washington state cougars football

Washington State quarterback officially in transfer portal per report

Washington State Cougars quarterback expected to enter the transfer portal per reports.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

According to multiple reports, Washington State quarterback John Mateer has entered the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. It was first reported by Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer of 247Sports/CBS Sports. Mateer will have two years of eligibility remaining. According to OUInsider’s Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm, Mateer is expected to have a “no contact” tag on his portal entry.

Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Max Olson provided an update to the story, reporting that Mateer is now officially in the transfer portal.

Mateer is considered the top player in the portal, according to 247Sports, after leading the NCAA with 44 total touchdowns in 2024. He had a fantastic season under the direction of new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and offensive analyst John Kuceyeski.

In 2024, Mateer completed 64.6% of his passes for 3,139 yards and 29 passing touchdowns. He also ran for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Cougars.

Mateer is expected to play for Washington State in their bowl game on Dec. 27. But it’s unclear if this news will alter those plans.

The connection to Arbuckle and Kuceyeski should give the Sooners a leg up in Mateers’ recruitment, but teams like Miami will also be in hot pursuit.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a lot of success with transfer portal quarterbacks over the last 10 years. Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, and Dillon Gabriel all had great seasons for the Sooners after making the move to Norman.

Mateer’s familiarity with Arbuckles system would make for a smooth transition and be an important domino to fall for the Oklahoma Sooners in the transfer portal.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Oklahoma Sooners to hire Ben Arbuckle to be next offensive coordinator per report

According to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Oklahoma Sooners have agreed to a contract with Ben Arbuckle to be their next offensive coordinator.

The Oklahoma Sooners have hired their next offensive coordinator. According to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Sooners are bringing on former Western Kentucky and Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to take the reigns of the offense. Thamel states it’s a three-year deal for Arbuckle.

Though he’s only 29 years old, Arbuckle has had a lot of success as a play caller at the FBS level over the last few years. His first opportunity to be an offensive coordinator came in 202,2 where he crafted an offense for Western Kentucky that finished 15th in the nation in points per game at 36.4. The Hilltoppers were No. 7 in the nation in yards per game. They were No. 2 in the country at 352.2 passing yards per game.

In 2023, as the offensive coordinator with Washington State, the Cougars averaged 421.7 yards per game and finished No. 4 in the nation with 336.8 passing yards per game. Arbuckle helped propel now-Miami quarterback Cam Ward into the preseason Heisman conversation after leading the nation in total touchdowns in 2023.

In 2024, Washington State had another big year offensively, averaging 36.8 points and 440.4 total yards of offense. Like Ward the year before, Arbuckle helped former three-star quarterback John Mateer lead the nation with 44 total touchdowns.

Running an air raid style of offense, Arbuckle gets the Sooners back to the style that helped produce four Heisman trophy winners and put Oklahoma on the map as one of the most prolific offenses in college football over the last 25 years.

Arbuckle has a big task ahead of him, taking over an offense that finished 97th in the nation in scoring offense this year. The first order of business will be locking up the 2025 recruiting class with the early signing period approaching and then figuring out who the quarterback will be in 2025.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

How to buy Boise State vs. Washington State college football tickets

Want to watch the Boise State Broncos vs. Washington State Cougars in person on Saturday, Sept. 28? Tickets still remain for as little as $146.

The Boise State Broncos welcome the Washington State Cougars for a college football Week 5 matchup at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday, and if you want to see the blue-turf action live in person, we have everything you need to know right here.

The Broncos are 2-1 so far in 2024 with wins over the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Portland State Vikings sandwiched around a three-point loss at the Oregon Ducks. That is good enough to receive 42 votes in the recent US LBM Coaches Poll.

The Cougars are a perfect 4-0 coming in with its biggest win coming over the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup two weeks ago. WSU is currently sitting just outside the Coaches Poll top 25 at a de facto No. 26 with 94 votes.

The Boise State Broncos will host the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

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How to buy Boise State vs Washington State football tickets

Both of these programs sit on the edge of both major polls and are in desperate need of a win over a quality opponent. It will be a war in Boise this weekend when the two square off.

At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the Boise State Broncos vs Washington State Cougars are $146.

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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:

USA TODAY Sports latest Big 12 Bowl Projections after Week 2 action

Updated Big 12 Bowl Projections from USA TODAY Sports after week 2.

The Oklahoma Sooners have picked up two solid wins to start the 2023 season and look like a team that will be in contention in the Big 12 this season.

There are some really good teams at the top of the league this year, with Texas and Kansas State looking like the primary foes for the Sooners to make a return trip to the Big 12 title game.

They still have a lot to prove on the field to accomplish what they want this season, but it’s so far so good for the Sooners.

After beating SMU in week two, where does USA TODAY Sports project the Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 to land in their latest round of 2023 bowl projections.

Oregon State and Washington State win legal motion against Pac-12 with fans cheering

As the judge ruled in favor of Wazzu and Oregon State, ‘Go Beavs!’ and ‘Go Cougs!’ rang out on the Zoom call. #YouCantMakeThisUp

You simply can’t make any of this stuff up. The legal proceeding on Monday involving the Pac-12 Conference and the “Pac-2” of Washington State and Oregon State was too wild to easily sum up in a single sentence.

