Head Coach: Jake Dickert is entering his 3rd full season (took over as an interim coach midway through 2021) as the head coach of the Cougars. He has a 15-16 record and has battled nothing but crazy circumstances the whole way. He took over as the interim coach following a wild saga with Nick Rolovich, and rallied the team with a strong finish to reach a bowl game. He notably led the team to a 40-13 win over Washington in the Apple Cup, he was given the full time job a day later. Now, of course Washington State faces more uncertainty than ever playing in a 2 team conference.
Program Outlook: There’s no one else facing more uncertainty. The Cougars don’t know where they’ll be playing 2025 and beyond at this point. Dickert has done his best to install hope for the program. Last year they won the Pac-2 championship on their way to a 4-0 start but mysteriously collapsed down the stretch. What happened is a question they’ll need to answer this offseason.
How does the 2024 Roster look?: There’s some good and bad here. There’s more experience than you’d expect returning but the Cougs also lost a lot of key guys. QB is going to take some work, their star Cam Ward is gone and it’s been at least a decade since the QB picture has been this murky in Pullman. There’s options though John Mateer has been with the program longer, and has played in certain packages but doesn’t have much starting experience, while Bryant transfer Zevi Eckhaus is a 3-year starter. Mateer is a bigger duel threat while Eckhaus is be the more steady passer. I’d expect Mateer to be involved in some fashion. The receivers will be a strength with Kyle Williams returning to lead the way along with Carlos Hernandez. They lost a couple studs to the portal, but getting Kris Hutson from Oregon is expected to alleviate some of that. To truly answer the question about what happened last season, look no further than the offensive line. It was a massive struggle, Ward had to run for his life and they had zero run game. Thanks to some help with the portal, and guys stepping up there’s some confidence on what the Cougars will have on the interior Oline but tackle is still a big question mark. Washington State was ok defensively last year and especially improved late. They have a great group of linebackers and look promising enough at defensive tackle to defend well against the run. The pass defense is going to be a big question. The Cougars had a really good secondary last year but now 4 key players are gone from that unit. There’s confidence in the replacements but this would still be a good time to figure out the pass rush. Did their pass rush truly struggle, or was the lack of sacks simply a product of how many great Olines they went against last year. Colorado was a shit show when they played them late but they notched 5 sacks in that game. The schedule this year will allow us to figure out if it was the latter.
Screenshot from fbschedules.com1
2024 Schedule Thoughts: This will help. By default getting teams like Oregon, and Arizona off the schedule was going to help. They have the weird arrangement with the MWC where they essentially play a mostly Mountain West schedule. Their draw is mixed. They have the 2 of the toughest road games possible with Boise State and Fresno State, but outside of those 2 they got an incredibly favorable slate, the other 6 teams are projected to finish 6-11th in the Mountain West. Texas Tech will be a very fun non-conference game, Washington in the Apple Cup will be tough and Portland State is expected to improve but isn’t the worst FCS foe.
Vegas Projection: Washington State’s win total is set at 7.5 with the odds geared slightly toward the under. Honestly there’s some questions but this number still feels low.
2024 Best Case: The Cougars figure out their QB situation, find a run game and the defense steps up for a great response season. They roll past Portland State, but where things are clearly different is against Texas Tech where they take down the Red Raiders by double digits. That sets up the Apple Cup showdown. Washington may be a regional misfit in an oversized conference because they chased the money but the Cougars don’t care. They come out inspired to beat their rivals, jump on them early and never relent on their way to victory. Despite the short week the Cougs avoid a letdown against San Jose State to set up a massive game with Boise State, fun fact Boise State is the closest FBS program to Washington State. They battle back and forth all game in an instant classic before they force Malachi Nelson into some 4th quarter mistakes and come out with the win. The bye week is well timed to catch their breath and they come out of it strong to beat Fresno State. This clears the path to meet Oregon State as an undefeated team. The Beavs have revenge on their mind after last season’s matchup but Washington State isn’t worried about it. They play well on the road to claim the conference title and get past Wyoming the next week for an undefeated regular season. Unfortunately without a conference title to back them up the selection committee screws them out of playoff spot. The nation rallies behind Washington State but in the end they’ll have to be satisfied with an Alamo Bowl victory and 13-0 season.
2024 Worst Case: QB remains murky which is a recipe for disaster with no run game and a struggling offensive line. The pass rush still struggles on defense. The Cougars get a scare from Portland State in the opener but survive, but it’s clear this season is going in the wrong direction when they’re down 21-0 to Texas Tech quickly. Getting blown out 42-0 by their rival in the Apple Cup the next week just makes matters worse. By the end of the Fresno State game they’re 1-5 and the season is doomed. They don’t rally and finish the season 3-9. They’re still without a conference and now going on 2 straight seasons without a bowl. Fans are left to wonder when or if it will get better.
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