NCAA football

PULLMAN – Throughout Washington State football’s spring practices with two-hand touch tackling, running back Maxwell Woods will receive a handoff, take off upfield, encounter a defender, make his move and dash past.

The Pac-12’s postseason lineup began to take shape Friday with information published by the bowl season’s governing body, albeit with one lingering question:

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Palouse, at least on the eastern side, is the domain of University of Idaho starting quarterback Joshua Wood, who threw for 1,898 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for another 589 yards and seven TDs as a redshirt sophomore last season.

Matching the Pac-12 legacy schools would cut down non-conference travel (and costs) and help maintain the regional competitions that are critical for the overall welfare of college sports. But from a practical standpoint, there are obstacles – particularly in football, where non-conference scheduling is vastly more complicated than the basketball version.

PULLMAN – When he talks, at least in front of a collection of cameras, Paul Hutson III likes to keep his eyes down. At that angle, his dreadlocks hang in front of his face, partially obscuring his face. He talks a bit quietly.

PULLMAN – A beaming grin washes over the face of Leo Pulalasi, one of the Washington State running backs who chose to return to the team. It’s the end of the Cougars’ seventh spring practice, which unfolded last week, and he’s asked if anything about this spring slate, the coaching or the structure or anything else, has taken him by surprise.

Sophomore safety Rylon Dillard-Allen and the rest of his Washington teammates spent their seventh spring practice at the VMAC, around 15 miles southeast of their normal practice facilities on Montlake.

Pac-12 executives are gathering this week at Oregon State for three days of meetings that will address a barrage of topics but are not expected to produce significant news.

PULLMAN – Stop by any of Washington State’s spring practices lately, check out the Cougars’ first-team offensive line unit and you might get confused.

A judge sentenced Moore to 18 months' probation following his no-contest plea last month on two misdemeanor charges. Judge J. Cedric Simpson said Moore's offense did not warrant jail time but delivered stern words to Moore from the bench.

PULLMAN – Not long after entering the transfer portal in the winter, DJ Warner got a call from a name he recognized. On the other end was Trent Bray, who had recently become the defensive coordinator at Washington State, and he was interested in bringing Warner along.

MOSCOW, Idaho – If Ferrari Miller’s middle name isn’t Mack, it ought to be.

Right after the second-to-last play of the first drive of the 2025 season, during Eastern Washington’s opening game at Incarnate Word, McKel Broussard pretty well understood that his season was over.

PULLMAN – Jaylen Thomas took off in a full sprint, the ball in his right hand and his sights set on whatever was on the opposite end of Rogers Practice Field. He had just snagged an interception in the opposite end zone during one team period in Thursday’s Washington State practice, and as the morning sun beamed down, he had to celebrate.

PULLMAN – Matyus McLain’s life trajectory changed in the middle of nowhere, on a nondescript part of Interstate 5 in Oregon. It was early January, and after spending the first three years of his career playing defensive end at Idaho, McLain entered the transfer portal to look for a new home.

PULLMAN – Five Washington State teams, a former star Cougs linebacker and a longtime volleyball coach will be inducted into WSU athletics' Hall of Fame this fall, the school recently announced.

Eastern Washington athletics' 2026 Hall of Fame class, revealed by the school Wednesday, is headlined by a pair of All-American football players who starred for the celebrated 2004 team, which is also being inducted when EWU holds its ceremony Oct. 10.

Before she fired athletic director Anne McCoy last fall, Washington State president Elizabeth Cantwell spoke publicly about the need to improve fundraising efforts with an emphasis on NIL.

PULLMAN – When you talk to him, one thing stands out about Jack Pedersen, one of Washington State’s new tight ends.