Tag: Washington State Cougars

Three stars from Iowa women’s basketball win vs. Washington State

Three stars from Iowa’s stomping of Washington State.

Iowa women’s basketball improved to 6-0 with a resounding 72-43 victory over Washington State (2-3) Sunday evening from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, bringing head coach Jan Jensen one win closer to tying Angie Lee for the best first-year start of a Hawkeyes head coach in program history.

The Hawkeyes and Cougars started back-and-forth, but Iowa’s defense permanently took command of the game early in the second quarter en route to a thorough 29-point victory.

Washington State was held to a miserable 17-for-62 (27.4%) shooting from the field, which included a 7-for-30 (23.3%) night from 3-point territory.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes shot 29-for-69 (42.0%) from the field but, were snakebit from beyond the arc, converting only 2-of-17 (11.8%). Iowa’s offense did most of its damage in the paint, where they outscored Washington State 38-18.

On the defensive side, the Hawkeye were relentless in rebounding by recording a season-high in total rebounds (53), defensive rebounds (35), and offensive rebounds (18). Iowa also finished with seven steals and seven blocks throughout the night.

Given the wide margin of victory, everybody on the Iowa roster was able to record minutes during Sunday’s game.

As Iowa cruised to another victory, here are the three stars that guided the team to the finish line.

Lucy Olsen

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Olsen continued her stellar start to the season with a team-leading 17 points on 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the field, including 1-for-4 (25.0%) from deep in her 30:23 of game time. Olsen also converted on 2-of-4 (50.0%) from the charity stripe.

In addition to her scoring touch, the senior guard contributed five assists, one steal, and a season-high eight rebounds.

Olsen’s performance also means she has reached double figures in scoring and four or more assists in all six games with Iowa.

Addison O’Grady

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

O’Grady had another productive night by finishing with 14 points on 7-of-13 (53.85%) from the field with seven rebounds and two assists in her 25:03 of playing time.

The senior center’s efficient night continues her emergence as a go-to option beneath the basket as she has been in double figures in five of Iowa’s six games.

Ava Heiden

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While in the shadows of O’Grady, the freshman center had a spirited night defensively in her 7:31 off the bench by recording a team-leading three blocks in addition to one assist and four points on 2-of-3 from the field.

Heiden’s effort off the bench is an encouraging sight as Jan Jensen will have a reliable force under the basket to use while O’Grady takes breaks throughout their games moving forward.

The Hawkeyes will travel to tropical Cancun, Mexico, for their next game against Rhode Island (4-0) on Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m. (CT) at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya as part of the two-game Cancun Challenge.

The game is set to stream on FloSports (subscription required) and can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

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Three stars of Iowa men’s basketball’s gritty 76-66 win vs. Washington State

Three stars from Iowa basketball’s Friday night win over Wazzu.

The Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team (4-0) won their first true challenge of the season on Friday vs. Washington State (3-1) when they defeated the Cougars 76-66 from Moline, Ill., as part of the John Deere Quad Cities Hoops Showdown at Vibrant Arena.

While the game ended with a 10-point differential, most of the game was highly contested as both sides displayed spirited efforts on the court.

Both Iowa and Washington State had a relatively poor shooting night as the Hawkeyes shot 25-for-60 (41.7%) from the field and 8-for-25 from deep, which was only slightly higher than the Cougars’ 26-for-66 (39.4%) and 5-for-28 3-point mark.

For Iowa, the Hawkeyes’ tenacious defense truly willed the team to victory vs. Washington State by forcing a total of ten steals and five blocks, many of which came during critical junctures of the game.

Considering the total team effort from Iowa, below are the three stars that allowed the Hawkeyes to improve to 4-0 on the campaign.

Owen Freeman

Friday’s game was not only a homecoming for the Moline, Ill., native, but also a birthday celebration as the sophomore celebrated his 20th birthday by leading the team with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field while collecting 11 rebounds. Freeman’s double-double is also the sixth of his career at Iowa.

