, Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1953
1955 →
1954 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 UCLA $ 6 0 0 9 0 0
No. 17 USC ^ 6 1 0 8 4 0
Oregon 5 3 0 6 4 0
California 4 3 0 5 5 0
Washington State 3 4 0 4 6 0
Stanford 2 4 0 4 6 0
Idaho 1 2 0 4 5 0
Washington 1 6 0 2 8 0
Oregon State 1 6 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative
    UCLA won rivalry game over USC,
    but no-repeat rule was in effect
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State College during the 1954 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Al Kircher, the team was 4–6 overall and 3–4 in the Pacific Coast Conference.[1] Three home games were played on campus in Pullman at Rogers Field, with one in Spokane in late September.

The Cougars defeated rival Washington for the second straight year,[2] but were shut out at home by neighbor Idaho in the Battle of the Palouse, which was the Vandals' first win in the series in 29 years.

The Washington rivalry game (now the Apple Cup) was held in Pullman for the first time since 1948 and was the last until 1982; all three were Cougar victories. Of the fifteen games played in Spokane from 1950 through 1980, Washington State won only three (1958, 1968, 1972), while winning five times in Seattle.

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 17at No. 17 USCL 0–3937,645
September 25Pacific (CA)*W 18–012,000
October 2at No. 12 Texas*L 14–4027,000[3]
October 9Oregon StatedaggerW 34–615,000
October 16at CaliforniaL 7–1727,000
October 23Idaho
L 0–1017,000[4][5]
October 30at StanfordW 30–2613,000
November 6at Michigan State*L 6–5445,849
November 13at OregonL 14–2616,000
November 20Washington
W 26–718,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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[6][7]

NFL Draft

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Four Cougars were selected in the 1955 NFL draft, which was thirty rounds (360 selections).

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Duke Washington Back 10 118 Philadelphia Eagles
Tom Gunnari Tackle 23 274 San Francisco 49ers
Bob Peringer End 27 317 Green Bay Packers
Bruce Nevitt Center 27 319 Los Angeles Rams

[8][9][10]

References

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  1. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 74. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ Boni, Bill (November 21, 1954). "Cougars crumple Huskies 26 to 7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  3. ^ "Texans wilt Cougars, 40–14". The Spokesman-Review. October 3, 1954. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Boni, Bill (October 24, 1954). "Idaho thumps WSC, 10 to 0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  5. ^ ""Win made us ball club", says Skip Stahley". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 25, 1954. p. 17.
  6. ^ "W.S.C. vs. U. of Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 22, 1954. p. 15.
  7. ^ "Cougars vs. Vandals". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 23, 1954. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Washington is happy with draft by Eagles". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 28, 1955. p. 14.
  9. ^ "Cougars vs. Vandals". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (rosters). October 23, 1954. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Cougars vs. Huskies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (rosters). November 20, 1954. p. 10.
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