Category: Washington State Cougars

Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward declares for NFL Draft

One of the top quarterbacks and players still available in the transfer portal decided on the NFL Draft instead.

Former Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward, who announced he would enter the transfer portal on Dec. 1, announced on social media Monday that he would enter his name in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Ward threw for 3,736 yards and 25 touchdowns this past season, one of just four Power 5 quarterbacks to reach both of those marks. He completed 66.6% of his passes and averaged 7.7 yards per attempt, and he only threw seven interceptions.

College Sports Wire ranked him as the best player still available in the transfer portal.

His best game of the season came against Oregon State, whom he helped the Cougars upset early in the year after he completed 28 of 34 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns. No other quarterback, even Oregon‘s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix, threw for 400 yards against the Beavers this season.

Ward started his career at Incarnate Word, where he played from 2020-21 before he transferred to the Cougars. He ends his collegiate career with 13,874 passing yards, 119 passing touchdowns, and 30 interceptions across his four years of play, with 16 career rushing touchdowns as well. His most productive season came in 2021 with the Cardinals when he threw for 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns in a single season.

WCC to add Oregon State and Washington State in basketball for next two years

The WCC is expected to vote to confirm Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members for the next two seasons, giving Gonzaga a regional rivalry with the Cougars.

The expectation has long been that Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining Pac-12 programs, would merge with the Mountain West Conference in all sports. After all, the two sides already reached a scheduling agreement for football, and line up as logical geographic and athletic partners in most sports.

However, reported logistical and ongoing legal concerns made a move difficult, and instead the two programs will reportedly join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members – playing a conference schedule in all sports except football and baseball – for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, according to Matt Norlander of CBS.

League presidents and athletic directors are expected to vote and approve the measure on Thursday morning. This move will bring the WCC from nine schools to 11, helping alleviate the recent loss of BYU and bringing more brand recognition and scheduling appeal to the conference while they attempt to hold on to powerhouse basketball program Gonzaga, who have been in realignment rumors with the Big 12 for nearly a year now.

This move creates a regional rivalry between Gonzaga and Washington State, located 75 miles from each other in Eastern Washington, and while neither WSU or OSU are particularly elite at men’s basketball they add to the depth of the conference.

The addition of the Cougars and Beavers will inflate the league’s basketball schedule to 18 or 20, according to Norlander, and tweaks to the WCC Tournament format are likely coming as well – while financial payouts for NCAA Tournament units have not been disclosed.

Mountain West reveals Oregon State and Washington State games for 2024

All 12 members of the Mountain West will play a game against either Oregon State or Washington State as the last two members of the Pac-12 fill out their 2024 schedules.

The Mountain West Conference revealed the 2024 opponents for each member of the conference, including the matchups for Oregon State and Washington State, on Thursday.

The final remnants of the Pac-12 announced a partnership with the Mountain West conference on Dec. 1 to fill out their schedules since the rest of their conference scattered to the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC.

All 12 members of the Mountain West will play one game against either the Beavers or the Cougars. Games against Oregon State and Washington State won’t count toward any Mountain West team’s conference record, and neither the Beavers nor the Cougars will be eligible for the Mountain West Conference Championship game.

Oregon State will host Colorado State, San Jose State, and UNLV. The Beavers will travel to Air Force, Nevada, and San Diego State.

Washington State will welcome Hawaii, Utah State, and Wyoming into its home stadium in Pullman. The Cougars will play Boise State, Fresno State, and New Mexico on the road.

Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward enters transfer portal with an eye on the NFL Draft

The Washington State quarterback announced Friday he would enter his name into the transfer portal as well as consider the 2024 NFL Draft.

Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward will enter his name into the transfer portal and take a look at his stock for the upcoming NFL Draft, the quarterback announced on social media on Friday. 247Sports reported the news first.

The Cougars are notably one of the last two teams left in the Pac-12 after this season, with them and Oregon State the only two who haven’t taken off for other Power 5 conferences.

“To Coach Dickert, my teammates, and all Coug Nation, thank you for the last two years,” Ward wrote. “Thank you for supporting me day in and day out and for showing me some of the best days of college football; I am forever grateful.”

