NCAA football

PULLMAN – Washington State might play its bowl game on the moon.

PULLMAN – Jaxon Potter has played his final snap at Washington State.

About a week ago, I read a story in which a writer predicted that Washington football coach Jedd Fisch would take the then-vacant Florida job. The author of said story said the hire wouldn’t necessarily be “flashy” if it came to pass but acknowledged the possibility that it might happen.

On Feb. 7, 2024, Jedd Fisch stated his goal was to sign the best recruiting class in Washington’s history during the 2025 recruiting cycle.

After graduating 20 players off of its 2025 roster, the Eastern Washington football program signed 14 players – all but one of them high school seniors – on the first day of the December signing period on Wednesday.

PULLMAN – Before the sun could make its way over the rolling hills of the Palouse on Wednesday morning, Jimmy Rogers was in the Cougar Football Complex. It was the first day of college football’s early signing period, and WSU was set to sign more than two dozen players, but the start time still registered as a little earlier than normal around here.

Reading the tea leaves in recruiting is always a fun but frequently frustrating endeavor. In looking for subtle tells about how the University of Idaho did, however, there is this: the Vandals had a class of 20 signed up by noon. These new Vandals want to be Vandals.

The carousel is spinning at dizzying speed, with two dozen major college football programs (out of 136) changing coaches this season. More dismissals, departures and retirements are expected in coming weeks, pushing the industry to an unprecedented level of turnover.

The former Washington and Washington State assistant was once an All-American wide receiver at Division III DePauw (Ind.) University. The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Fort Wayne, Ind., captained the football and track and field teams, before graduating with a degree in sports medicine in 2005.

PULLMAN – With less than a day until the early signing period, Washington State is strengthening its recruiting pipeline in the South.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Lane Kiffin welcomed anyone driving into Baton Rouge via Interstate 10 East on Monday morning with a billboard at the Highland Road exit, the first exit at the city limits. He welcomed drivers again once they reached the Acadian Thruway/LSU exit with another billboard. Those walking around Tiger Stadium and peeking through the gates could see Kiffin’s image again and again, splashed across multiple screens throughout the concession areas.

A little more than a week removed from its final game of the season, Eastern Washington’s football program has entered a phase of its calendar that may as well be called “retention.”

Washington State is bowl-eligible again after smashing Oregon State in the regular-season finale.

PULLMAN – Angel Johnson cradled the football in his right hand and stomped his feet. His breath came billowing out of his face mask and into the night air at Gesa Field, where he had just glided into the end zone, putting the exclamation mark on his Washington State team’s blowout win over Oregon State in both teams’ regular-season finales.

SEATTLE – Trailing 19-14 with 8 minutes, 5 seconds left Saturday, Washington had an opportunity to get the ball back and beat Oregon. Instead, Ducks quarterback Dante Moore took a shotgun snap on third-and-9, stepped up and drilled a dart to wide receiver Malik Benson, who split cornerbacks Ephesians Prysock and Dylan Robinson for a 64-yard score.

And now, some final thoughts from college football’s Week 14, when it appeared someone was holding ESPN’s Marty Smith captive in the Ole Miss football facility during an all-day Lane Kiffin vigil. Hopefully he saw some games.

On the final night of the final weekend of the regular season, a path into the College Football Playoff opened for the collection of teams that will form the rebuilt Pac-12.

When halftime hits at Gesa Field, teams are put on something of a collision course. The path to Washington State’s locker room takes the Cougars from the far sideline to the opposite side of the field. The path to the visitors’ takes the guests across the field too. The Cougs will often cross paths with their opponent, but it’s rarely an eventful sequence.

Raam Stevenson’s face crept into a wry grin. He was sitting atop a podium, not far from the field where his Washington State team reached bowl eligibility with a 32-8 dismantling of Oregon State, and as a key cog in the Cougars’ defense, he could see where this question was going.