2019 Washington State Cougars football team

The 2019 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Mike Leach, the Cougars competed in the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, and played their home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

2019 Washington State Cougars football
Cheez-It Bowl, L 21–31 vs. Air Force
ConferencePac–12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Record6–7 (3–6 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive schemeAir raid
Defensive coordinatorTracy Claeys (2nd season; first 5 games)
Co-defensive coordinatorDarcel McBath (interim; games 6–13)
Co-defensive coordinatorRoc Bellantoni (interim; games 6–13)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 5 Oregon x$   8 1     12 2  
California   4 5     8 5  
Washington   4 5     8 5  
Oregon State   4 5     5 7  
Washington State   3 6     6 7  
Stanford   3 6     4 8  
South Division
No. 16 Utah x   8 1     11 3  
USC   7 2     8 5  
Arizona State   4 5     8 5  
UCLA   4 5     4 8  
Colorado   3 6     5 7  
Arizona   2 7     4 8  
Championship: Oregon 37, Utah 15
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

WSU finished the regular season at 6–6, 3–6 in Pac-12 play, tied for fifth in the Northern Division. They were invited to the Cheez-It Bowl in Phoenix in late December, but lost 31–21 to Air Force. On January 9, Leach departed for Mississippi State,[1][2] and less than a week later, athletic director Pat Chun hired Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich.[3][4]

Preseason

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Pac-12 media days

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Pac-12 media polls

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In the Pac-12 preseason media poll, Washington State was voted to finish in fourth place in the North Division and fifth place in the Pac-12 Championship.[5]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:00 p.m.New Mexico State*No. 23P12NW 58–727,228
September 72:00 p.m.Northern Colorado*No. 22
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
P12NW 59–1727,585
September 136:15 p.m.vs. Houston*No. 20ESPNW 31–2440,523
September 217:30 p.m.UCLANo. 19
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
ESPNL 63–6732,952
September 287:00 p.m.at No. 19 UtahFS1L 13–3846,115
October 1212:30 p.m.at No. 18 Arizona StateP12NL 34–3848,536
October 194:00 p.m.Colorado 
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
ESPNUW 41–1028,514
October 267:30 p.m.at No. 11 OregonESPNL 35–3759,361
November 94:00 p.m.at CaliforniaP12NL 20–3339,168
November 161:30 p.m.Stanford
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
P12NW 49–2232,952
November 236:00 p.m.Oregon State
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
P12NW 54–5322,016
November 291:00 p.m.at WashingtonFOXL 13–3170,931
December 277:15 p.m.vs. Air Force*ESPNL 21–31 34,105
Source:[6]

Conference opponents not played this season: Arizona, USC

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP23222019RV
Coaches21212019RVRVRV
CFPNot releasedNot released

Personnel

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Coaching staff

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Staff for the 2019 season.[7]

Name Position Season
Mike Leach Head Coach, offensive coordinator 8th
Darcel McBath and Roc Bellantoni Co-defensive coordinators 1st
Ken Wilson Linebackers 5th
Kendrick Shaver Safeties 1st
Steve Spurrier Jr. Outside Receivers 1st
Dave Nichol Inside receivers 2nd
Mason Miller Offensive line 2nd
Jeff Phelps Defensive line 2nd
Matt Brock Outside Linebackers 1st
Eric Mele Running backs 3rd
Dave Emerick Chief of staff 6th
Antonio Huffman Director of Football Operations 6th
Tyson Brown Strength and conditioning 1st
Price Ferguson Offensive Quality Control 3rd
Darcel McBath Defensive backs 2nd

Roster

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2019 Washington State football roster

Quarterbacks

  •  2 Cammon Cooper –   freshman (6'4, 205)
  • 10 Trey Tinsley –   senior (6'3, 215)
  • 11 John Bledsoe –   sophomore (6'3, 220)
  • 18 Anthony Gordon  senior (6'3, 200)
  •  - Gunner Cruz – freshman (6'5, 230)
  •  - Gage Gubrud  senior (6'2, 205)

Running back

  • 21 Max Borghisophomore (5'10, 195)
  • 31 Dominic Tominiko –   freshman (5'9, 243)

Fullbacks

  • 39 Clay Markoff –   freshman (5'9, 235)

Wide receivers

  •  1 Davontavean Martin – junior (6'3, 185)
  •  5 Travell Harris –   sophomore (5'9, 180)
  •  6 Jamire Calvin – junior (5'10, 160)
  •  8 Easop Winston  senior (5'11, 190)
  • 12 Dezmon Patmonsenior (6'4, 220)
  • 19 Brandon Arconado –   senior (6'0, 190)
  • 80 Hayden Harvey –   sophomore (6’2, 165)
  • 81 Renard Bell –   junior (5'8, 162)
  • 82 Lucas Bacon –   freshman (6'2, 205)
  • 83 Brandon Gray –   freshman (6'5, 190)
  • 84 Kassidy Woods –   freshman (6'4, 205)
  • 85 Calvin Jackson Jr.senior (5'10, 170)
  • 87 Nicky McManamon Jr. –   freshman (6'2, 175)
  • 88 Rodrick Fisher –   freshman (6'2, 195)
  • 89 Mitchell Quinn –   freshman (5'11 160)
  •  - Billy Pospisil III – freshman (5'10, 190)
 

