2020 Washington State Cougars football team

The 2020 Washington State Cougars football team was to represent Washington State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team were to play their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were to be led by 1st-year head coach Nick Rolovich and compete as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

2020 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePac–12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
2020 recordSeason Canceled (Season Canceled Pac-12)
Head coachNick Rolovich (1st season)
Offensive coordinatorBrian Smith (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorCraig Stutzmann (1st season)
Offensive schemeRun and Shoot
Defensive coordinatorJake Dickert (1st season)
Base defense4-2-5
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
(Capacity: 32,952)
2020 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
North Division
California   –      –  
Oregon   –      –  
Oregon State   –      –  
Stanford   –      –  
Washington   –      –  
Washington State   –      –  
South Division
Arizona   –      –  
Arizona State   –      –  
Colorado   –      –  
UCLA   –      –  
USC   –      –  
Utah   –      –  
Championship: TBA
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Pac-12 suspended the 2020 football season.
As of August 14, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 Conference cancelled all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Previous season

The Cougars finished the season 6–7, 3–6 in Pac-12 play to finish tied for fifth in the Northern Division. They were invited to play in the Cheez-It Bowl, where they lost to Air Force 31–21. On January 9th, head coach Mike Leach departed the program to accept the vacant head coaching position at Mississippi State.[2][3] Less than a week later, athletic director Pat Chun hired Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich.[4][5]

Schedule

Washington State had games scheduled against Utah State, Houston, and Idaho, but cancelled 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.[6]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 26at Oregon State
October 3California
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
October 10Utah
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
October 17at Stanford
October 31Arizona State
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
November 7at Colorado
November 14at UCLA
November 21Oregon
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
November 27Washington

[7]

#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.[8]

On August 2nd, 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11][12]

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
Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP  
Coaches RV  
CFP Not released Not released

References
  1. "Pac-12 Conference postpones all sport competitions through end of calendar year". pac-12.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. Mickanen, Dylan. "Reports: Mike Leach hired as Mississippi State head coach". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  3. Sallee, Barrett. "Mississippi State hires Washington State's Mike Leach to be next head coach". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  4. Shapiro, Michael. "Report: Washington State to Hire Hawaii's Nick Rolovich as Head Coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  5. Thamel, Pete. "Sources: Washington State finalizing deal to hire Hawaii's Nick Rolovich as next football coach". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  6. Bromberg, Nick. "Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020". Yahoo News. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. "2020 Washington State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  8. Bumbaca, Chris. "Group of Pac-12 athletes unite, threaten opt out unless athletes' demands of conference are met". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  9. Peter, Josh. "Washington State player says head coach threatened his status over Pac-12 unity group". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  10. Blum, Sam. "Full transcript: Washington State coach Nick Rolovich critical of PAC-12 unity statement in conversation with WR Kassidy Woods". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  11. Evans, Jace. "Washington State coach Nick Rolovich attempts to clarify position on #WeAreUnited group". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  12. Rittenberg, Adam. "Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich tells WR Kassidy Woods joining unity group would create 'an issue'". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
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