en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Washington State Cougars Football News https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/news The Pac-12 bowl affiliations are complex this season with legacy and new schools involved in the selection process. Here's where Washington, Washington State sit. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:21:53 GMT Jon Wilner https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57899113 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57899113 false false Here's how to watch the Washington State Cougars take on the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:16:01 GMT Will Wixey https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57896035 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57896035 false false Cougar Baseball Announces 2026 Signing Class - Washington State University Athletics - Official Athletics Site Javascript is required. Bailey redshirted at UCSB last season. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:17:46 GMT Scott, Cam, Bobby Alworth https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57893142 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57893142 false false NBC Sports’ most-watched afternoon Big Ten game since package began in 2023 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:17:42 GMT COUGFANcom https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57893141 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57893141 false false There’s a scar on my arm that tells my story so poetically that Stephen King might blush. It’s on the underside of my left arm, a few inches below my wrist, a white mark about an inch across. It’s mostly imperceptible if you aren’t looking for it, but if you are, you notice it right away. Which is the perfect way to capture my journey, to paint the picture of the grind it took for me to earn the chance to come home and cover this weekend’s game between Washington State and Kansas State. On Saturday morning, I’ll wake up in my hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. I’ll head to Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the site of the game, the same venue I grew up attending games at. And I’ll cover the Cougars for The Spokesman-Review, the job that affords me the opportunity in the first place. This means more than I can put into words, which is saying something for a guy whose whole job it is to put things into words. I got my start in this business covering K-State sports for my hometown newspaper, The Manhattan Mercury, which means I have covered dozens of football games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It’ll be my first time covering a game there since the fall of 2019, the semester before I graduated. But to return here, I had to earn my scars, which I mean literally. Here’s what happened: In the spring of 2022, I was at my second job, which was covering Idaho State and high school sports for a newspaper called the Idaho State Journal. I was covering a state tournament game in the Boise area, and because I was covering the last game of the night at this ballpark, the athletic director I was sharing the press box with said he was leaving – just make sure I locked the door on my way out. Sure, no problem, I said. So when I filed my story and sent out the next day’s sports section of the newspaper, I packed up all my things, walked out of the press box and headed for the exit. One problem: the front gate, a tall metal arrangement, was locked. I strolled around to a side area, where there was a shorter chainlink fence. I didn’t know anyone in this area – I was based about three hours away – so I couldn’t call anyone and ask them to unlock the gate for me. That left me with two choices: Try to scale the front gate, which was much taller with a concrete sidewalk landing. Or climb over the chainlink fence, which was much shorter with a grass landing. Climbing over the chainlink fence looked dangerous in its own right, with sharp spokes poking out, but I figured I could avoid those on my way over – and besides, landing on grass sounded way safer. So that’s the route I chose. I lightly tossed my backpack over the fence, then hauled myself over. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. But after I lifted myself over, on my way down I got caught on one of the fence’s spokes, gashing my arm. When I checked it out, the cut was fairly deep. Blood was flowing out. Thankfully, the rest of the story unfolded relatively uneventfully – after wrapping the cut up, I went to get a tetanus shot at Walgreen’s the next morning because I was a bit past due – but it’s the meaning that makes this experience so special for me. To me, my scar mirrors my journey perfectly: In my fourth season working the type of job I wanted for years, covering power conference sports for a major newspaper, I don’t think about it much. Nobody notices the cut nor the journey behind it, and I don’t expect them to. But when you look for it, you notice it easily. You realize there’s more to the story, just as there’s more to mine. I like to think I have earned every bit of the opportunity to cover Saturday’s game, which is what makes this experience so special for me. I began my professional career covering high schools for the Post Register, which made me a better reporter than I understood at the time. I then spent a little more than a year working at the Idaho State Journal, which is when this injury happened. I have always prided myself on my work ethic and my writing chops, the skills I used to stay grounded and keep building. But in my story, everything leads back to Manhattan, which I like to call a jumbo-sized Pullman. This place, and by extension K-State, made me. I’m a product of all the people who poured into me growing up: Jordan Jellison, who gave me my first gig at The Mercury; Kristy Nyp, my journalism teacher at Manhattan High; Steve Smethers and Bonnie Bressers, two of my most formative journalism professors at K-State; plus the gang of guys I worked with at The Mercury who I consider some of my best friends: Ryan Black, Justin Toscano, Sean Collins and Shane Thurston, who taught me more than they might ever know. I’ll never forget the grueling hours I spent covering the Wildcats in college. The 13-hour days that sent me from morning high school cross country meets to K-State football games to Wildcat volleyball matches, the creative stories on K-State nutrition staffers