1967 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1967 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Bert Clark, the Cougars compiled a 2–8 record (1–5 in AAWU, tied for last), and were outscored 266 to 141.[1][2]

1967 Washington State Cougars football
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
1967 record	2–8 (1–5 AAWU)
Head coach	Bert Clark (4th season)
Home stadium	Rogers Field, Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane)

1967 Athletic Association of Western Universities football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Oregon State	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
UCLA	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Stanford	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
California	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oregon	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Jerry Henderson with 836 passing yards, Mark Williams with 415 rushing yards, and Doug Flansburg with 461 receiving yards.[3]

The Cougars won their first Apple Cup in nine years, a 9–7 win over the Huskies in Seattle.[4][5] It was the final game on natural grass in Husky Stadium, which switched to AstroTurf in 1968.

Clark was fired in late November with a season remaining on his three-year contract.[6][7] He was succeeded in early January 1968 by Jim Sweeney, the head coach at Montana State in Bozeman, who agreed to a one-year contract at $20,000.[8][9][10]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	at No. 7 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 0–49	44,364
September 23	at Oklahoma*	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 0–21	51,700
September 30	No. 4 UCLA	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	L 23–51	24,200
October 7	at Baylor*	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 7–10	20,000
October 14	at Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 10–31	26,000
October 21	Arizona State*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	L 20–31	16,500
October 28	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 7–35	18,115
November 4	Oregon	Rogers Field Pullman, WA	L 13–17	19,000
November 11	Idaho*	Rogers Field Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	W 52–14	15,100
November 25	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (Apple Cup)	W 9–7	47,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1967 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class T 74 Bruce Abbott Jr QB, S 10 Mike Cadigan Sr FB 22 Del Carmichael Sr HB 14 Johnny Davis So SE 80 Doug Flansburg Sr T 73 Dave Golinsky Jr QB 5 Hank Grenda Jr C 50 Dave Harris Jr QB 8 Jerry Henderson Jr FB 25 Joe Lynn Sr G 63 Jack McTaggart G 68 Dave Middendorf Sr HB 40 Glen Shaw Jr TE 42 Bob Simpson Sr TE 81 Ron Souza Jr SE 35 Larry Thatcher Jr HB 13 Mark Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 60 Dick Baird Sr LB 61 Steve Bartelle Jr DT 65 Hank Bendix So DT 86 Gary Branson So LB 65 Steve Boots Sr DT 52 Greg Elliot Sr CB 26 Greg Field Jr DT 70 Jim Guinn Jr S 9 Lee Omlid CB 14 Rick Reed Jr S 44 Steve Shoun So DE 91 J.D. Smith Jr DE 88 Wayne Swayda DT 77 Steve Van Sinderen Jr DT 55 Jim Vest LB 34 Mark Wicks Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 89 Neil Anderson Sr P 4 Jim Engstrom Sr	Head coach Bert Clark (4th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Laurie Niemi King Block Red Smith Jim Shanley John Nelson Sam Adams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[11][12][13][14][15]

NFL/AFL Draft

One Cougar was selected in the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Dave Middendorf	Guard	5	172	Cincinnati Bengals

Source:[16][17]

• List of Washington State Cougars in the NFL Draft

References

1. "1967 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
2. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
3. "1967 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
4. Missildine, Harry (November 25, 1967). "Cougars hope to end Huskies' grid reign". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 8.
5. Missildine, Harry (November 26, 1967). "Pluck, luck, defense! Cougars 9-7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
6. "Bert Clark parts company with Cougars; search on for successor". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 29, 1967. p. 10.
7. "WSU begins search for new grid coach". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 29, 1967. p. 10.
8. Missildine, Harry (January 6, 1968). "New WSU coach Sweeney faces task with optimism". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 10.
9. "Omen indicates fortune of Cougars may brighten". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 6, 1968. p. 13.
10. "Sweeney new head football coach at Washington State University". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 6, 1968. p. 9.
11. "UCLA vs. WSU: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 30, 1967. p. 11.
12. "Cougars vs. Ducks: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 4, 1967. p. 11.
13. "Cougars vs. Vandals: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 11, 1967. p. 13.
14. "Huskies-Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1967. p. 8.
15. "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
16. "Early pro selectors skip Beban; Trojans' Ron Yary drafted first". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 31, 1968. p. 13.
17. "Minnesota tabs Ron Yary; Los Angeles claims Beban". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 31, 1968. p. 8.