Here's some interesting Washington State football trivia. Beginning with Jackie Sherrill in 1976, five successive Cougar coaches would leave Pullman for other jobs. There was also a four-season stretch between 1975-78 when Wazzu would have four different mentors (Jim Sweeney, Sherrill, Warren Powers, and Jim Walden). The proper template for the Cougars was probably best laid out by Mike Price, who fielded competitive teams almost the entirely of his 14-season run (unheared of for Wazzu) with a handful of truly exceptional squads, including a pair of Rose Bowl entries. 

Indeed, it's not easy to succeed in Pullman, far away from the population centers of other Pac-12 entries. For that reason, Washington State has traditionally lowered the academic bar a bit just to attract more potential contributors. The locale, though, might have other drawbacks; now, the Cougars (along with Oregon State) seem to be most at-risk among Pac-12 entries as the great college conference shuffle continues. Indeed, more than a few seem to believe the two schools will eventually get left behind and have to enlist with an entity such as the Mountain West. Stay tuned...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Washington State's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Pac-12 season.

Pac-12 preview: Conference winner | Arizona | Arizona State | California | Colorado | Oregon | Oregon State | Stanford | UCLA | USC | Utah | Washington | Washington State  

2023 Washington State at a glance

• Last Year: 7-6 SU, 8-5 ATS, 3-10 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 6; Defense 5
• Win total: 6 (Over -140, Under +110)

What do you need to know about Washington before locking in your Pac-12 futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Pac-12 futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!