No. 19 WASHINGTON STATE HOSTS ARIZONA ON HOMECOMING WEEKEND
No. 19 Washington State returns to Gesa Field to host Arizona on Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff is schedule for 4 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

SERIES HISTORY
Washington State trails the all-time series with Arizona 19-27 but has won the last three meetings including a 31-20 win in Tucson last season. The Cougars are 7-11 all-time against the Wildcats in Pullman but have won the last three meetings at Gesa Field including a 44-18 win in 2021. Arizona's last win in the series came in 2017 in Tucson and last win in Pullman came in 2014.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE 
Washington State enters the week with a 4-1 record for the second straight season and ranked No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top-25. WSU enters the week second in the country in passing (365.4) led by quarterback Cameron Ward who is sixth nationally (317.2), No. 11 in passing touchdowns (14) and fifth in total offense (336.6). The Cougar defense has forced eight turnovers while Edge Ron Stone Jr. owns the fourth-best defensive grade in the Pac-12. Head coach Jake Dickert  owns a 14-10 career record in his second full season and has led WSU to back-to-back bowl games.

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• WSU has reached a bowl game in the last seven full seasons, 2nd-longest bowl streak in the Pac-12 (Utah)
• WSU owns two Gesa Field sellouts this season (Wisconsin, Oregon State), fourth in the last two seasons 

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT (Player Notes Pages 10-18)
• QB Cameron Ward enters the week 6th in the country in passing (317.2) and 5th in total offense/g (336.6) 
• WR Josh Kelly enters the week 4th in Pac-12 with 5 TD rec, Kyle Williams with a catch in all 30 career games
• EDGE Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson enter the week 8th among active Pac-12 players with 14 career sacks
• CB Chau Smith-Wade owns the best defensive grade and best coverage grade among Pac-12 cornerbacks
• S Jaden Hicks is tied for 7th in the Pac-12 with 36 tackles, owns 5th-best safety coverage grade in Pac-12
• K Dean Janikowski's career-long 55-yard FG at CSU was WSU's longest since 2017, longest in Pac-12 in 2023
• P Nick Haberer was named among the Ray Guy Award Ray's 8 Punters of the Week, 9 punts, 4 inside 20 at UCLA  
• OL Fa'alili Fa'amoe, OL Ma'ake Fifita, OL Esa Pole, WR Lincoln Victor; Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the middle of the 2003 season, ESPN College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 293 last week at Texas-Oklahoma. The first appearance came in Austin, Texas (10/4/03) and the streak began two weeks later in Madison, Wisc. (10/18/03). Two flags – Ol' Crimson and Gray – have been flown in the background of the GameDay set. The Gray flag was added in 2014 after Whitey was retired in honor of Steve Gleason's "No White Flags." Appearance No. 217 was its first in Pullman (10/20/18), a 34-20 win over Oregon. 

ALL EYES ON THE COUGS
- Since 2015, WSU is 4th among Pac-12 and Big-12 teams in views per game (1.59 million)
- WSU is ranked No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top-25, ahead of 51 other power 5 teams (69)
- WSU owns the 5th-most wins in the Pac-12 over the last 10 seasons (65), 5th-best winning pct (58.0)
   ahead of Stanford, UCLA, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon State, Arizona
- WSU is looking to improve to 5-1 for the first time since 2018

COUGAR OFFENSE TAKING OFF
Washington State's offense has reached new heights in year one of new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. WSU enters the week second in the country in passing (365.4), No. 11 in 3rd-down conversions (50.8%), No. 12 in scoring (40.0) and No. 18 in total offense (469.0). 

Thru 5 games    2022    2023
Total Offense    380.8 (85th)    469.0 (18th)
Scoring    29.6 (72nd)    40.0 (12th)
Passing    289.0 (27th)    365.4 (2nd)
3rd Down %    39.3 (67th)    50.8 (11th)
Sacks Allowed    15 (112th)    11 (59th)

DEFENSE TAKEAWAYS
Since 2020, Washington State's defense has forced the second-most takeaways in the Pac-12 (64), only USC has more (71). The 2023 defense has opened the season with impressive performances.
at Colorado State - 37 rush yards allowed, 2 INT, Jaden Hicks 37-yard INT return for TD
Wisconsin - 90 rush yards allowed, 3 FF, 3 sacks, held All-American RB Braelon Allen to 20 rush yds
Northern Colorado - held UNC to 7 first-half points, 5 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, 5 QB hurries
Oregon State - held OSU to 198 pass yards, INT, 2 sacks, 6 tackles-for-loss, 2 fourth down stops
at UCLA - 9 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks, Kapena Gushiken 88-yard INT return for TD

