1985 Washington State Cougars football team

American college football season

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 ->

1985 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 7 UCLA $  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 1
Arizona | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 1
Arizona State | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Washington | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
USC | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 6  | - | 0
Oregon | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Washington State | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Stanford | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Oregon State | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
California | 2  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

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]

## Schedule

[edit]

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

## Personnel

[edit]

1985 Washington State Cougars football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

QB | `10` | Ed Blount | Jr
WR | `24` | Rick Chase | Jr
G | `77` | Mike Dreyer | Sr
G | `59` | Peter Emsky | Sr
WR | `88` | Michael James | So
C | `61` | Curt Ladines | Sr
TE | `83` | Jeff Lamson | So
TE | `89` | Chris Leighton | Jr
G | `66` | Ian Lindner | Jr
RB | `36` | Rueben Mayes | Sr
FB | `30` | Kerry Porter | Jr
QB | `17` | Mark Rypien | Sr
OT | `67` | Mike Schuster | Sr
WR | `47` | Cotton Sears | Jr
RB | `38` | Junior Tautalatasi | Sr
WR | `8` | Kitrick Taylor | Jr
OT | `56` | Bill Williams | Sr
OT | `60` | Mike Utley | Fr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DE | `97` | Mike Beasley | Sr
CB | `16` | Cedrick Brown | Jr
LB | `91` | Ben Carrillo | Sr
DE | `67` | Rob Cleveland | So
S | `25` | Ron Collins | Jr
LB | `35` | Dave Fitzgerald | Sr
LB | `57` | Brian Forde | So
S | `19` | Artie Holmes | Fr
DT | `73` | Erik Howard | Sr
S | `28` | Steve Haub | Sr
LB | `51` | James Krakoski | Jr
LB | `49` | Jeff Loomis | Jr
LB | `40` | Maury Metcalf | Fr
DE | `` | Mike Nathlich | Fr
LB | `` | Bob O'Neal | So
DT | `99` | Tim Petek | Fr
CB | `20` | Ricky Reynolds | Jr
S | `6` | Kevin Thomasson | Jr
LB | `27` | Dean Turulja | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

P | `1` | Glenn Harper | Sr
K | `4` | John Traut | Sr

Head coach

* Jim Walden (8th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Jim Burrow
* Dave Elliott
* Jon Fabris
* Gary Gagnon
* Lindsay Hughes
* Steve Morton
* Mel Sanders
* Del Wight
* Ken Woody

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

[6][8][15][16][17]

## Game summaries

[edit]

### At Washington

[edit]

See also: 1985 Washington Huskies football team and Apple Cup

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

## NFL Draft

[edit]

Four Cougars were selected in the 1986 NFL draft.

Player  | Position  | Round  | Overall  | Franchise

|
|
|
|

Erik Howard | DT  | 2 | 46  | New York Giants
Rueben Mayes | RB  | 3 | 57  | New Orleans Saints
Mark Rypien | QB  | 6 | 146  | Washington Redskins
Junior Tautalatasi | RB  | 10 | 261  | Philadelphia Eagles

[18]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1985 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. 77\. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
3. ^ "1985 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
4. ^ Grummert, Dale (November 22, 1985). "Rypien". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
5. ^ Devlin, Vince (August 30, 1985). "Tooth and nail". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 21.
6. ^ a b "WSU begins 'preseason' play". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 21, 1985. p. 1C.
7. ^ a b Devlin, Vince (November 21, 1985). "Their Cup hardly runneth over". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
8. ^ a b c Grummert, Dale (November 23, 1985). "Cougars, Huskies in Apple Cup redemption matchup". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
9. ^ Devlin, Vince (November 23, 1985). "Apple Cup's lost some appeal". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
10. ^ "WSU stuns bowl-bound UW, 21-20". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 24, 1985. p. 6C.
11. ^ Cour, Jim (November 25, 1985). "Loss didn't cost UW its Freedom". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B2.
12. ^ Grummert, Dale (November 25, 1985). "It was inevitable Cougar players would prove their points to UW". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
13. ^ a b "WSU's Mayes captures Pac-10 honor". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). staff and wire reports. November 27, 1985. p. 1C.
14. ^ "Mayes earns Pac-10 player award again". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 27, 1985. p. C2.
15. ^ "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). August 31, 1985. p. 2B.
16. ^ "The lineups". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 23, 1985. p. C4.
17. ^ "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
18. ^ Devlin, Vince (April 30, 1986). "An early start, late finish for WSU trio". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.

* v
* t
* e

Washington State Cougars football

Venues|

* Rogers Field (1895–1969)
* Joe Albi Stadium (1950–1983 as alternate; 1970–1971 as sole)
* Martin Stadium (1972–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Idaho: Battle of the Palouse
* Washington: Apple Cup
* Northwest Championship

Culture & lore|

* Butch T. Cougar
* "Fight Song"
* Marching band
* Coug it
* Ol' Crimson

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943–1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number