Offensive linemen

  • 55 Noah Osur-Myers –   senior (6'4, 310)
  • 59 Brian Greene –   sophomore (6’3, 305)
  • 61 Hunter Mayginnes –   freshman (6’5, 320)
  • 63 Liam Ryan –   junior (6’5, 295)
  • 65 Josh Watson –   junior (6'4, 300)
  • 66 Jarrett Kingston  freshman (6’5, 260)
  • 67 Seth Yost –   sophomore (6'7, 300)
  • 69 Frederick Mauigoa – senior (6'3, 305)
  • 70 Christian Haangana –   junior (6’4, 345)
  • 72 Abraham Lucas  sophomore (6’7, 320)
  • 75 Cade Beresford –   freshman (6’7, 275)
  • 78 Syr Riley –   freshman (6’4, 365)
  • 79 Blake McDonald –   freshman (6'5, 330)

Defensive linemen

  •  9 Lamonte McDougle –   sophomore (6'0, 305)
  • 30 Nnamdi Oguayo –   senior (6’3, 252)
  • 55 Derek Moore – senior (6’1, 250)
  • 64 Michael Van Beek –   freshman (6’2, 285)
  • 73 Austin Martin –   freshman (6'2, 292)
  • 77 Beau Braden –   freshman (6’4, 235)
  • 84 Jesus Echevarria –   sophomore (6’2, 300)
  • 90 Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei – senior (6’3, 265)
  • 92 Will Rogers III – junior (6'5, 250)
  • 93 Christian Mejia –   sophomore (6’3, 245)
  • 94 Brennan Jackson  freshman (6'5, 235)
  • 95 Ahmir Crowder –   freshman (6'3, 255)
  • 98 Dallas Hobbs –   sophomore (6’6, 280)

Punters

  • 40 Blake Mazza  sophomore (5'9, 165)
  • 94 Oscar Draguicevich III –   junior (5'11, 180)
 

Linebackers

  • 10 Ron Stone Jr. –   freshman (6’3, 210)
  • 13 Jahad Woods –   junior (6'0, 225)
  • 20 Dominick Silvels – junior (6’3, 230)
  • 27 Willie Taylor III –   sophomore (6’4, 235)
  • 37 Justus Rogers –   junior (6'2, 230)
  • 41 Dillon Sherman –   junior (6’2, 225)
  • 44 Tristan Brock –   senior (6’0, 240)
  • 48 Isaiah Henderson-Brazie –   freshman (6'1, 230)
  • 50 Carson Block –   senior (6’1, 235)
  • 51 Hank Pladson –   freshman (6'0, 205)
  • 53 Ricky Baker –   freshman (5'11, 221)
  • 58 Fa'Avae Fa'Avae –   sophomore (6'0, 225)
  • 59 Cole Dubots –   sophomore (6'1, 210)
  •  - Rocky Katoanga – freshman (6’2, 245)

Defensive backs

  •  1 Tyrese Ross –   freshman (6’1, 180)
  •  4 Marcus Strong – senior (5’9, 185)
  • 18 George Hicks III – junior (6’0, 190)
  • 21 William Overstreet –   freshman (5'10, 180)
  • 25 Skyler Thomas –   junior (5’9, 185)
  • 28 Chad Davis Jr. –   sophomore (6'2, 200)
  • 32 Patrick Nunn –   freshman (6'4, 205)
  • 34 Jalen Thompsonsenior (6'0, 190)
  • 35 Armani Marsh –   sophomore (5’8, 175)
  • 36 Kedron Williams – sophomore (6'0, 185)
  • 39 Damion Lee –   sophomore (6’0, 195)
  • 42 Halid Djibril –   freshman (6'0, 190)
  •  - Bryce Beekman –   junior (6’2, 185)
  •  - Gatlin Grisso – freshman (6’0, 190)
  •  - Daniel Isom –   junior (5’11, 175)
  •  - Derrick Langford – sophomore (6'2, 190)
  •  - Shahman Moore –   junior (6’1, 165)

Placekickers

  • 27 Logan Prescott –   freshman (5'11, 198)
  • 33 Jack Crane –   junior (6'2, 190)
  • 96 Johan Zetterberg –   sophomore (6'2, 205)

Long snappers

  • 54 Tyler Williams –   freshman (6'3, 195)

Source:[8]

