Warm welcome home: WSU upsets (19) Wisconsin in Dickert's return to home state
Well, that's going to make for a fun family reunion tonight.
The Washington State Cougars went into Madison, Wisconsin as a 19-point underdogs and left as 17-14 winners over the 19th ranked team in the nation.
A huge win for the Cougs, and their head coach Jake Dickert who grew up in Waukesha, just 60 or so miles away from the scene of Saturday's upset.
WSU went into the season as a dark horse candidate in the Pac-12, safe to say they're no longer under the radar.
The Cougs got their only two touchdowns from Nakia Watson, who actually played for Wisconsin in 2019-2020.
Indeed a huge homecoming win all around.
A wild and game-changing play happened when Wisconsin's Jay Shaw intercepted a Cameron Ward pass, only to lose the ball when Lincoln Victor forced a fumble which WSU recovered.
The Cougs took advantage with Watson's second score, which turned out to be the game-winner even if it was in the third quarter.
Dickert was overcome with emotion in the post-game celebration with his assistant coaches.
Oddsmakers in Vegas put the Cougs over/under win total at 5.5 games this season, suffice to say the odds will be much higher now and WSU figures to be squarely in the mix for a Pac-12 title, or at least a bid in the title game.
This is a statement win, that fans in Pullman will be talking about for a while.
Factor in the returns for Dickert and Watson and it's even more special.
The Cougs have heart, and they showed it in a hostile Big Ten environment and scored a win that will serve them well for the entire season.