Breaking down Washington State's 2023 football schedule
Washington State's full 12-game 2023 football schedule was officially released Wednesday, featuring a late home game against Colorado and new head coach Deion Sanders, no matchups against USC or Utah and an early bye week.
Here's a look at the full slate, and then we'll get into our breakdown ...
The Non-Conference Schedule:
WSU first starts on the road against Colorado State in the return matchup of their 2022-2023 home -and-home series, after the Cougars beat down the Rams 38-7 in Pullman this past season.
The first home game comes against Wisconsin, which is projected to be a good team under new head coach Luke Fickell, formerly of Cincinnati. The Badgers really improved this offseason, snagging QB Tanner Mordecai in the transfer portal from SMU, along with WR CJ Williams from USC. This will be a fun game to watch and is also rematch of sorts after the Cougars beat the Badgers, 17-14, in Madison, Wisc., last September.
The final non-conference game is a home game against Northern Colorado, of the FCS ranks. The last time these two teams played in Pullman, WSU easily handled the Bears 59-17 in the 2019 season.
Pac-12 Play:
WSU welcomes Oregon State for the first of its nine Pac-12 regular season matchups, in what should be an interesting contest in the Palouse. The last time Oregon State won in Pullman was all the way back in 2013, but the Beavers are coming off their first 10-win season in 16 years.
After a Week 5 bye, the Cougars travel down to Los Angeles to face UCLA in the Rose Bowl in the schools’ first meeting since the infamous 67-63 Bruins win in Pullman that left WSU fans speechless.
The Cougars host Arizona, where the main storyline will of course be former WSU QB Jayden de Laura coming back to Pullman in a different uniform for the first time.
WSU then has two challenging road matchups at Oregon and Arizona State in back-to-back weeks, in what should be the toughest stretch for the Cougars all season. Washington State played Oregon tough in Pullman last fall before losing 44-41, but playing in Autzen Stadium is never easy and the Ducks should again be a top Pac-12 contender.
Arizona State is now into the Kenny Dillingham era, and with that comes a lot of questions yet excitement for the program with the former Oregon offensive coordinator stepping into his first head coaching role. The Cougars also face off against their former DC Brian Ward and EDGEs coach A.J. Cooper, who both lef WSU this offseason to join the Sun Devils.
WSU starts the month of November at home against Stanford, looking to extend the winning streak to seven-straight wins against the Cardinal, which is now are under new head coach Troy Taylor after parting ways with David Shaw.
The Cougars then travel down to Berkeley to face a California Golden Bears entering a pivotal season for head coach Justin Wilcox after a 4-8 finish in 2022. Wilcox is hoping new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital can be the difference-maker for the program.
Senior day for the Cougars fall on a Friday when they welcome Colorado up to the Palouse the week before Thanksgiving to take on new head coach Deion Sanders and a new-look Buffaloes team up that has undergone a significant roster reconstruction this offseason.
The Cougars wrap up the 2023 season in Seattle to face cross-state rival Washington the Saturday after Thanksgiving during rivalry week in the annual Apple Cup game -- the one game all Cougars, WSU fans, and everyone in the state of Washington circles.
The Positives:
No Utah or USC on the schedule for the Cougars. Those two teams met in the Pac-12 championship game, and WSU had to face off against both of them in a two-week span during the 2022 season, losing to each.
They catch a major break this time around, as this is the first time since the 2016 season that the Cougars won’t have to face either Utah or USC during the regular season.
Overall, a lighter schedule should be conducive to improvement in the win column. The Cougars had to face Washington, Utah, USC, Oregon and Oregon State last season, five of the conference's six best teams who all ended up ranked in the final 2022 AP poll.
WSU’s hardest matchups for the 2023 season are the Apple Cup in Seattle, Oregon on the road, and either the Beavers in Pullman of the Bruins in LA.
The Negatives:
The early bye. The Cougars have their bye week after their first conference game against Oregon State at home in September. WSU has eight straight games to finish the season and will have a true gantlet, playing two straight months of conference play with no breaks.
Colorado was one of the most anticipated matchups of the regular season after a headline-driving offseason for the Buffaloes, who substantially upgraded the talent on the roster since Sanders was hired.
The Cougars, unfortunately, get the worst slot for the matchup, the Friday before Thanksgiving where historically most students in Pullman have already left to go home for the break and the alumni section can’t make it on Friday nights.
Overall Favorable Grade: 7/10
This schedule is definitely favorable for the Cougars after a rough 2022 schedule, which was harder than originally thought.
After comparing the two schedules, the 2023 campaign looks a lot more manageable for a young WSU team that will again be going through some adjustments with two new coordinators.
My early prediction for the 2023 schedule? The Cougars will go 8-4 after starting the season 2-2, with big wins at Arizona State, home against Colorado with the closest game being against the Ducks in Autzen (however it shakes out).