1+ hour, 5+ min ago (1028+ words) PULLMAN " In a season in which so much had gone wrong for the Washington State football team, almost everything went right in the Cougars" season finale Saturday at Gesa Field. The stout Cougar defense contained its lone Pac-12 rival to one touchdown, the offense left its second-half sorrows in the past with 13 post-intermission points and WSU beat the Beavers 32-8 to secure its sixth victory and bowl game eligibility. The Cougars (6-6) honored 25 seniors, including five who spent five years at WSU and a slew of guys who followed Rogers and company from South Dakota State to Pullman. "Proud of this group of seniors for the way they"ve really fought the whole season and kept the team connected," WSU coach Jimmy Rogers said. "A lot of things went right tonight." A defensive exclamation point With the Washington State defense pitching a…...

18+ hour, 13+ min ago (236+ words) The Cougars are going bowling. With their season on the line, first-year Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers led his Cougar football team to a 32-8 win over Pac-12 rival Oregon State in the two schools" regular-season finale on Saturday at Gesa Field. The win was Wazzu"s sixth of the season and grants WSU bowl game eligibility. WSU wide receiver Tony Freeman set a single-game school record with 169 punt return yards, senior linebacker Caleb Francl generated two turnovers and the Cougar offense scored 13 second-half points to put the unofficial "Pac-2" championship on ice. On defense, Francl forced a fumble and grabbed his second interception in as many weeks in the first half, cornerback Colby Humphrey made a juggling act of an interception and the Cougars racked up six sacks. WSU used two Jack Stevens field goals to take a 6-0 lead in…...

1+ day, 1+ hour ago (1002+ words) The Garfield-Palouse Vikings excelled all volleyball season long, but heading into their district tournament, there was one hurdle they had been unable to clear: the perennially dominant Oakesdale Hornets. A new approach helped Gar-Pal turn the tables on Oakesdale on Nov. 6 and establish momentum and confidence that carried all the way through a dark horse run to a Washington Class 1B state title " the team's first since 1999. "I kept telling them, "If we just keep doing our thing, there'll be no problems,' and they really stuck into that and did what we do best, which was serve-receiving and putting the ball down," Gar-Pal coach Sarah Foss said of her team's postseason run. "Awesome attackers, amazing serve-receive, and that's pretty hard to come up against." Time for a change For years, the Vikings had played in a "6-2" offensive formation, utilizing six front…...

5+ day, 1+ hour ago (829+ words) The Idaho Vandals" 2025 season is officially over. Now we move over to the transfer portal, staff changes and recruiting in the offseason. Coming off a 4-8 season, it may be a little more difficult for Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. to snag the exact top transfers he wanted. Lots of players want to join squads they know will contend. Let"s take a look at some of the changes that might happen. I expect the Vandals to move on to a different offensive coordinator. On Saturday, Matt Linehan was on the sideline instead of the booth and was without a play sheet in hand. After the game, I asked Ford straight up: Who was calling the plays? "That"s really not a question that I feel comfortable talking about, really," Ford said. "I mean, we have an offensive coordinator, and that…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (434+ words) The Big Sky Conference reprimanded and fined Idaho football coach Thomas Ford Jr. for "commenting publicly about officiating," the conference announced Tuesday. Ford had criticized the conference's admitted missed call late in the Idaho-Sacramento State game, which the Vandals dropped 23-20 on Saturday. The first-year Idaho coach received a $2,500 fine and was informed that "a repeat of such behavior could result in a more severe penalty," according to the Big Sky's statement posted to its X account. Big Sky officials called Sac State tight end Jordan Williams in bounds on a play in which his foot was visibly out of bounds. Upon review, officials stuck by their decision and the Hornets scored the go-ahead touchdown from the 2-yard line with under 10 seconds left in the game, one play later to clinch the win. The Big Sky suspended multiple officials who worked…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (697+ words) The Big Sky messed up. At least Big Sky officials messed up, causing Idaho to take a loss to Sacramento State on Saturday. If you didn't see the play, I would recommend looking it up on your favorite social media platform. Once you've seen the play, you can understand why Thomas Ford Jr. and the rest of the Vandals were bewildered by the call. However, during the game, it was extensively reviewed, and the officials decided that Williams landed in bounds, which gave Sac State the ball at the 2-yard line with 12 seconds left. A play later, they scored on a Cardell Williams option run, which was the dagger and won the game for the Hornets. Ford, pretty much immediately after his postgame news conference, posted a now-deleted video on X and Instagram with a sideline view that clearly showed…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago (858+ words) In case you weren't convinced by several stout showings in hostile road environments, this Washington State defense is pretty good. Pretty good doesn't do them justice; the Cougars' defensive personnel " 1 through 11 and several players deep " is pretty great. For the third straight game and sixth time this season, the Cougars accomplished their declared goal of allowing fewer than 14 points. And for the third straight game, WSU kept its opponent to 10 or fewer points. Yes, WSU faced a Louisiana Tech team down a starting quarterback and in dire straits with two rotating backups leading the offense. The signal-caller issue helps explain why WSU beat LA Tech 28-3 on Saturday at Gesa Field, but it does not tell the whole story. The Cougars allowed just three points, fewer than 200 total yards, just about 60 passing yards and turned away the Bulldogs on eight of…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (1051+ words) KAMIAH " Logos quarterback Baxter Covington didn't have any doubts about what his team was capable of even though his last trip to Kamiah didn't go his way. With that loss in the past, and glory on the horizon, Covington took the Knights' first offensive snap from scrimmage and raced 69 yards into the end zone for Logos' first points 19 seconds into an Idaho Class 2A semifinals football game at Kamiah. "I love it when we score on the first play," Covington said. "It's super demoralizing for the other team. And yeah, I just trusted my boys." Covington's four touchdowns and the Knights' nearly 400 yards rushing boosted Logos to a 44-18 win over Kamiah on Friday. With the win, Logos (9-2) will face Kendrick (11-0) in the 2A state championship next week. The last time Logos of Moscow visited Kamiah (9-2), the Knights were in "a bit of…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (987+ words) Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers has never experienced an injury bug quite like the Cougs have encountered this year. "I've been proud of the guys who have stepped into additional reps or bigger roles because, yeah, they've put in a lot of work," Rogers said. "We need to just stay healthy the rest of the way, because I don't know how many injuries we can maintain and still be competitive." The Cougars and their banged-up roster will next host Louisiana Tech, a team that lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury last week. The Cougars play the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. today (The CW Network) at Gesa Field in Pullman. After an embarrassing 10-7 loss at Oregon State two weeks ago, WSU needs to win at least two of the next three games to earn bowl game eligibility. After today's game, WSU…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (256+ words) Washington State fired athletic director Anne McCoy after 18 months on the job, the school announced Wednesday. McCoy served as interim AD in the wake of former AD Pat Chun's decision to take the same position at University of Washington, starting in March 2024, and the school hired her as its full-time athletics steward in June 2024. Jon Haarlow, WSU's assistant VP and chief operating officer, will serve as interim AD, according to the press release. WSU will conduct a national search for its next athletic director. The Seattle Times' Percy Allen first reported that McCoy was "out" as AD. McCoy hired football coach Jimmy Rogers, men's basketball coach David Riley, swimming coach Russ Whitaker, women's golf coach Kevin Tucker and retained women's basketball coach Kamie Ethridge through a contract extension. The longtime Pullman resident had worked for WSU athletics in various capacities…...