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After 31-13 Apple Cup loss, Washington State’s Mike Leach suggests Washington’s Jimmy Lake ‘likes to take a lot of credit for everything’

Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach reacts to a call during the second half of a college football game on Friday, November 29, 2019, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash. UW won the game 31-13. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

SEATTLE – Jimmy Lake didn’t have an opportunity to comment on another dominant effort from his defense in the Apple Cup. The Huskies didn’t make their defensive coordinator available to reporters following a 31-13 win at Husky Stadium.

But, not surprisingly, Lake’s name still found its way into the postgame conversation.

Washington State coach Mike Leach, who’s often brushed off the noise created by the former Eastern Washington player/coach who’s been a defensive assistant in Montlake since 2014, suggested Lake shouldn’t take full credit for the Huskies’ success in the Apple Cup.

Friday’s result marked not only the seventh straight win for UW over for WSU, but the seventh consecutive game the Huskies have held the Cougars under 20 points. Leach and WSU have averaged just over 14 ppg against UW since the coach took the job in Pullman back in 2012.

“I think this was probably a team effort by the Huskies, I know (Lake) likes to take a lot of credit for everything,” Leach said. “But I would say those other Huskies played a very important role as well.”

Lake’s comments about the simplicity of Leach’s Air Raid offense and the coach’s unwillingness to make changes have stirred up WSU fans throughout the years. Last year, after a 28-15 win for the Huskies in Pullman, the defensive coordinator was quoted as saying, “Next year maybe he’ll throw a little curveball, but it makes it very easy when you know what you’re going to get. … But knowing what I read about the head football coach here, he does things a little bit different way. So hopefully he remains here for a long time. That would be awesome.”

The Huskies held the Cougars to 339 yards of total offense, forced three turnovers and held quarterback Anthony Gordon without a touchdown for the first time this season. WSU ran the ball 20 times for just 31 yards and an average of 1.5 yards per carry.

“The other thing,” Leach said, “is they’ve loaded the NFL with defensive players and they’re one of the finest defenses in our conference.”