Go ahead and say it, Cougars fans. It’s the dreaded phrase no one associated with the Washington State football team wants to hear.

But it’s in the back of your mind and on the tip of your tongue.

“Cougin’ it.”

The phrase might make you wince – or laugh, if you’re a Washington Huskies fan. For many, “Couged it” is the only way to explain three WSU losses in the past four weeks when the team held fourth-quarter leads.

The idea that this year’s team – which plays at No. 1 Southern California on Saturday – has “Couged it” in losses to Oregon State, UCLA and California is no joke to WSU coach Bill Doba.

Me: Has anyone mentioned the phrase “Coug it” to you this week?

Doba: “You.”

Me: OK, so I’m the first. Is that something you guys try to stay away from, that kind of talk?

Doba: “Yes, obviously. I hope those words would never, ever appear again. (Pause.) ‘Cougin’ it’ means scoring at the end and winning the ballgame.”

Funny, but that’s not the definition I found on the Internet. Or the one I got when I consulted the book of selected columns by the (Spokane) Spokesman-Review’s John Blanchette, entitled “Welcome to Helmet Night.” About 20 years ago – Oct. 26, 1985, to be exact – Blanchette watched the Cougars lose to Arizona State, 21-16, in a game WSU dominated.

It was the fifth time that season the Cougars lost by less than a touchdown. Blanchette wrote the now-infamous “Couged it” column to explain the phenomenon that seemingly affected that edition of WSU football on a weekly basis.

On page 219 of the book, Blanchette defines the expression like this: “Couging is a cooperative effort, requiring the help of officials, fans, timekeepers, opposing players, luck and fate. Some might think it is fate, but that’s not quite right. And don’t for a minute think that ‘to Coug’ is the same as ‘to lose.’ It just means you don’t win.”

Blanchette does not take credit for coining “Cougin’ it.” He said he had heard it around Pullman before 1985. News Tribune columnist Dave Boling, who used to work in Spokane, said the phrase dates back to the 1970s.

Cougars broadcaster Jim Walden was WSU’s coach in 1985, and he said he thinks he knows where “Couged it” originated. “It was made up by a Husky,” he said.

Walden also believes it’s unfair to use that phrase on a football program that has enjoyed the success the Cougars have had in recent seasons.

“When you have two Rose Bowl appearances in six seasons and have three 10-win seasons, that (phrase) just needs to go away,” Walden said.

“They’re not snatching defeat from the jaws of victory more than anybody else. You can go back and look – there are plenty of games where the Cougars have come back to win.

“The reality is you get beat sometimes. And sometimes, you’re going to blow games.”

True enough. But the three fourth-quarter collapses this season are the type that make Cougars coaches, players and fans feel like they’ve misplaced a winning lottery ticket. Or lost tickets to a bowl game.

Think about it. Without too much imagination, the Cougars could be 6-1 going into Saturday’s game at USC. If you want to go further with revisionist history, the Cougars could be 7-0 if they had beaten unimposing Stanford instead of struggling in a 24-21 loss at home.

“I wish I could tell you (why this has happened),” WSU quarterback Alex Brink said after last week’s 42-38 loss to Cal. “Four weeks in a row? We need to find a way to win. Leads don’t mean a lot.

“I know we’re good enough to win. We could have only lost one game this season.”

Instead, the Cougars have a four-game losing streak. To get to a bowl, they’ll have to win three of their last four games. There’s also a growing connection to “Cougin’ it” and with frustrating seasons gone by.

“We don’t discuss (‘Cougin’ it’) around here,” WSU graduate assistant Josh Shavies said. “We are just trying to get better as a football team. That’s negative stuff that we would like to keep away from.”

Back in 2000, when Shavies was playing for WSU, he endured a season similar to this one.

That season the Cougars carried a four-game losing streak into a matchup with USC. What made the streak so gut-wrenching was that three of the losses came in overtime.

A happy footnote on the Cougars’ 2000 season: WSU went to Los Angeles and beat the Trojans, 33-27. But those were different times. That USC team, the last before Pete Carroll took over as coach, finished 5-7.

“We had to learn how to win, being that we were a young football team,” Shavies said. “You just have to take your lumps sometimes.

“I think this team is a little better than we were in 2000. But we are kind of similar as far as the games, losing those close games like that.”

Shavies said the 2000 team, despite the frustrating setbacks, never gave in to infighting or the urge to give up. He said he sees the same determination in this year’s team.