Game summaries

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New Mexico State

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New Mexico State Aggies at No. 23 Washington State Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Aggies 7 0 007
No. 23 Cougars 14 21 131058

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

Statistics NMSU WSU
First downs 18 28
Total yards 317 618
Rushing yards 96 111
Passing yards 221 507
Turnovers 3 0
Time of possession 25:19 34:41
Team Category Player Statistics
New Mexico State Passing Josh Adkins 28/42, 221 yards, 2 INT
Rushing Jason Huntley 9 rushes, 57 yards
Receiving O. J. Clark 7 receptions, 47 yards
Washington State Passing Anthony Gordon 29/35, 420 yards, 5 TD
Rushing Max Borghi 10 rushes, 128 yards, TD
Receiving Dezmon Patmon 7 receptions, 103 yards, TD

Northern Colorado

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Northern Colorado Bears at No. 22 Washington State Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 3 0717
No. 22 Cougars 14 10 211459

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 80 °F (27 °C)
  • Game attendance: 27,585
  • Referee: Mark Duddy
  • TV announcers (P12N): Jim Watson and Jeremy Bloom
  • Box score, Recap
Statistics UNCO WSU
First downs 21 25
Total yards 355 594
Rushing yards 216 113
Passing yards 139 481
Turnovers 4 1
Time of possession 36:01 23:59
Team Category Player Statistics
Northern Colorado Passing Jacob Knipp 8/15, 128 yards
Rushing Milo Hall 31 rushes, 113 yards, TD
Receiving Noah Sol 2 receptions, 47 yards
Washington State Passing Anthony Gordon 31/39, 464 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing Deon McIntosh 4 rushes, 52 yards, TD
Receiving Brandon Arconado 8 receptions, 127 yards, TD

Vs. Houston

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No. 20 Washington State Cougars vs. Houston Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 20 WSU Cougars 0 7 141031
HOU Cougars 0 14 01024

at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Statistics WSU HOU
First downs 25 22
Total yards 489 367
Rushing yards 49 239
Passing yards 440 128
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 32:06 27:54
Team Category Player Statistics
Washington State Passing Anthony Gordon 36/48, 440 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing Max Borghi 9 rushes, 40 yards, TD
Receiving Brandon Arconado 3 receptions, 115 yards
Houston Passing D'Eriq King 13/24, 128 yards, TD
Rushing D'Eriq King 17 rushes, 94 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Keith Corbin 3 receptions, 54 yards

UCLA

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UCLA Bruins at Washington State Cougars – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bruins 10 7 212967
No. 19 Cougars 7 28 141463

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

Game information
First quarter
  • UCLA – Joshua Kelley 14-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (J. J. Molson kick), 13:11. Bruins 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 29 yards, 0:34.
  • WSU – Easop Winston 4-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 10:14. Tied 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:57.
  • UCLA – J. J. Molson 31-yard field goal, 4:49. Bruins 10–7. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 5:25.

Second quarter

  • WSU – Easop Winston 28-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 13:02. Cougars 14–10. Drive: 5 plays, 78 yards, 1:58.
  • WSU – Travell Harris 10-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 8:14. Cougars 21–10. Drive: 2 plays, 14 yards, 0:41.
  • UCLA – Demetric Fulton 100-yard kickoff return (J. J. Molson kick), 7:58. Cougars 21–17.
  • WSU – Easop Winston 3-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 3:51. Cougars 28–17. Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 4:07.
  • WSU – Davontavean Martin 7-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 0:27. Cougars 35–17. Drive: 7 plays, 90 yards, 2:20.

Third quarter

  • WSU – Renard Bell 35-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 8:09. Cougars 42–17. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:06.
  • WSU – Dezmon Patmon 6-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 6:52. Cougars 49–17. Drive: 1 play, 6 yards, 0:04.
  • UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson 1-yard run (J. J. Molson kick), 3:48. Cougars 49–24. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:04.
  • UCLA – Chase Cota 37-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (J. J. Molson kick), 3:33. Cougars 49–31. Drive: 1 play, 37 yards, 0:07.
  • UCLA – Demetric Felton 94-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (J. J. Molson kick), 1:21. Cougars 49–38. Drive: 1 play, 94 yards, 0:13.

Fourth quarter

  • UCLA – Devin Asiasi 7-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Dorian Thompson-Robinson pass to Chase Cota), 14:28. Cougars 49–46. Drive: 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:08.
  • WSU – Easop Winston 33-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 10:08. Cougars 56–46. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:20.
  • UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson 3-yard run (J. J. Molson kick), 8:10. Cougars 56–53. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 1:58.
  • UCLA – Kyle Philips 69-yard punt return (J. J. Molson kick), 7:31. Bruins 60–56.
  • WSU – Max Broghi 65-yard pass from Anthony Gordon (Blake Mazza kick), 6:11. Cougars 63–60. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:20.
  • UCLA – Demetric Felton 15-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (J. J. Molson kick), 1:07. Bruins 67–63. Drive: 4 plays, 26 yards, 1:20.
Statistics UCLA WSU
First downs 28 28
Total yards 657 720
Rushing yards 150 150
Passing yards 507 570
Turnovers 1 6
Time of possession 29:27 30:33
Team Category Player Statistics
UCLA Passing Dorian Thompson-Robinson 25/38, 507 yards, 5 TD, INT
Rushing Joshua Kelley 20 rushes, 90 yards
Receiving Demetric Felton 7 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TD
Washington State Passing Anthony Gordon 41/61, 570 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Max Borghi 15 rushes, 123 yards
Receiving Easop Winston 10 receptions, 114 yards, 4 TD

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Cougars jumped out to a 49–17 lead midway through the third quarter. However, turnovers on offense, a collapsing defense, and giving up a touchdown on special teams would prove costly for Washington State as UCLA would come back to win 67–63. Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon broke the school record for touchdown passes, throwing for nine in the game; the previous record of seven was set by Gardner Minshew the previous season against Arizona.[9]

At Utah

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 7 6 0 0 13
Utes 7 14 10 7 38

At Arizona State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 10 7 14 3 34
No. 18 Sun Devils 0 17 7 14 38

Colorado

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1 2 3 4 Total
Buffaloes 3 0 7 0 10
Cougars 21 3 7 10 41

At Oregon

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 3 14 3 15 35
No. 11 Ducks 9 8 7 13 37

At California

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 5 6 3 6 20
Golden Bears 6 7 7 13 33

Stanford

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinal 0 14 8 0 22
Cougars 13 9 10 17 49

Oregon State

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Oregon State Beavers (5–5) at Washington State Cougars (5–5)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Beavers 7 17 02953
Cougars 7 14 141954

at Martin Stadium, Pullman, Washington

  • Date: November 23, 2019
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 38 °F (3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 22,016
  • Referee: Kevin Mar
  • TV: Pac-12 Network
  • Box Score
Game information

At Washington

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Washington State Cougars (6–5) at Washington Huskies (6–5)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cougars 7 3 3013
Huskies 7 14 7331

at Husky StadiumSeattle, WA

  • Date: November 29, 2019
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 70,931
  • TV: FOX/FS1
Game information
Top passers
  • WSU – Anthony Gordon – 48-62, 308 yards, 2 INT
  • UW – Jacob Eason – 15-22, 244 yards, 1 TD
Top rushers
  • WSU – Max Borghi – 10 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD
  • UW – Salvon Ahmed – 16 carries, 85 yards
Top receiving
  • WSU – Renard Bell – 9 receptions, 87 yards
  • UW – Hunter Bryant – 6 receptions, 96 yards

Vs. Air Force (Cheez-It Bowl)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 0 17 7 7 31
Cougars 0 14 0 7 21

Awards

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Player Award Date
Anthony Gordon Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week[10] September 3, 2019
Liam Ryan Pac-12 Offensive Line Player of the Week[10] September 3, 2019
Anthony Gordon Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week[11] September 16, 2019
Anthony Gordon Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week[12] November 18, 2019
Abraham Lucas Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week[13] November 25, 2019
Anthony Gordon 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Offense[14] December 10, 2019
Abraham Lucas 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Offense[14] December 10, 2019
Blake Mazza 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference First Team Specialists[14] December 10, 2019
Travion Brown 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team Specialists[14] December 10, 2019
Max Borghi 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[14] December 10, 2019
Josh Watson 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[14] December 10, 2019
Easop Winston 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[14] December 10, 2019
Jahad Woods 2019 All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention[14] December 10, 2019

NFL draft

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Player Position Round Overall NFL club
Dezmon Patmon WR 6 212 Indianapolis Colts

References

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  1. ^ Mickanen, Dylan. "Reports: Mike Leach hired as Mississippi State head coach". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Sallee, Barrett (January 9, 2020). "Mississippi State hires Washington State's Mike Leach to be next head coach". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Shapiro, Michael. "Report: Washington State to Hire Hawaii's Nick Rolovich as Head coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Thamel, Pete. "Sources: Washington State finalizing deal to hire Hawaii's Nick Rolovich as next football coach". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "Utah picked as Pac-12 favorite in preseason media poll". pac-12.com. July 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Lawson, Theo."Two bye weeks, six road games on the docket for Washington State football in 2019", December 4, 2018, retrieved February 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Football Coaches - Washington State University Athletics". Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "2019 Football Spring Roster", WSUCougars.com, March 14, 2019.
  9. ^ "UCLA, down 32 in 3rd, rallies to stun No. 19 WSU". ESPN. September 22, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 1" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 3" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  12. ^ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 12" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week 13" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h "Pac-12 Football All-Conference Honors" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.