1954 Washington State Cougars football team

1954 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record4–6 (3–4 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRogers Field, Memorial Stadium
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

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 17at No. 17 USC
L 0–3937,645[3]
September 25Pacific (CA)*
W 18–012,000[4]
October 2at No. 12 Texas*
L 14–4027,000[5]
October 9Oregon State
W 34–615,000[6]
October 16at California
L 7–1727,000[7]
October 23Idaho
L 0–1017,000[8][9]
October 30at Stanford
W 30–2613,000[10]
November 6at Michigan State*
L 6–5445,849[11]
November 13at Oregon
L 14–2616,500[12]
November 20Washington
W 26–718,000[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • Source: [14][15]

Roster

[16][17]

NFL draft

Four Cougars were selected in the 1955 NFL draft, which was 30 rounds and 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

[18][19][20]

References

  1. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 74. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ Boni, Bill (November 21, 1954). "Cougars crumple Huskies 26 to 7". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
  3. ^ "USC Trojans blast WSC Cougars 39–0". The Press Democrat. September 19, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Long run sets up Cougar 18–0 upset win over COP". The Bellingham Herald. September 26, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Texans wilt Cougars, 40–14". The Spokesman-Review. October 3, 1954. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sluggish Beavers lose 34–6 to sharp WSC". Medford Mail Tribune. October 10, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Bears hit comeback trail behind Larson's leadership". The Los Angeles Times. October 17, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Boni, Bill (October 24, 1954). "Idaho thumps WSC, 10 to 0". The Spokesman-Review. p. 1, sports.
  9. ^ ""Win made us ball club", says Skip Stahley". Spokane Daily Chronicle. October 25, 1954. p. 17.
  10. ^ "Scrappy Cougars claw Indians, 30–26". Oakland Tribune. October 31, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Postula scores for MSC in 54–6 rout of Cougars". Battle Creek Enquirer & News. November 7, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Ducks overcome Washington State". The Sunday Oregonian. November 14, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Cougars crumple Huskies, 26 to 7". The Spokesman-Review. November 21, 1954. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1954 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  15. ^ "Schedule/Results (1954 Washington State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  16. ^ "W.S.C. vs. U. of Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. October 22, 1954. p. 15.
  17. ^ "Cougars vs. Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. October 23, 1954. p. 9.
  18. ^ "Washington is happy with draft by Eagles". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. January 28, 1955. p. 14.
  19. ^ "Cougars vs. Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (rosters). October 23, 1954. p. 9.
  20. ^ "Cougars vs. Huskies". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (rosters). November 20, 1954. p. 10.
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