that only a part-time writer like myself had the time for, the chance to travel with Rya... Fri, 11 Sep 2026 03:12:32 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57892624 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57892624 true false Cougar tight end opted for extra protection on Sunday Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:36:27 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57891096 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57891096 false false To preview Washington State’s next game, a road test against Big 12 foe Kansas State, The Spokesman-Review conferred with K-State beat writer Ryan Gilbert, who covers the Wildcats for GoPowercat. Here is our Q&A. 1. How did K-State’s offensive line look against Nicholls, and do the injuries to John Pastore and George Fitzpatrick look to hamper the Cats as much as it might seem? The offensive line checked all the boxes it could on Saturday. There were a lot of questions surrounding this group entering the season, but game No. 1 was a success. That being said, Nicholls is just not a good football team, so it’s tough to get too excited over that performance in the trenches. K-State simply had the bigger, more physically dominant dudes at the point of contact. Anything other than a promising night would have been a concern for the offensive line. George Fitzpatrick not being able to give it a go didn’t help matters, but Collin Klein & Co. certainly couldn’t have been caught off guard when they learned he had to be sidelined this season. His health condition from last offseason just lingered and lingered, so it’s not like this just happened out of nowhere. There was ample time to create a backup plan. John Pastore, though, was supposed to be not just a starter but a true star at left tackle. His injury, which will sideline him for the season, happened about a month before the season, and then Tanner Morley also had to miss some time late in camp, so everything kind of just compounded at once. But the short answer here is that Pastore’s injury is a big blow to the offensive line. Not having him in 2026 will sting. And there have been a lot of moving pieces in the last 30 days due to all the injuries. Offensive lines have to gel together, and, well, it’s hard to gel in just a matter of days. If there’s one thing I took away from Washington State after catching parts of Sunday’s game against Washington, it’s that the Cougars defensive front can really give their team a chance to win this game. If K-State has just an average offensive line this game (or this season), that’d be a success given the circumstances. 2. Who are the main playmakers in K-State’s defense? Ahead of the season, the easy answer would have been Oklahoma State transfer Wendell Gregory. But against Nicholls, the junior defensive end really didn’t do much. Of course, it’s way too early to write him off, but many expected him to absolutely feast in 2026, and to not move the needle against an FCS program isn’t exactly promising. While Gregory had a quiet game, Darien Whitaker stepped up with a strip sack. It seems like his stock is really rising. While he’s listed as a linebacker, expect to see him line up at the edge on defense. A couple of guys had great games against Nicholls, though — linebacker Gabe Powers and safety Logan Bartley. Powers, who previously spent time at Ohio State, was listed as a starter on the depth chart ahead of the first game, but nobody expected him to have the impact he did. He was great. Meanwhile, Bartley was much the same story — just a solid piece who had some big hits in the secondary. It’s also worth noting that linebacker Mekhi Mason’s status for Saturday is up in the air due to injury. He’ll be worth monitoring as the teams go through warmups, as he’s a prominent piece on defense. 3. How could Cougar fans expect the Cats to use their tight ends, which has been a strength of the program for quite awhile? As a former five-star, there shouldn’t need to be any endorsement given to tight end Linkon Cure. His upside is clearly there. However, we just haven’t seen him impact the game in a purple jersey. His freshman year in 2025 was very underwhelming, and Saturday against Nicholls was bland. The only direction for him to go is up, but he’s got plenty of meat left on the bone. He’s a player to definitely keep a sharp eye on, but to say he’s a true difference-maker right now would be a bit rich. Fellow tight end Garrett Oakley has been in the program for as long as QB Avery Johnson has, so these two obviously have a great connection. Many deem him to be one of the top tight ends in the Big 12. Last season, Oakley dropped countless routine passes, so as long as he can simply hang on to the football, Oakley is definitely a red zone threat for the offense. 4. How much can you take away from such a lopsided win over an FCS team? But there are certain areas worth investing more into than others. For example, as we talked about, the offensive line looked good simply because of how bad Nicholls was. On the flip side, though, K-State’s effort, focus, execution and buy-in were at a top-notch level. The Cats committed only one penalty on Saturday — that has nothing to do with Nicholls. Overall, take it all with a grain of salt, but you can’t fault a group for simply beating the team that lied on its schedule. 5. What are the main strengths of RBs Rodney Fields and Joe Jackson, and is there any way WSU could slow them down? It was ... Thu, 10 Sep 2026 22:00:48 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889986 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889986 true false The Pac-12 had a rough opening week, going 2-6 against a challenging schedule that featured five games against ranked opponents, all on the road. While the conference struggled overall, several teams made significant moves in this week’s power rankings. Colorado State and Oregon State were the biggest risers, while Utah State suffered the biggest fall […] Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:31:49 GMT Isaiah David https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889583 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889583 false false Cougars going with combination it last won a game in Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:09:02 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889263 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889263 false false Cougar Women's Golf Heads To Wisconsin For Badger Invitational - Washington State University Athletics - Official Athletics Site Javascript is required. