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Washington State unranked in final edition of Associated Press Top 25

Washington State Cougars quarterback Tyler Hilinski (3) is brought down by Michigan State during the first half of the 2017 Holiday Bowl Thursday, December 28, 2017, at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

PULLMAN – Following a second consecutive loss in the Holiday Bowl, Washington State fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season.

The Cougars, who lost 42-17 against Michigan State on Dec. 28 in San Diego, received 84 Top 25 votes – more than any of the teams that finished the season unranked.

WSU debuted at No. 24 in the preseason AP Top 25 and dropped as far as No. 25 after losing 58-37 at Arizona. The Cougars spent time inside the top 10 and peaked at No. 8 after beating Oregon 33-10 at Autzen Stadium to cap a 6-0 start to the 2017 season.

After the fall to No. 25, WSU moved all the way back to No. 14, but a loss to Washington in the Apple Cup dropped the Cougars down to No. 21 before the Holiday Bowl.

The Pac-12 finished 1-8 in bowl games this season – Utah snared the only win – and didn’t have a team inside the top 10 of the AP Top 25. USC, which lost to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, finished at No. 11. A loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl dropped UW to No. 16 and Stanford finished at No. 20 after a defeat to TCU in the Alamo Bowl.

Alabama stole the No. 1 ranking after a 26-23 overtime win over Georgia in the national championship. Rounding out the top 10 were No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 UCF, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 TCU and No. 10 Auburn.