Receiver Jason Hill said there’s a lot of frustration but that no one is pointing fingers in the locker room. He still thinks a turnaround is possible.

“People are taking it bad; no one likes to lose,” Hill said. “But I think we all know we are a good team, collectively. We believe in each other and we know we’re a good team. As soon as we get everything together, I think it will show in the wins and losses.

“We’re cursed or something right now, I don’t know what.”

Doba doesn’t believe in curses but is concerned that his team hasn’t been able to break through.

“Of course I’m worried about it. I haven’t slept real good the last couple or three weeks,” Doba said. “The other thing you have to look at is we are competing. We are not getting beat, 42-0, against good, quality teams. … I think every week our guys feel like they’ve got a chance.”

Walden, the old Cougars coach whose 1985 team helped popularize “Cougin’ it,” offers this spin on this season’s string of close losses: “I would rather ‘Coug it’ than get mauled. I would much rather lose a game with one minute to play and a chance to win than get beat 51-7 or 49-0, because in those games you never had a chance.

“If you keep getting into those positions, you’re going to win at some point – because you can’t lose them all.”

The state of Cougin' it

This season (this month!), the Cougars have lost three times when holding leads in the fourth quarter.

A closer look at those games and some other bad threes in Washington State football history:

Cougin’ it in 2005

Oct. 1 at Oregon State: The Cougars led by 14 at the half, seven after three quarters and three halfway through the fourth quarter. The Beavers pulled out a 44-33 victory when scrambling quarterback Matt Moore found Mike Hass for a 63-yard touchdown. Two subsequent WSU drives were ended by interceptions.

Oct. 15 vs. UCLA: A 17-point advantage against the 10th-ranked Bruins entering the final quarter wasn’t enough for WSU as two Drew Olson touchdown passes and a 36-yard field goal forced overtime, tied at 38. The Cougars got the ball first in OT, and Loren Langley kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 41-38. The Bruins answered by going 25 yards in five plays, capped by Maurice Drew’s 1-yard run, to win, 44-41.

Oct. 22 at California: The Cougars overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to lead, 38-28, with just under 10 minutes to go. But after a fake punt failed, the Bears’ Joe Ayoob threw a 57-yard touchdown pass two plays later to grab the momentum and trim the lead to 38-35. WSU went three-and-out and gave the ball back to Cal with 4:13 left at the WSU 45-yard line. The Bears needed five plays to score a TD and record a 42-38 victory.

Cougin’ it in the Apple Cup

Nov. 22, 2003 in Seattle: The eighth-ranked Cougars were undone by seven turnovers and two late Huskies touchdowns in losing, 27-19. Washington’s Cody Pickett threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Corey Williams with 1:10 to play, and then Marquis Cooper capped it when he returned an interception 38 yards for another score to extend the Cougars’ losing streak to their archrival to six.

Nov. 23, 2002 in Pullman: This was the did-he-or-didn’t-he game when WSU quarterback Matt Kegel was said to have thrown a backward pass in the third overtime. The referees said Kegel, who was playing for injured Jason Gesser, fumbled, and Kai Ellis recovered to give Washington a 29-26 victory. A near riot ensued as fans at Martin Stadium threw bottles onto the field. The Cougars looked to have it won in regulation but could not hold a 20-10 lead with about four minutes to play.

Nov. 22, 1975 in Seattle: Leading 27-14 at the UW 14 with 3:01 to play, quarterback John Hopkins talked Cougars coach Jim Sweeney into allowing a pass play. Hopkins’ throw was intercepted by Al Burleson and returned 93 yards for a touchdown. WSU went three-and-out on its next possession, and UW won it on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Warren Moon to Spider Gaines. The pass, thrown into a crowd at midfield, deflected off WSU safety Tony Heath and into Gaines’ hands.

Cougin’ it in recent history

Oct. 9, 2004 vs. Oregon: The Cougars led by 14 points with just under 12 minutes left, but the Ducks scored three touchdowns in a span of 8:17 to upend WSU, 41-38.

Sept. 6, 2003 at Notre Dame: A 19-0 lead evaporated when the Irish scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then won, 29-26, on a 40-yard field goal by Nicholas Setta.

2000 season: In a four-game stretch, the Cougars lost three games in overtime. The run began with a 53-47 loss to Arizona on Oct. 14 that was followed by a 23-20 loss to Arizona State. After a 38-9 loss to Oregon State, Oregon edged the Cougars, 27-24.

Darrin Beene: 253-597-8656

darrin.beene@thenewstribune.com