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:54:23 GMT Kevin, Mallory Brock https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889084 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57889084 false false Cougars are pretty clear cut on several starting positions Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:52:23 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57885822 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57885822 true false Arch Manning and the Longhorns will repel the Buckeyes in the marquee non-conference game of the season, which could be the last of its kind in the CFP expands to 24 teams. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:57:28 GMT Jon Wilner https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57884251 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57884251 false false PULLMAN – The moment began to wash over Keith Brown some 10 minutes before kickoff, the gravity hitting him like a tsunami. He sat in his locker inside Husky Stadium, waiting to take the field for Sunday’s Apple Cup, the nervous energy of tens of thousands of fans pounding outside the steel walls. He had waited six years for his moment, a chance to start a season-opener, an opportunity to demonstrate his arrival at Washington State. For a moment, the senior linebacker looked up and glanced to his left, where he saw veteran wide receiver Darrius Clemons with a bit of moisture around his eyes. That’s when it hit Brown. “I started sobbing,” Brown said. Right before the biggest moment of his college career, the first game of his sixth and final season, Brown felt everything crash over him at once: The two years at Oregon, the redshirt year at Louisville, the first year at WSU and then the second, which he missed due to a shoulder injury. He had started a handful of games as a freshman five years ago, but never a season-opener, a signal that he had never been the guy. Now he is. He’s one of WSU’s two starting linebackers. On Sunday, he was entrusted with some of the game’s biggest moments, like the Cougars’ goal-line stop right before halftime. He led the team with six tackles, all solo, illustrating the level of playmaking that made him the top-rated prospect in all of Oregon during high school. “Missing last year was really hard for me,” Brown said. “And then, I’ve waited my turn six years to start Week 1, so yeah, it was a really emotional moment for me. It felt good to be out there again, it really did.” Brown certainly played like it. Right before halftime, the Huskies had fourth-and-goal from the Cougars’ 1-yard line, threatening to go up three scores. Things were tilting for WSU, whose offense was slogging and scuffling through a slow start to the game. Go down three scores here and the visitors’ path to a comeback would become just about impossible. So Brown leapt into action. UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. took a shotgun snap and handed it off to running back Jayden Limar, who plunged up the middle. He was met in the gap by a host of Cougar defenders. In the middle was Brown, who wrapped Limar up around the midsection and drove him backward. A sea of WSU defenders surged into the pile, forcing officials to blow the play dead before Limar could generate any more forward momentum. Thinking back on the play now, Brown remembers his assignment: He was to look at center Kolt Dietrich and make his move accordingly: If Dietrich went left, Brown would pursue off his right hip, and vice versa. He figured he would have to wade through a mass of bodies if he wanted to make the stop. “And when I was running through the gap, a guy showed up in front of me,” Brown laughed. “I didn’t realize it was Jirah who threw him around.” Turns out, Brown realized after the fact, that WSU defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele hadn’t just won his rep against UW left guard John Mills, a consensus freshman All-American last season. He had thrown him to the left, paving the way for Brown to meet Limar in the gap. Several Cougar defenders converged to create a pile-up and push Limar back, but the stop began with Leaupepetele and his physicality up front. “Kudos to Jirah for being as grown as he is,” Brown said. Across the next 90 minutes or so, Brown and the Cougars’ defense continued to make things hard on the Huskies, who needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns – and one critical third-down conversion with about two minutes to play – to finally put away Kirby Moore’s team for good. But all things considered, Brown says he feels good about what he and his unit put on display in Seattle, giving their team a chance to draw within one in the fourth quarter on two different occasions. This week, as Washington State prepares for a road test against Big 12 foe Kansas State, Brown says the emotions he felt before Sunday’s game haven’t followed him around. He’s trying to stay in the moment, he says, keeping blinders on ahead of another critical Power 4 game. As one of the leaders of this defense, Brown finds it important to stay even-keeled and focused. Part of that, he says, has required changing his approach to the season. Toward the end of the Cougars’ fall camp, Brown and the WSU defense had been flourishing, becoming the story of camp. “We were feeling on top of the world,” Brown said. Then one day, that unit turned in a forgettable practice, and defensive coordinator Trent Bray let them hear about it. He encouraged his players to delete all social media apps off their phone, including Instagram and Twitter, so that they wouldn’t see posts about themselves and get too high or low. As he thought about it, Brown realized he agreed. He would rather not see articles about him and his team, positive or negative. Sometimes they still find their way to his phone thanks to his mom, Sarah – “I’m like, mom, I don’t want to see them,” Brown said... Thu, 10 Sep 2026 03:15:57 GMT Greg Woods https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57879453 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57879453 true false Cougar coaches have first chance to show game-to-game adjustments Thu, 10 Sep 2026 01:01:18 GMT Jamey Vinnick https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57878481 https://sportspyder.com/cf/washington-state-cougars-football/articles/57878481 true false