Washington State Head Football Coach Mike Leach Makes Case for Cougars Being in College Football Playoff; Talks Thanksgiving; Updates on His Spanish Language Studies
During this 2016 college football season, few programs have won eight consecutive games. In the power conferences, one of the best stories of the year is Washington State. Currently the only undefeated program in Pac 12 Conference play, Washington State head football coach and CYInterview regular Mike Leach has the Cougars moving in the right direction.
The Cougars are ranked in the top 25 and are on the verge of having one of the most memorable seasons in the program’s history. With two regular season games left, Colorado and at home against Washington in the yearly Apple Cup, there is a chance for them to play in the Pac 12 Conference Championship. A conference championship could lead to the Rose Bowl and even, perhaps, a shot at being in the College Football Playoff.
Currently at 8-2, Coach Leach reflects back on his team’s progress in recent weeks and gives his thoughts on the rest of the regular season. You can read the highlights and listen to the entire CYInterview below:
Listen to the entire Mike Leach CYInterview:
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If Washington State were able to win its last three games against Colorado, Washington and their opponent in the Pac 12 Championship Game, they would finish the season with 11 consecutive wins. This includes wins over numerous ranked teams and being undefeated in conference play. Mike Leach tells us why the College Football Playoff Committee should consider his team for one of those four spots:
“I think anybody that wins their conference should be considered. You know, no matter what the team is. You know, they have these conferences, you know as kind of representatives of a different regions and I think if we’re only gonna have four, four teams in the playoffs, which I thinks a mistake, I think we need to expand it to at least 16.”
Whether Washington wins or loses against Colorado this coming weekend, they will play their state rival Washington for a likely chance to go to the Pac 12 Championship. The game will be played on the Friday after Thanksgiving. On how that impacts Thanksgiving plans for football coaches who have a game the next day, Coach Leach said this:
“We have one with the team and I believe that’s on Tuesday. And then we have, then as a family, you do your thing on Wednesday and so it kind of unfolds that way. You end up with two Thanksgivings.”
In our last CYInterview with Mike [see here], he talked about his fascination with the language app Duolingo. He told us he had been working on his Spanish. He shared this about his progress.
“Getting better, you know, as a matter of fact, it’s funny. Right before I called you, it’s got a little prompt that pops up and says, ‘Hey! Do your Spanish today!’ And I haven’t been as steady during the season as I’d like. I mean, I definitely get some in. I probably do it five days a week where you want to do it seven. Now in the offseason and especially if I travel, traveling’s the greatest Duolingo situation that there is as you sit in the car or something.
But, you know, then I can knock off a bunch in a day, but I’ll get mine in tonight, you know, and then, but yeah, I’ve been pretty steady and I actually think I’ve done a reasonably admirable job in the course of the season. Now some will bizarrely be at 2:00 AM and things like that, but try to rattle through it and it really is an impressive app. It doesn’t just have Spanish. It’s got, you know, it’s got like a hundred languages.”
You can find more information and purchase a copy of Geronimo: Leadership Strategies of an American Warrior by Mike Leach and Buddy Levy clicking here.
You can find more information and purchase a copy of Mike Leach’s paperback edition of Swing Your Sword: Leading The Charge in Football and Life clicking here
You can find Mike Leach’s official Twitter clicking here.
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