Ward spent his first two seasons with Incarnate Word, transferring to Washington State ahead of the 2022 season. He’s thrown for 48 touchdowns over the past two seasons with the Cougars, and he averaged 7.7 yards per attempt and a career-high 66.7% completion percentage in 2023. He also set personal bests with 122 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns this season, and ESPN awarded him a QBR of 65.1.

Report: Oregon State and Washington State finalizing ‘7+1’ schedule with the Mountain West

It appears that the remaining Pac-12 schools could have opponents for 2024.

We are in unprecedented territory with the upcoming 2024 college football season. The FBS world looks to operate under a “Power Four” plus two teams from the “Pac-2” next season.

Ten of the 12 members of the Pac-12 found new homes with four heading to the Big Ten, four heading to the Big 12, and two more heading to the ACC. That leaves just Oregon State and Washington State to fend for themselves. That is where the Mountain West comes into play according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports.

According to the recent report from Dellenger, the two remaining schools are close to finalizing a deal with the Mountain West in a scheduling alliance for the 2024 season. The report also indicates that it could be extended into 2025.

The alliance is built around what’s termed a “7+1” format where Mountain West teams play seven conference games — not eight — plus one game against either Washington State or Oregon State. There is an option to extend the deal to the 2025 season as well.

The two Pac-12 members will not be eligible for the MWC championship and will compete as quasi-independents under the Pac-12 banner. Those Mountain West schools with previously scheduled non-conference games against one of the two schools will play the other as well during the same season.

There has been speculation about Oregon State and Washington State joining the Mountain West or a reverse merger. In that scenario, the teams in the Mountain West would accept both teams but under the Pac-12 banner. Perhaps that is to keep the Power Five autonomy. The other Power Five conference would need a 60% vote in favor of keeping them as one of the five power conferences.

It remains to be seen if that will indeed be the case, but for now, this gives both the Beavers and Cougars opponents in 2024 outside of their “nonconference” slates that were already agreed upon prior to the mass exodus of teams.

As it sits right now, Oregon State is scheduled to play Idaho State, Boise State, and Purdue. Washington State is currently scheduled to play Portland State, San Diego State, Washington, and San Jose State. The scheduling alliance feels similar to what the ACC did for Notre Dame during the COVID year.

The Apple Cup survives: Washington and Washington State announce future rivalry dates

The rivalry, played every year since 1945 outside of 2020, will extend at least through 2028 with the additional dates announced Sunday.

The Pac-12 might splinter after the 2023 college football season, but the Apple Cup will live on. Washington State and Washington announced on Sunday that the annual rivalry will continue at least through 2028.

The Cougars and Huskies will meet at a neutral site in 2024 before alternating between each team’s home stadium. Washington State will host in 2025 and 2027, and Washington will host in 2026 and 2028.

Outside of the COVID season in 2020, the Apple Cup has been played every year since 1945. Washington announced it would join the Big Ten for the 2024 football season, however, throwing the classic rivalry into question.

The 2023 edition of the rivalry will be played in Seattle on Saturday, November 25, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

3 Keys to victory for the Ducks against Washington State on Saturday

3 Keys to victory for the Ducks against Washington State on Saturday

Six days ago, the Oregon Ducks suffered their first loss of 2023, and it was a painful one. On Saturday, they’ll try to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive by beating the Washington State Cougars, who got off to a hot start this season, but have lost their last two games.

A lot like last weekend, the story for this game could be a tale of two quarterbacks. Before the Cougars’ struggles began, their QB, Cameron Ward, had made his way into Heisman conversations across the country, despite being on virtually no one’s radar in the preseason. On the other sideline, Bo Nix will try to keep his run of quality play going to lead the Ducks to 6-1.

Washington State is a fun, fast, and talented team, so despite their losing streak, this won’t be a team that rolls over for Oregon. In order for the Ducks to beat the Cougars, there are three things I think the Ducks need to do that I’ve listed below.

Control Cameron Ward

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Cougars offense starts and ends with Cameron Ward. The reason Washington State has been beaten in their last two games is because opposing defenses have been able to neutralize, or at least slow down Ward, both in the air and on the ground. The Ducks failed to do this for most of the game in 2022 and it almost cost them the victory. But, I have no doubt that keeping Ward in check will have been an emphasis in this week’s game plan.