RECORD BOOK WATCH (PAGE 7)
- EDGE Ron Stone Jr. owns 25 career tackles-for-loss, 7 away from the WSU Top-10
- EDGE Brennan Jackson owns 25.5 career tackles-for-loss, 6.5 away from the WSU Top-10
- Jackson and Stone Jr. each own 14 career sacks, 3 away from breaking into the WSU Top-10
- Kicker Dean Janikowski's 193 career points are the eighth-most points by a kicker in WSU history
- Janikowski's 29 career made field goals are 10th-most in WSU history
- Janikowski's 106 career made PAT are seventh-most in WSU history
- Janikowski's 80.5 career field goal percentage (29-36) is the second-best FG% in WSU history 
- Punter Nick Haberer is 10th in WSU history with 5,522 career punt yards
- Jake Dickert was just the third Cougar head coach to start 3-0 in each of his first two seasons 
(John R. Bender – 1906-08), Gus Welch – 1919-20)

CAMERON WARD OPENS 2023 IN STYLE
Quarterback Cameron Ward opened 2023 going 37-of-49 for a WSU career-high 451 yards along with three touchdown passes and a one-yard rushing touchdown in the 50-24 win at Colorado State. Ward added two more touchdown passes in the win over No. 19 Wisconsin week two, and exploded  with back-to-back five-touchdown games in wins over Northern Colorado and Oregon State, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another in each. 
- Ward is 6th in the NCAA in passing yards/g (317.2), 5th in total offense/g (336.6), 11th in pass TD (14)
- Ward's 451 passing yards were the most in a season opener since Connor Halliday (532, 2014) and the most in a season-opening win in program history
- Ward completed his first 12 passes against Northern Colorado, finished 20-of-26 for 327 yards, 4 TD
- In the win over No. 14 Oregon State, Ward went 28-of-34 for 404 yards, 1 rushing touchdown
   National Player of the Week (Walter Camp, Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award,  Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Reese's Senior Bowl, College Football Performance Awards)
   82.4 completion percentage was the 7th-best completion percentage in WSU single-game history 
   Completed 19 of his first 20 passes, including 14-straight completions to close the first half
- Ward was the first Power-5 quarterback to start the season with 1300 pass yards, 13 TD and 0 INT in the first four games since Tua Tagovailoa in 2019
- Ward owns 8 games as a Coug with a rushing TD and pass TD

HICKS EMERGES
Redshirt-sophomore safety Jaden Hicks opened 2023 with a pair of big nights beginning with a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown to go along with seven tackles, a shared sack and two pass breakups in the season-opening win at Colorado State. In the win over No. 19 Wisconsin, Hicks tallied nine tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass breakups and forced a fumble. Following the win, Hicks earned high praise from ProFootballFocus College, earning the best defensive grade among power 5 players (90.2). Last season, the Las Vegas native earned Freshman All-America honors after leading all Pac-12 freshmen defenders with 76 tackles.
- Bednarik Award Defensive Player of the Week (Wisconsin)
- Enters week tied for 7th in Pac-12 in tackles (36), made career-high 12 tackles at UCLA
- Enters week with 5th-best safety grade and 5th-best coverage grade among Pac-12 safeties (PFF)

RON STONE JR. COMES UP BIG IN WISCONSIN WIN
Edge Ron Stone Jr. was named the Bronko Nagurski Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week and Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman of the Week after making five tackles including two sacks and forced fumbles on both sacks in the 31-22 win over No. 19 Wisconsin in Pullman week two. The redshirt-senior's second strip sack of the game was recovered and returned for a touchdown by the Cougars late in the first half. The San Jose, Calif. native enters the week leading the team with three sacks and tied for the lead with 4.5 tackles-for-loss.

STONE AND JACKSON STRIKE TWICE IN WIN OVER NO. 19 WISCONSIN
Sixth-year senior Edge's Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson delivered some huge moments in the 31-22 win over No. 19 Wisconsin week two. Stone Jr. recorded a pair of sacks and forced fumbles on both sacks with Jackson recovering both fumbles, returning the second two yards for a touchdown late in the first half. 

WIDE RECEIVER DUO BREAKS OUT IN OREGON STATE WIN
Transfer wideouts Josh Kelly (Fresno State) and Kyle Williams (UNLV) have put up big numbers in the first five games of their Cougar careers. In the win over No. 14 Oregon State, Kelly matched a career-high with eight catches for career-highs of 159 receiving yards and three touchdowns while Williams caught seven passes for a career-high 174 yards including a 63-yard touchdown on WSU's second play of the game. It was the first time two Cougar wideouts went over 150 receiving yards since 2014 (California, Vince Mayle – 263, River Cracraft – 172).
- Kelly among Pac-12 leaders;  tied for 10th in catches (26), 4th in receiving touchdowns (5)
- Williams caught a touchdown in the first four games
- Williams owns a catch in all 30 career games (the first 25 at UNLV, 2020-22)

