Coug Talk: Battle of the Palouse

Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho are separated by a mere 8 miles, located in the heart of the Palouse region.  The short distance makes for a perfect storyline across all sports between two Division I schools, Washington State University and the University of Idaho.  This rivalry is known as the Battle of the Palouse.

I wouldn't call this a storied rivalry, at least not between the football teams.  Well, you could but the story is that WSU beats up on Idaho and Idaho limps back home.  Idaho has always been overmatched.  WSU's 56-6 victory on Saturday over Idaho is a picture perfect reflection of how the games have been played for these two teams.  WSU leads the series 71-17-3 and the last 20 games have been lopsided.  

A whole lot of crimson

This might be the last time the Cougars see the Vandals.  Starting in 2018, the Vandals will drop down to the FCS and join the Big Sky conference.  The two schools have stepped away from meeting annually so I think it is unlikely we will see Idaho next year.  If so, Saturday's resounding victory is a great way to end the series.

Jason Gesser, who was inducted into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame prior to the game on Saturday, played in several WSU/Idaho games.  Gesser was the quarterback during one of WSU's rare losses in Idaho, in 2000.  However, he was able to close out his college career with a big 49-14 victory against Idaho.

Brink was the quarterback I saw the most of during my years at WSU.  Alex Brink played in all four WSU victories from 2004-2007.  His best game was in 2007 when he threw for over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns.  

Lastly, Brandon Gibson, a player who I have mentioned before.  His most prolific game against Idaho came in 2007 when he had 81 yards and 1 touchdown.

The theme from these brief player write-ups has been points.  WSU likes to score a lot against Idaho. The Idaho games always serve as a nice heart relief from the typical nailbiters.

Next week WSU has a bye but I'll probably still throw up some WSU cards on the blog anyway.  I should probably plan out some sort of schedule for these posts but who likes to do that?