Of Washington State’s four Pac-12 football wins in October, three qualified as genuine upsets and the other felt like one. If the Cougars win again this week, it’ll be the most resounding upset of the bunch.

To an unusual degree, however, WSU players and coaches seem indifferent to this storyline. Maybe they’ve got enough storylines already.

“Noise is just noise,” Wazzu edge rusher Brennan Jackson said this week, flashing a casual grin. “If they want to say we’re underdog in this game, then that’s fine.”

That’s definitely what they’re saying. The Oregon Ducks (8-1, 5-1), ranked fifth by The Associated Press and third in the College Football Playoff ratings, are favored by 14 points for a conference game against the Cougars (5-4, 4-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.

A win would vault the Cougs into a tie with Oregon atop the Pac-12 North standings and, just as importantly, give them the tiebreaker against the Ducks.

Of course, it’s not uncommon for the Cougars to be underdogs, or to shrug their shoulders at such a fate. This year, they sound more sincere. Maybe they’ve secretly got a chip on their shoulder, and maybe those unflattering point spreads are secretly eating away at them. But it doesn’t seem like it. The Cougs seem truly indifferent, and the attitude starts at the top.

“By no means did we play the underdog card,” interim coach Jake Dickert said after the Cougars defied 16½-point underdog status to drill Arizona State 34-21 on the road two weeks ago, leading 34-7 at one point.

“We’re confident in our ability and we’re playing good football at the right time of the season. That’s what good teams do.”

That game marked Dickert’s first win as the head coach and put some extra distance between the Cougars and the months-long controversy that led to the firing of Nick Rolovich on Oct. 18 for failing to comply with a state vaccination mandate.

As the Cougs neared that iceberg, they somehow played with increasing focus and resilience.

Shaking off a 1-3 start to their season, they prevailed 21-6 against a California team playing at home and favored by 7½ points. Returning to Pullman for a two-game home stretch, they gutted out a 31-14 win against an Oregon State team riding a four-game win streak and favored by 4½.

Then, in Rolovich’s final game as coach, they swallowed their complicated emotions and triumphed 34-31 against a Stanford team that had been favored by small margins throughout the week. The game was declared a pick-em just before the start.

The Cougars’ only loss in October came in a nonconference date against BYU. Even there, they beat the four-point spread and played staunchly in bowing 21-19 in Dickert’s debut as boss.

Throughout the month, meanwhile, the personality of this team became increasingly evident. It’s typified by intense but upbeat defensive players like Jackson, Ron Stone Jr. and Jahad Woods, along with diligent but affable offensive veterans like Max Borghi, Calvin Jackson Jr. and Travell Harris. In short, the 2021 Cougars don’t greatly resemble Wazzu teams of the past that reveled in being overlooked and proving naysayers wrong.

Maybe that will change if they upset a projected national playoff team in a prime-time showcase. For the record, Calvin Jackson indicated otherwise.

“We don’t care,” he said. “We’re not going into this game like, ‘Oh my God, they’re ranked in the CFP’ and all that. It’s cool for them — kudos to them. But at the end of the day, we’re going to play our best ball for the nation to see.”

Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.