Freeman, who won an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) basketball title alongside teammate Brock Harding in 2023, was able to be a spark plug for the Hawkeyes in his 29 minutes for what was an otherwise difficult shooting night for the team.

Drew Thelwell

While not a large part of the scoresheet with only seven points on 2-of-4 shooting in 19 minutes, Thewell’s two clutch 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter jumpstarted a 16-7 Hawkeyes run in the final 3:55.

Thelwell also contributed to the Hawkeyes’ defensive effort by adding three steals and one block to the team’s total.

The performance of the graduate transfer from Morehead State is exactly what head coach Fran McCaffery will need moving forward from his bench, especially with conference play starting later this month.

Iowa Fans

Considering Friday’s game was the first time Iowa has played in Moline since 1998, the large contingent of Hawkeye fans that packed Vibrant Arena truly spurred the team to victory, especially late in the game.

With Moline roughly 61 miles from Iowa City, Iowa fans flocking to watch the Hawkeyes made the game almost feel like a second home court.

As the Western Illinois area has proved to be a valuable recruiting ground for Iowa recently, the turnout of 8,488 also aids the Hawkeyes’ efforts on the recruiting trail.

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa’s next game will be Nov. 19, when the Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a 7 p.m. CT tipoff vs. the Rider Broncs (3-1).

The game will be broadcast on BTN+ (paid subscription required) and will also be available on radio through the Hawkeyes Radio Network.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews

Oregon State announces 2025 schedule including home-and-home series with Wazzu

The remaining Pac-12 members prior to the recent expansion will face off twice in a home-and-home series in November of 2025.

On Wednesday the Oregon State Beavers announced its 2025 college football schedule. The schedule includes two bye weeks as well as a home and home series against fellow Pac-12 member, Washington State.

Both matchups will take place in November with the first coming on Nov. 1 in Corvallis. The return matchup will close out the 2025 regular season against the Cougars in Pullman, Washington, at Martin Stadium.

The season will begin on Aug. 30 against the California Golden Bears at Reser Stadium. The first road game comes on Sept. 13 when the Beavers head to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium. The annual in-state rivalry game will be played at Autzen Stadium the following week.

Check out the full schedule released on Wednesday afternoon.

It isn’t common to see teams play each other twice in the regular season but it has occurred twice in a season with the last meeting coming in a conference championship game. This will be the first time in this series that the two teams will meet twice during the regular season.

Washington State vs Oregon State  History

The Cougars lead the all-time series 57-48-3 according to Winsipedia. Since 2014 the series has been dominated by Wazzu going 9-1 over the last decade to extend their lead. It was flipped from 2004 to 2013 when the Beavers won eight of 10 matchups in that span.

Chiefs scouting report: Washington State Cougars DE Syrus Webster

Washington State Cougars DE Syrus Webster could be a great late-round option for the Kansas City #Chiefs in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs have the league’s best interior pass rusher on their roster, but there’s room to improve the depth in their edge room. Washington State Cougars defensive end Syrus Webster is a great locker-room presence and leader who provides a late-round option for Kansas City.

He transferred to Washington State in 2024 after earning All-Conference honors in consecutive seasons at Utah Tech. His frame is undersized, and his arm length is not ideal, which contributes to his late-round profile.

Webster’s active hands compensate for his lack of length and help him violently attack the offensive tackle’s hands. His pass rush plan consists of speed rushes, two-handed swipes, swims, club-swims and push-pulls. Webster’s polished spin move is the best weapon in his arsenal.

As a pass-rusher, Webster makes use of exceptional counter moves when his initial plan stalls, and he counters into the B-gap when he feels a path to the quarterback open. Unfortunately, he lacks the explosiveness and bend to provide a consistent threat around the outside.

Webster’s excellent motor shows up in run defense. He resets his hands frequently while stacking and peaking around blockers. Webster keeps offensive linemen out of his pads on most plays, but he struggles to hold the point of attack when blockers get into his frame.

Washington State’s next game is against Fresno State on October 12 at 6:00 p.m CST.

Where does Duke fit into the USA TODAY Sports college football bowl projections?