Yes, the presiding judge ruled in favor of Washington State and Oregon State. The judge ruled that the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff could not convene a board meeting later this week, at least not until other hurdles are cleared and dealt with. The Pac-12 had wanted to convene a board meeting with some of the schools which have intended to leave the conference. Washington State and Oregon State think those schools should have zero say in what the conference does and how it manages its assets. WSU and OSU want control of those assets and the decision-making processes which govern them. That’s the main news story from this hearing. However, the details of this hearing are wild, and they create an irresistibly colorful story which begins with WSU and OSU fans cheering as the legal proceeding — done via Zoom — concluded on Monday afternoon.

Here are just some of the many wacky details from a vintage Pac-12 moment:

Commanders quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard’s uncle played QB in the NFL

Pritchard played QB at Stanford before becoming a coach, but his uncle was a successful college QB before being drafted into the NFL.

Commanders fans may be unaware, but new quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard had an uncle who played in the NFL.

Pritchard himself started at Stanford in 2007 and 2008. Those as old as I am will remember that before his uncle quarterbacked in the NFL, he also played in the PAC-8.

Pritchard’s uncle was a quarterback starter at Washington State, Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson. Thompson finished ninth in the 1978 Heisman Trophy voting and then was selected third overall in the 1979 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Bengals from 1979-82, Thompson received little to no playing time, being unable to unseat veteran starter Ken Anderson. In those four seasons, Thompson managed only five starts (1-4), 13 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions.

Looking to desperately replace Doug Williams (who would later quarterback Washington to a Super Bowl XXII 42-10 win over Denver), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unbelievably traded their first-round choice in the 1984 draft to the Bengals for Thompson.

Thompson closed out his NFL career the next two seasons in Tampa, going 3-13 as the starter, throwing 20 touchdown passes and 26 interceptions.

Pritchard’s uncle (Thompson), however did enjoy a fine college career at Washington State passing for 601 completions and 53 touchdown passes. Washington State retired his No. 14 jersey as he was all-PAC-8 three seasons.

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Washington State Football Schedule 2023: Analysis, Breakdown, 3 Things To Know

Washington State football schedule 2023. Analysis, breakdown, 3 things to know

Washington State football schedule 2023: Who do the Cougars miss on the Pac-12 schedule and what are 3 things to know?

Washington State Football Schedule 2023: 3 Things To Know

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Aug 26 OPEN DATE

Sept 2 at Colorado State

Sept 9 Wisconsin

Sept 16 Northern Colorado

Sept 23 Oregon State

Sept 30 OPEN DATE

Oct 7 at UCLA

Oct 14 Arizona

Oct 21 at Oregon

Oct 28 at Arizona State

Nov 4 Stanford

Nov 11 at Cal

Nov 18 Colorado

Nov 24 at Washington

2023 College Football Rankings 1-133: First Look

Washington State Football Schedule What To Know: Who do the Cougars miss from the Pac-12 slate?

Washington got to miss USC and Utah last year, and now it’s Washington State’s turn to catch the mammoth break. The Trojans rolled Wazzu 30-14, the Utes won a 21-17 fight, and now they’re been replaced with Colorado and UCLA being left off the Pac-12 schedule. That’s a solid deal.

Not all is perfect with the Cougar slate, though.

Washington State Football Schedule What Really Matters

Washington State gets five Pac-12 road games. One of them is Washington, but that counts. That also means four of the last six games are away from home, and it gets even worse than that.

The Arizona State game is on the road on October 28th. The only thing that matters about that – besides the travel – is Tempe, Arizona is probably going to be nicer weather-wise than Pullman.

Arizona? That’s a home game, but the weather probably won’t be that bad on October 14th. Colorado is used to playing in snow and cold – if that happens – meaning Stanford on November 4th is likely the only team to potentially be affected by the surroundings.

Washington State Football Schedule What To Know: What does it all really mean?

The Cougars were able to win seven games last year even with USC and Utah to deal with. This schedule is just workable enough to hope to at least his the 2022 mark.

Wisconsin is a home game, but this should be a far more dangerous Badger team. Going to Colorado State and dealing with Northern Colorado shouldn’t be a problem.

Stanford, Arizona, Colorado. None of them went bowling, and all three are home dates. Take care of at least two of the non-conference games, handle the winnable home dates, and pull off a win at, say, Cal and/or Arizona State, and all should be okay.

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2023 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

Washington State game is a true ‘prove it’ moment for USC football

The upcoming Utah game will receive more national buzz, but the Washington State game is more important for #USC. We explain why.

The USC Trojans are nearly a two-touchdown favorite against the Washington State Cougars this Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum, which might suggest to the public that this game shouldn’t be especially close. That is not the right way to think about the game. That line should be several points lower than it currently is.

That point aside, this next statement needs to be emphasized and underlined heading into Week 6: This isn’t just another game on USC’s schedule; it’s arguably the most important game of the whole season.

Wait a minute, you might say, isn’t the Utah game the truly important game of 2022 for the Trojans? We’ll explain why the Washington State game actually means more:

Wisconsin lands in Duke’s Mayo Bowl in latest USA TODAY Sports bowl projections

The Badgers land in Duke’s Mayo Bowl in the latest USA TODAY Sports bowl projections:

After an upset loss to the Washington State Cougars on Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers are now projected to play against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Duke’s Mayo Bowl according to the latest USA TODAY Sports bowl projections.

This will not be the first time that the Badgers have played in Duke’s Mayo Bowl, as they took down Wake Forest 42-28 in 2020 and memorably broke the trophy in the post-game celebration. It should also be noted that Wisconsin has never matched up against Virginia Tech.

The projected College Football Playoff teams for this week remain unchanged with Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Georgia.

The Badgers will try to right the ship this week against the New Mexico State Aggies at Camp Randall on Saturday.

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