I probably wasn't alone in wondering if this was going to be another game that came with all the hype in the world, only to end up a letdown. We've seen it plenty of times before — the Cougs get their hopes up, get all hyped up and ... faceplant. You'd probably be lying if you said you didn't have that in the back of your head as the countdown to kickoff ticked down on Friday night in Pullman. A packed house. A top-5 USC team. Two undefeated teams in the top-25. All the ingredients were there for a great story.
There was no luck, no smoke and mirrors. Washington State was the better team, and the Cougars are for real.