Duke football need one more win to reach the postseason. Here’s where USA TODAY Sports thinks they fit in the bowl picture.

It’s only October 1, and the Duke Blue Devils already sit within one win of a bowl appearance.

Duke came back in dramatic fashion against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, scoring the final 21 points of the game to remain undefeated and reclaim the Victory Bell for the first time in six years. After starting the year right on the edge with 6.0 projected wins, head coach Manny Diaz needs one win over the final seven games for a postseason berth.

USA TODAY Sports released their updated bowl projections on Tuesday, and Erick Smith pitted the Blue Devils against the Washington State Cougars in the Holiday Bowl, which is slated for December 27.

The Cougars, one of two teams competing for the Pac-12 Conference this season, recently lost their first game to a ranked Boise State team. Washington State still won its first four games of the season, including a rivalry victory over the Washington Huskies, and quarterback John Mateer leads the team with 453 rushing yards while also throwing for 1,429 yards in five games.

Despite a near-upset at the hands of Virginia Tech, the undefeated Miami Hurricanes remained in position for the conference champion berth into the College Football Playoff. The Clemson Tigers, now riding a three-game winning streak, also earned an at-large berth into the expanded field.

Duke football draws new assignment in USA TODAY Sports bowl projections

USA TODAY Sports released its updated bowl projections on Tuesday. Who are the Duke Blue Devils projected to play?

USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith released some updated college football bowl projections on Tuesday, and the undefeated Duke Blue Devils drew a new assignment for the first time in weeks.

After three straight weeks in the Gasparilla Bowl against South Florida, the Blue Devils were promoted to a Holiday Bowl assignment against Washington State.

Duke, one of the four remaining unbeaten teams in the ACC, beat Middle Tennessee 45-17 on Saturday to clinch its second straight 4-0 start. First-year coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] and his team host the rival North Carolina Tar Heels, including Diaz’s former boss, in Durham this weekend to open ACC play.

The Cougars, who are also undefeated, stunned the Washington Huskies for a 24-19 victory in Week 3. Washington State also overcame a 38-24 lead in the fourth quarter against San Jose State on Saturday, scoring 22 points in the final 14 minutes to force overtime before completing the comeback in extra time.

Smith put two ACC teams, the Clemson Tigers and the Miami Hurricanes, in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket with Miami earning the first-round bye as conference champion.

Why Washington State is a sneaky College Football Playoff candidate

If Washington State goes undefeated, will the CFP committee do the right thing and give them a spot in the playoffs?

The College Football Playoff has expanded to include 12 teams this season: the regular season winner of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC, one champion from the Group of Five conferences, and seven at-large spots which can go to any team at the FCS level.

Most of those seven at-large spots are expected to go to teams in the SEC and Big Ten, with as many as six SEC teams and four Big Ten teams all strongly in the mix right now.

However, there is a now independent school out in Pullman Washington that is slowly putting together a case and has enough strength of schedule remaining to potentially spoil the party: the Washington State Cougars.

Jake Dickert’s club is 4-0 to begin the 2024 season, and while all four games have been at home it hasn’t been a cakewalk. Sure Portland State in Week 1 was an easy 70-30 victory, but a dominant 37-16 win over Big 12 opponent Texas Tech in Week 2 turned some heads, especially now that the Red Raiders are 3-1 with a nice win over a surging Arizona State team in Week 4.

WSU then hosted in-state rival Washington for the Apple Cup, held early in the season thanks to the two programs no longer playing in the same conference, and the Cougars defense and timely offense led them to a 24-19 victory and a 3-0 start, which turned to 4-0 after a chaotic 54-52 victory over San Jose State last week.

Remaining Schedule

To first determine if Washington State has any chance of earning a bid to the College Football Playoff, we have to look at the remaining games on the schedule to determine if the quality of opponents is enough to merit consideration in the event the Cougars finish the regular season undefeated.