A true West Coast offense

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Washington State has a solid defense against the run but they have some shaky CBs in their secondary. With the depth and talent of Oregon’s receiving corps — as well as the obvious skill of Bo Nix — Oregon’s passing game should be on full display this week. Usually, we talk about Oregon’s run game opening up the pass for them, but this week we might see the inverse.

Lockdown coverage

Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Besides Ward, Washington State doesn’t have an elite rusher, so most of their offense comes from their wideouts, Kyle Williams, Josh Kelly, and Lincoln Victor. With Oregon’s secondary getting a little banged up against Washington, it will be important for whoever is matched up with Cougars’ WRs to lock them down, which could stifel  WSU’s offense.

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Series History: Oregon vs. Washington State has featured some wild finishes

Series History: Oregon vs. Washington State has featured some wild finishes

As fans are still reeling from the loss up at Washington, the Oregon Ducks are preparing to host Washington State. While this annual matchup might not hold as much weight as the Cascade Clash, there is a lot of history between these two teams.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the history of this matchup is the classic game that occurred in Pullman last year. The Ducks were down big in the second half, and for a while, it looked like Dan Lanning and Co. would pick up an early second loss on the season. But, Bo Nix and the offense really started to rally, the Ducks took the lead in the final minutes and then sealed the game on a Mase Funa pick-six.

Obviously, there is a lot more history to this matchup than just that game. The two teams have played 93 times since 1901 when they matched up for the first time. The Ducks have an all-time record of 53-40 against the Cougars and are currently on a four-game win streak.

Washington State’s last win over Oregon came in 2018, and it was their 4th win in 4 years. One of the reasons for the Cougars’ dominance in that stretch was Luke Falk, the best QB in the history of the Pac-12 statistically. Falk played in three of the four games during Washington State’s win streak, and Oregon just didn’t seem to have an answer.

The stars of last year’s game were Cameron Ward and Bo Nix, both of whom are back and ready to go for Saturday. It also feels as though both of them have something to prove. Ward hasn’t played his best football the last few weeks and Nix just led the Ducks to a loss against Washington for the second year in a row, although he played quite well. All things considered, the QB matchup should make for a great game on Saturday as the Ducks try to increase their win streak over WSU to 5 years.

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Best Amazon Prime Big Deals Day deal for each team in the US LBM Coaches Poll

View our favorite Amazon Prime Big Deals Day deals for each team in the US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25.

The college football season is heating up and ranked teams are headed in all directions in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas after a convincing win over their rivals. Following suit was another riser in Louisville, who sent Notre Dame down the ladder after a big home win.

No matter what team you pull for, it’s the perfect time to show your support. Amazon Prime Big Deals Day has arrived.

Amongst the slew of deals available on Tuesday, Oct. 10 and Wednesday, Oct. 11, college football’s top-25 will be well represented in the Amazon savings.

Check out our list of featured Amazon Prime Day offers for each team currently in the US LBM Coaches Poll top-25 right here:

How big was Washington State’s win over Wisconsin for the Pac-12?

Colorado is grabbing #Pac12 headlines, but Washington State over Wisconsin was an eye-grabbing story. Let’s explore it.

In terms of major national headlines, Deion Sanders and Colorado have become the big story in the Pac-12 through the first two weeks of the season. The Buffaloes have been on Fox Big Noon Saturday twice this season. They won both times. That dramatically increased their national profile. Now they’re going to be on ESPN College GameDay for Week 3 and their game against Colorado State.

If you’re not reading Buffaloes Wire, you’re missing out on a lot of timely and interesting Colorado coverage. Get on over there and find out what Coach Prime is doing.

The fact that Colorado has become a major national story should not obscure what is happening in Pullman. Washington State came up huge with an impressive win over Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers this past weekend.

The Pac-12 has several top-tier contenders for the conference championship, but Washington State — regarded by many as the seventh-best team in the conference heading into the season, just pulled off a big nonconference win. That speaks to the league’s depth.

How big is Washington State’s win over Wisconsin for the Cougars and the Pac-12? We asked our panel of Pac-12 experts for their insights: