Washington State Cougars Preview 2024
It’s been a rough year.
Washington State was coming off two straight winning seasons under head coach Jake Dickert, there was a nice team of veterans in place led by star QB Cam Ward, and then came the disaster of all college athletic department disasters, at least from the business side of things.
The Pac-12 imploded, Washington State was left without a chair when the music stopped, and suddenly the world didn’t make any sense. On the field, though, a 4-0 start with wins over Wisconsin and Oregon State led to a No. 13 ranking in the AP Poll, and then …
It’s been a rough year, at least once October started.
The schedule got nastier, the offense fell flat, it somehow fell even flatter, the defense stumbled, and a 1-7 finish made all the real world problems that much worse.
But all things considered going into 2024, Wazzu is okay - especially compared to an Oregon State program undergoing an overhaul.
Ward is gone, but there’s experience, Dickert is still in place, and the transfer portal was shockingly a positive.
The sympathies are there from of a college athletic world that thinks what happened to Wazzu was unfair, the spotlight will be on, and for now, life as an independent - with a flirtation with the Mountain West burgeoning - might not be so awful, at least on the field.
Washington State Preview 2024: Offense
- This will take a little work. The Wazzu attack still has no running game, and Ward is off to Miami. The O finished 35th in the nation but was wildly inconsistent, rarely clutch, and now it needs to get the timing and consistency down fast …
- There’s a fight for the starting quarterback gig. 2023 backup John Mateer gets the first look, transfer Zevi Ekhaus (Bryant) is in the mix, and this will take a bit to lock down. Mateer needs more time logged in, Ekhaus is good on the move, and … it’ll be fine in time as long as the receivers step up.
The top two targets - Lincoln Victor and Josh Kelly - are gone, but 61-catch Kyle Williams is back along with outside target Carlos Hernandez and midrange tight end Cooper Mathers. The Cougars did a nice job for the corps in the portal landing Kris Hutson from Oregon helps. But …
- The offensive line has to give everyone time to work. It allowed over three sacks per game along with way too many tackles for loss. On the plus side, experience shouldn’t be a problem with four starters likely back headed by senior Esa Pole at left tackle.
The ground game is along for the ride, but two of the top three backs Djouvensky Schlenbacker and Dylan Paine are back - they combined for just 296 yards and a score.
Washington State Preview 2024: Defense
- The D improved as the season went on. Overall it was okay - it didn’t quite have the problems the offensive side had - but there wasn’t any pass rush and a midseason lull was a killer. Fortunately …
- There’s a lot to like. The linebacking corps gets back leading tackler Kyle Thornton along with Tariq Al-Uqdah in the middle, and the transfer portal helped beef up the options.
They’ll have plenty of work to do behind a rebuilding line around David Gusta at one tackle spot Nusi Malani on the end. They all need to get into the backfield more because …
- The secondary needs a slew of replacements. Fortunately, the Cougars are loaded with options to push for gigs. Kapena Gushiken made 36 tackles in a nickel role and should be locked down, but star safeties Jaden Hicks and Sam Lockett are gone at the other safety spots.
The starting corners need replacing, too - Jamorri Colson and Stephen Hall have enough time logged in to be okay.
Washington State Key To The Season
Be consistently awesome at throwing the ball.
If you’re going to be the team that throws and throws some more without a real interest in the ground game, you’d better do it really, really well. That starts with better pass protection, but in this attack, it really is as simple as hitting the throws.
The Cougars were 3-0 when hitting more than 70% of their passes, 2-7 when they didn’t, and it often took a ton of yards pro win. If they don’t put up at least 350 yards per game there’s a problem. But that means …
Washington State Key Player
OT Esa Pole, Sr.
Again, the offense has to be better at keeping the quarterbacks clean. The experienced line has to come through, and that starts with the 6-7, 323-pound left tackle who came up with a decent 2023 after transferring from Chabot College. With his size and experience he has to be the anchor.
Washington State Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: WR Kris Hutson The Cougar receiving corps got plenty of help from the transfer portal, and there were already a few nice pieces in place. Now they have a veteran speedster with huge upside. He was out of the Oregon mix for most of last year after catching 75 passes in the previous two seasons, and now he should be a volume catcher on the inside.
Top Transfer Out: QB Cameron Ward
A star at Incarnate Word, he was the perfect option for the Wazzu offense, and it worked. The wins might not have been there last season, but in his two years he threw for close to 7,000 yards and 48 touchdowns with 13 rushing scores. He played around with going to the NFL, but he turned into a great get to run Miami’s attack.
Washington State Key Game
Texas Tech, Sept. 7
Just how much has changed for Washington State? Over the last two years the team beat Wisconsin in Week 2, but last season it went 1-7 after starting 4-0.
On the other side, Texas Tech lost at Wyoming early last year. With an early Apple Cup at Washington a week later, and a slew of Mountain West games to follow, the rest of the season gets interesting in a hurry. Even with a slew of tough games to deal with, beat Texas Tech, and getting to six wins and a bowl is nearly a lock.
Washington State 10 Best Players
1. Kyle Thornton, LB Sr.
2. Kyle Williams, WR Sr.
3. Cooper Mathers, TE Sr.
4. Syrus Webster, DE Sr.
5. NIck Haberer, P Sr.
6. Kris Hutson, WR Sr.
7. Taariq Al-Uqdah, LB Soph.
8. John Mateer, QB Soph.
9. Esa Pole, OT Sr.
10. Djouvensky Schlenbaker, RB Soph.
Washington State 2023 Fun Stats
- 1st Quarter Scoring: Washington State 104, Opponents 61
- 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 12-of-19 (63%), Washington State 12-of-26 (46%)
- Sacks: Opponents 37 for 248 yards, Washington State 24 for 174 yards
Washington State 2024 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Injuries, inconsistencies, and the tough part of the slate in a tough Pac-12 led to the fall off the cliff last season. This year, despite all of the drama, there’s enough in place to get back on track with a third winning season in four years.
Replacing most of the Pac-12 teams on the 2023 slate - Oregon State and Washington the exceptions - with Mountain West programs will help. That might seem better, but in some ways it’s not.
Fortunately there are five relatively certain built in wins, but it’ll be tough to get on a roll. Unlike last season, it’ll be a hard start with a tough stretch - Texas Tech, at Washington, San Jose State, at Boise State, and at Fresno State - in the first half.
The second half will ease up, and that’s when Wazzu will hit its stride.
Set The Washington State Win Total At … 6.5
Likely Wins: Hawaii, at New Mexico, Portland State, San Jose State
50/50 Games: at Oregon State, at San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming
Likely Losses: at Boise State, at Fresno State, Texas Tech, at Washington
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