With a win each against the Big 12 and Big Ten, WSU is already off to a great start. And three of the team’s next four games are all true road games, and all against teams that will be in the Pac-12 alongside Washington State in 2026…although all three are currently still in the Mountain West.

The Cougars face Boise State in Boise on Saturday September 28th, then after a bye will play Fresno State in Fresno on October 12th. A home battle with Hawaii awaits on October 19th, followed by a road game at San Diego State on October 26th, then closing with Utah State at home, New Mexico and Oregon State each on the road, and then Wyoming at home on November 30th.

Sure, this isn’t the gauntlet teams in the SEC or Big Ten will be facing for the next two months, and if teams like Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Ole Miss, Penn State, Oregon, USC, and LSU continue to play well it will be extremely difficult to find a spot for a program like Washington State – even if they win every game this season.

But, if WSU does capture road wins at Boise and Fresno, and if Texas Tech and Washington finish the season strong, the committee should give serious consideration to the Cougars as a College Football Playoff squad.

At the very least, this team deserves to be ranked despite being just outside the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Poll after Week 4.

5 pettiest moments from college football Week 3: Kirk Herbstreit demands respect for Florida State

The battle between Herbstreit and Florida State fans rages on

For maybe the first time ever, college football saw Cal fans on social medai trolling Florida State fans about their Week 4 matchup before Cal had even played its Week 3 game against San Diego State.

These are strange times in the ACC, to be sure, but this new conference rivalry may be hard to top. What else would you honestly expect from an undefeated Cal team visiting a winless FSU program?

Sadly, we cannot technically count that as one of pettiest Week 3 moments. Fortunately, we have more than enough trolling of Florida State to hold us over until those powerhouses(!?) kick off in Tallahassee.

Kirk Herbstreit: Defender of Florida State’s integrity 

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Florida State fans did NOT like ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit before this season and they probably won’t like him anymore after his tongue-in-cheek dig on College GameDay last week.

Herbstreit became the face of FSU’s contempt after the team was snubbed from the College Football Playoff following a season-ending injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.

Well, with their season on the ropes before losing to Memphis last Saturday, Herbstreit mocked the “disrespect” coming from the rest of the GameDay panel who picked against Florida State. It was well played, you gotta admit.

https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1834984976691216554

Memphis Tigers: Destroyers of Florida State’s integrity 

There was trolling before the game. And there was even more trolling after FSU lost to Memphis.

Now, the Tigers could’ve chosen any number of ways to mock the 0-3 start by the program that poached their last coach, but they chose to focus on the very strange tactic of using water guns at practice.

This is an excellent troll because it not only shows they are paying attention to all the messiness in Tallahassee, but understood just how much FSU fans lost it when they saw the water gun videos.

https://twitter.com/MemphisFB/status/1835049306451058701

https://twitter.com/MemphisFB/status/1835038028202746225

 

Pitt never forgets 

Anyone remember when West Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the BCS poll back in 2007 only to get upset on its home field by unranked Pitt, which was a four-touchdown underdog before the game.

The final score was 13-9.

As former WVU fullback Owen Schmitt said, “We blew it against the [expletive] [expletive] team in the [expletive] world.”

In case you did forget, Pitt had a helpful reminder before hosting (and beating) WVU again on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/adavidhalejoint/status/1834958941391917074?s=46&t=hxe7_4LWfBXIIkZJrQK30Q

It, uh, also seems Pitt is leading the Big 12 — despite playing in the ACC.

https://twitter.com/Pitt_ATHLETICS/status/1836050020623147263

Alabama jumps all around Madison

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1835026747076534429

The Crimson Tide hadn’t played in Madison since 1928, a full 64 years before House of Pain released “Jump Around”. So you can’t blame Alabama for embracing the tradition at Wisconsin games on Saturday as they beat the Badgers, 42-10. Especially since it appeared plenty of fans had already left the stadium before the end of the fourth quarter.

Washington State’s Apple Cup victory puts Cougars on the map

https://twitter.com/WSUCougarFB/status/1835109225728819401

Yeah, we’ve already gone over this one, but it’s too iconic not to include. Well done, Wazzu. That’s what this sport is all about.

