The comparisons are natural. Oregon State and Washington State are Pac-12 schools located in rural college towns, land grant institutions, and among the league’s most challenged in terms of financial and athletic resources.
“They both have a little bit of an underdog mentality. A lot of similarities,” said former WSU athletic director Bill Moos, now AD at Nebraska.
The two schools play football Saturday in Reser Stadium, but here the similarities end.
Washington State is 4-1 this season, on the verge of the top 25, and favored by nearly three touchdowns over the home-standing Beavers. Mike Leach has built a program over seven years that is consistently successful, having won 30 games since 2015.