The biggest turnaround team in the Pac-12 this year is Washington State.

After a disappointing 2-7 conference season a year ago and a season-opening loss to Portland State, the Cougars have pulled a 180 and become one of the most exciting teams in the Pac-12 and one that will finish far higher than its predicted 11th-place finish.

“I think they have an underrated group of players,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “Look across our conference. There are a lot of good players on a lot of good teams and this is the group that not a lot of people talk about as far as their talent level. But they’ve raised the talent level at Washington State.”

That talent level has been obvious on the field, in the win-loss columns and, more specifically, within the statistics. Plenty of the Cougars stats are better now than they were a year ago at this time (most notably, the five conference wins as opposed to the two a year ago). But here’s a closer look at four of those specific categories in which the Cougars have greatly grown:

1. Offensive efficiency on fourth down

The Cougars are about as good on third downs this season as they were at this point in the season in 2014. The main difference has come on fourth downs, where Washington State has improved by more than 30 percent. A season ago, after 10 games, Washington State had converted just 43.3 percent of its fourth-down attempts. This year, the Cougars have completed 74.2 percent.

2. More explosive rushing attack

The Air Raid offense is known for its passing attack and that isn’t going to change soon. But, a dynamic run game -- even used sparingly -- can be a massive help for Luke Falk and Co.

This season coach Mike Leach has used Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow and Keith Harrington to keep defenses on their toes. All three have carried the ball at least 30 times (Wicks is the front-runner by far with 82 touches). Last year, at this point in the season, the Cougars’ top three running backs accounted for 593 yards and 21 carries of 10-plus yards. This season, Wicks, Morrow and Harrington have combined for 899 yards and 36 carries of 10-plus yards.

3. Better at turning over opponents

Alex Grinch has brought a new energy to this defense that wasn’t there before. Through 10 games last season the Cougars had forced opponents into just seven total turnovers, while they had turned the ball over 17 times. This season, the Cougars have forced opponents into 18 turnovers, while they’ve turned it over 16 times. That differential in the turnover margin, which any coach will say is one of the biggest indicators for a team’s success, is huge for Washington State.

The Cougars have eight interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries this season (an improvement in both categories from a season ago -- five fumble recoveries and two interceptions).

On top of that, the Cougars have been better at scoring off opponent turnovers and holding teams after they turn the ball over. In 2014, after 10 games Washington State had scored just 34 points off opponent turnovers while the Cougars’ defense had allowed 69 points off the offense’s turnovers (minus-35 points of turnover margin). This season, while Washington State still isn’t in a positive margin, they have greatly improved, scoring 44 points off opponent turnovers and allowed 47 points off their own turnovers (minus-3 points of turnover margin).

4. Better against the pass

Grinch also took over the secondary and infused an even greater energy there. The interceptions difference is a good indicator, but even outside of that the Cougars have been far better against the pass than in 2014.

Washington State allowed 27 passing touchdowns through 10 games last season, compared to just 12 this season. Last season the Cougars gave up 50 completions of 20 or more yards through 10 games. This season they’ve given up just 23. Finally, last season at this point teams averaged 13 yards per completion, while this season they average 10.5.

Those are four smaller stats that add up to obvious differences on the field. This weekend the Cougars will need to continue those trends to hold off a Colorado team that has come desperately close to knocking off a few of the Pac-12 giants already this season.