1985 Washington State Cougars football team

1985 Washington State Cougars football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	4–7 (3–5 Pac-10)
Head coach	Jim Walden (8th season)
Home stadium	Martin Stadium
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record (3–5 in Pac-10, tied for seventh), and outscored their opponents 313 to 282.^[1][2] Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The team's statistical leaders included Mark Rypien with 2,174 passing yards, Rueben Mayes with 1,236 rushing yards, and Kitrick Taylor with 489 receiving yards.^[3]

This season's offense included the "RPM" backfield: Rypien at quarterback,^[4] with Kerry Porter and Mayes at running back.^[5][6] All three were previous first team all-conference selections (Porter as a sophomore in 1983), and expectations were high; injuries on defense took a toll and five of their losses were by a touchdown or less.^[7][8]

In the Apple Cup, the Cougars won again in Husky Stadium for their third win over Washington in the last four years.^{[9][10][11][12]} With frigid temperatures and snow on the Palouse prior to the game, the Cougars held indoor practices in the evening at the Kibbie Dome in neighboring Moscow, Idaho.^[7][8]

Mayes rushed for over 150 yards in each of the last four games and repeated as the Pac-10 offensive player of the year.^[13][14] Defensive lineman Erik Howard and return specialist Kitrick Taylor were also named All-Pac-10.^[13]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
August 31	Oregon	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 39–42	25,900
September 7	California	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	W 20–19	30,135
September 14	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	L 7–12	46,437
September 21	at Utah*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 37–44	28,576
September 28	at No. 5 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 32–48	89,954
October 12	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 34–0	27,236
October 19	No. 18 UCLA	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 30–31	32,302
October 26	Arizona State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 16–21	14,875
November 2	at USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 13–31	46,954
November 16	Montana State*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	W 64–14	15,000
November 23	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (Apple Cup)	W 21–20	60,197
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[6][8][15][16][17]}

1985 Washington State game film vs. Washington (silent) on YouTube

Four Cougars were selected in the 1986 NFL draft.

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