At the beginning of the season, Washington State coach Mike Leach played coy with the media — as he often does — over his choice for starting quarterback.
The Cougars had four candidates and Leach wryly said it would be a "thrill a minute" to discover which one would emerge.
Gardner Minshew II ultimately overcame the competition, taking on the tough job of replacing record-breaking starter Luke Falk while also stepping into a role meant for Tyler Hilinski, Falk's successor who took his own life in January.
Since then, Minshew has become one of the surprises in the current Pac-12 quarterback class as past stars like Washington's Jake Browning and Arizona's Khalil Tate have been uneven in the early going.