2020 Washington State Cougars football team
American college football season
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The 2020 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Nick Rolovich. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
| 2020 Washington State Cougars football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Pac–12 Conference |
| North Division | |
| Record | 1–3 (1–3 Pac-12) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Brian Smith (1st season) |
| Co-offensive coordinator | Craig Stutzmann (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Run and Shoot |
| Defensive coordinator | Jake Dickert (1st season) |
| Base defense | 4–2–5 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Martin Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington x | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon y$ | 3 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 USC xy | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 3 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Oregon 31, USC 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 Conference initially canceled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
On September 24, the conference announced that a six-game conference-only season would begin on November 6, with the Pac-12 Championship Game to be played December 18. Teams not selected for the championship game would be seeded to play a seventh game.[3]
Schedule
Washington State had games scheduled against Utah State, Houston, and Idaho, but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
| Original 2020 Washington State Cougars schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Site | |
| September 3 | at Utah State* | Maverik Stadium • Logan, UT | |
| September 12 | Houston* | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA | |
| September 19 | Idaho* | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse) | |
| September 26 | at Oregon State | Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR | |
| October 3 | California | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA | |
| October 10 | Utah | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA | |
| October 17 | at Stanford | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA | |
| October 31 | Arizona State | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA | |
| November 7 | at Colorado | Folsom Field • Boulder, CO | |
| November 14 | at UCLA | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA | |
| November 21 | Oregon | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA | |
| November 27 | Washington | Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA (Apple Cup) | |
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 7 | 7:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | FS1 | W 38–28 | — | ||
| November 14 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 11 Oregon | FOX | L 29–43 | — | ||
| at | No Contest [5] | ||||||
| No Contest [6] | ||||||
| December 6 | 4:30 p.m. | at No. 20 USC | FS1 | L 13–38 | — | ||
| No Contest [7] | ||||||
| December 19 | 10:30 a.m. | at Utah | FS1 | L 28–45 | |||
| |||||||
#WeAreUnited controversy
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, student athletes of the Pac-12 Conference formed a unity group to negotiate with the conference to get more fair treatment for student athletes ranging from COVID-19 safety protocols to racial equality messages under the threat of opting out of the fall season with the hashtag #WeAreUnited.[9]
On August 2, 2020, Washington State wide receiver Kassidy Woods alleged that head coach Nick Rolovich threatened his status on the team, while also being removed from the team chats and being told to clear out his locker.[10] Woods also released an audio conversation between him and Rolovich to the Dallas Morning News, where Rolovich was understanding of Woods opting out due to COVID-19 but was still critical of the unity group.[11] Rolovich said in a statement that the said conversation between him and Woods occurred before the release of the #WeAreUnited group's article, and Washington State spokesman Bill Stephens clarified that Woods did not lose his scholarship or has been cut from the team, while ESPN reported that no one has been cut, but is not allowed to participate in team activities if they choose to opt out due to safety reasons.[12][13]
Personnel
Staff
| Name | Position | Seasons at Washington State |
Alma mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Rolovich | Head coach | 1 | Hawaii (2004) |
| Brian Smith | Offensive coordinator / running backs | 1 | Hawaii (2005) |
| Jake Dickert | Defensive coordinator / Linebackers | 1 | Wisconsin–Stevens Point (2007) |
| Michael Ghobrial | Special teams coordinator | 1 | UCLA (2011) |
| Craig Stutzmann | Co-offensive coordinator / quarterbacks | 1 | Hawaii (2002) |
| Andre Allen | Wide receivers | 1 | Ashford (2014) |
| Mark Weber | Offensive line | 1 | Cal Lutheran (1980) |
| A. J. Cooper | Defensive ends | 1 | North Dakota State (2006) |
| Ricky Logo | Defensive tackles | 1 | North Carolina State (1992) |
| Mark Banker | Safeties | 1 | Springfield (MA) (1978) |
| John Richardson | Cornerbacks / recruiting coordinator | 1 | North Dakota State (2010) |
| Dwain Bradshaw | Head strength and conditioning coach | 1 | Arizona State (2014) |
| Jason Cvercko | Chief of Staff | 1 | Connecticut (2011) |
Rankings
Game summaries
At Oregon State
Washington State Cougars (0–0) at Oregon State Beavers (0–0)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougars | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
| Beavers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
- Date: November 7, 2020
- Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
- Game attendance: 0
- TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust (play-by-play) & Petros Papadakis (analyst)
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Oregon
Oregon Ducks (1–0) at Washington State Cougars (1–0)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Ducks | 7 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 43 |
| Cougars | 13 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 29 |
at Martin Stadium • Pullman, Washington
- Date: November 14, 2020
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. PST
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Chris Coyle
- TV announcers (FOX): Tim Brando (play-by-play) & Spencer Tillman (analyst)
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
At USC
Washington State Cougars (1–1) at USC Trojans (3–0)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougars | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| No. 20 Trojans | 28 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 38 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
At Utah
Washington State Cougars (1–2) at Utah Utes (2–2)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougars | 7 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Utes | 0 | 7 | 14 | 24 | 45 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Awards
| Player | Award | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden de Laura | Pac-12 Freshman of the Week[14] | November 9, 2020 |
| Ayden Hector | Pac-12 Freshman of the Week[15] | November 16, 2020 |