Cougar Chalk Talk: Changing the trajectory of a 4-1 start to the season | News [Video]

In 2022, the Washington State Cougars started their season 4-1.

Last season, the Cougars also started 4-1.

This season: you can probably fill in the blank. Through the first five weeks, the Cougs have found themselves with a 4-1 record for the third year in a row. 

The 2022 and 2023 season have something else in common though: an ending that could’ve been better written. 

In 2022: a 7-win season and a brutal loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs in the LA Bowl. 

In 2023: Starting 4-0 and ranked in the AP poll several weeks in a row before losing the next five games and missing out on a bowl appearance.

“It’s been an entire year process of making sure we didn’t repeat the mistakes of last year’s team,” said captain Kyle Thornton. “It’s been the motto of this entire year: we can’t be like last year’s team. And I know we’re not.”

Now in 2024, the …