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Washington State perfectly trolled the entire Big Ten after beating Washington

Wazzu knew where to hit Big Ten fans to make it hurt

Washington State and Oregon State have every right imaginable to harbor an unreasonable hatred towards the Big Ten — especially it’s west coast delegation.

When UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington bolted for the Big Ten, it effectively left the Pac-12 for dead. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah found a lifeboat in the Big 12, Cal and Stanford were welcomed into the ACC, but everyone seemed content to let Wazzu and Oregon State go down with the conference.

Except, of course, these schools won’t let their rivalry games end. Oregon State will still play Oregon and Washington will still face Wazzu. It’s what the people want.

But what Wazzu wanted more than anything was revenge. On Saturday, the Cougars got it, beating the Huskies, 24-19, at Lumen Field in Seattle.

It’s the first time Washington State won the Apple Cup since 2021. And when it came time to celebrate, the program didn’t just want to point and laugh at Washington. It wanted to mock the entire Big Ten.

It knew just what to do, too.

You know that map commercial Big Ten fans love like it’s one of their own players? Wazzu put it’s own spin on it after Saturday’s win.

Don’t miss that fine print at the bottom. The one that reads “Available anywhere that has a TV” and takes a direct shot at the Big Ten’s dispute with Comcast that has west coast fans blacked out. Whoever came up with this graphic was absolutely cooking.

Typically we wait until all the games are done before rounding up the pettiest moments of the week, but this one is just too good.

In fact, you almost can’t call it petty. This is more like a small taste of justice — one that will sustain Cougars fans until they line up across from the Huskies again next year.

And what a scene that will be as the game shifts back to Wazzu’s campus in Pullman.

The Big Ten should know where to find it on the map now.

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More than just bragging rights at stake for Pac-12 schools in Week 3

The two schools left behind by the Pac-12 falling apart will face old rivals in Week 3, hoping to each make a statement with a victory.

The annual rivalry matchups between the Oregon Ducks-Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies-Washington State Cougars have always carried significantly more weight than your average conference game.

In-state supremacy and year-long bragging rights are huge factors in rivalry games all across the country, and the two Pacific Northwest rivalries are among the oldest – and fiercest – in all of college football.

There’s rarely anything civil about the Oregon-Oregon State matchup – long known as the Civil War – while the Apple Cup between the two Washington schools has a rich history of dividing the state down the middle.

This year, however, the two games are set to take place this Saturday – and take on a very different meaning for the four involved programs.

The demise of the 100+-year-old Pac-12 conference – which long hosted all four teams – resulted in the Ducks and Huskies departing for the Big Ten and left the Beavers and Cougars homeless, hung out to dry without a conference while the eight other programs landed either in the Big Ten, Big 12, or ACC.

To add insult to injury, Washington State’s Athletic Director, Pat Chung, took the same position across the state at Washington, while Oregon State saw their promising head coach, and former quarterback, Jonathan Smith leave unexpectedly to take the same job at Michigan State, leading to mass exodus of talent including quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei (Florida State) and running back Damien Martinez (Miami).

And you can bet those two programs are looking for revenge this weekend.

The Beavers are 2-0 after knocking off Idaho State at home in Week 1, 38-15, and blanking San Diego State on the road, 21-0, in Week 2. Oregon State is top 40 in both offense and defense at CBS Sports, showing plenty of promise under new coach Trent Bray.

This will be the 128th matchup between the Ducks and Beavers, and while Oregon remains a top-ten team, winning at Reser Stadium has eluded them since 2018.

Washington State is also 2-0 to start the season, blasting Portland State 70-30 in Week 1 and securing a big win over a Big 12 opponent in Texas Tech during Week 2. The Cougs will travel across the state to Seattle to face UW, who is 2-0 as well under new coach Jedd Fisch.

PNW fans will have to split screen if they want to watch both games, which start at 12:30 PM PT on Saturday. The Apple Cup will be on Peacock, while Oregon and Oregon State will be on FOX.