LINCOLN VICTOR'S HOT START
Senior wide receiver Lincoln Victor opened the 2023 campaign with a pair of big games beginning with career-highs of 11 catches for 168 yards in the win at Colorado State. The West Camas, Wash. native and Hawaii transfer two seasons ago had eight of his catches go for first downs, the most by any Pac-12 receiver week one. In the week two win over No. 19 Wisconsin, Victor caught seven passes for 55 yards including a one-yard touchdown and also threw a 39-yard completion, the longest by a non-quarterback since 2011. Victor added six catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns and completed a pass for a two-point conversion in last week;'s win over Northern Colorado
- 2 100-yard games in the first four weeks; 168 at Colorado State, 119 vs. Northern Colorado

NICK HABERER NAMED AMONG RAY GUY AWARD RAY'S 8 OF THE WEEK 
Punter Nick Haberer was named among the Ray Guy Award Ray's 8 of the Week, given to the nation's top eight punters of the week. The Ray Guy Award honors the nation's top collegiate punter in the FBS. Haberer was named to watch list prior to the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Haberer, a junior from Sunshine Coast, Australia, had an impressive performance at UCLA last Saturday, posting career-highs with nine punts, an average for 44.9 yards-per-punt, five were fair caught with four inside the 20. Through five games this season, Haberer is third in the Pac-12 averaging 44.17 yards-per-punt with seven inside the 20. 

SIX NAMED 2023 TEAM CAPTAINS 
WSU voted six players as team captains for the 2023 season; OL Konner Gomness, EDGE Brennan Jackson, CB Chau Smith-Wade, EDGE Ron Stone Jr., WR Lincoln Victor and QB Cameron Ward.

14 COUGS ENTER 2023 WITH DEGREES
Joshua Erling, LB    Accounting and Finance
Konner Gomness, OL    Social Sciences
Isaiah Hamilton, WR    Psychology (San Jose State)
Brennan Jackson, EDGE    Business Administration
Chris Jackson, DB    Social Science
Dean Janikowski, K    Digital Technology & Culture
Sam Lockett III, DB    Social Sciences
Ahmad McCullough, LB    Communications (Maryland)
Christy Nkanu, OL    Marketing (Southern Utah)
Devin Richardson, LB    Physical Culture and Sports (Texas)
Simon Samarzich, LS    Sport Management
Ron Stone Jr., EDGE    Public Relations
Kyle Thornton, LB    Economic Sciences
Nakia Watson, RB    Social Sciences

COUGAR FOOTBALL BROADCAST TEAM
Matt Chazanow is in his ninth season as the play-by-play voice for Cougar football, men's basketball and baseball broadcasts. Joining Chazanow for his sixth season will be former Cougar quarterback Alex Brink who is the only WSU quarterback to win three Apple Cups and was later a seventh-round draft pick by the Houston Texans. Returning for her 12th season as the sideline reporter is Jessamyn McIntyre.

NEW COACHES
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR / QUARTERBACKS
Ben Arbuckle arrives in Pullman having spent the past two seasons at Western Kentucky, serving as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the 2022 season. In his first season in that role, Arbuckle took the Hilltoppers to great heights as the team finished sixth in total offense (497.3 ypg) and 15th in scoring (36.4 ppg), while quarterback Austin Reed led the nation in passing yards (4,746) and was third in passing touchdowns (40). 

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR / LINEBACKERS
Jeff Schmedding returns to the Pacific Northwest having spent the past two seasons at Auburn, most recently serving as defensive coordinator. In 2022, Schmedding oversaw the development of All-SEC First Team edge rusher Derick Hall, who totaled 60 tackles, 12 TFL's and seven sacks. In his first season at Auburn (2021), the Tigers ranked 29th in rushing defense and 17th in tackles-for-loss. Schmedding spent the previous two seasons at Boise State as the defensive coordinator where in his first season leading the defense saw the Broncos claim the Mountain West Championship and finish in the top 25 nationally in team sacks (37) and scoring defense (20.6 ppg). 
 
WIDE RECEIVERS
Nick Edwards arrives in Pullman having spent the 2022 season as an offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons, working alongside the offensive coordinator with gameplan duties. Edwards joined Atlanta's staff after spending two seasons (2020-21) as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Cal Poly. Prior to his time at Cal Poly, Edwards spent three seasons (2017-19) as the wide receivers and running backs coach at Cal and three seasons (2014-16) at his alma mater, Eastern Washington, as the wide receivers coach where he coached future NFL wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne. 

EDGES
Frank Maile (MY-lay) joins Dickert's staff having spent the past two seasons at Boise State where he served as the Broncos' assistant head coach and defensive line coach. During the 2022 season, the Bronco defense led the way to a 10-4 overall record, including a victory over North Texas in the Frisco Bowl. The Broncos finished ninth nationally in total defense and 16th in scoring defense.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
Ben Iannacchione is no stranger to Dickert as the two worked together when both were on Craig Bohl's staff at Wyoming during the 2018-19 seasons. Iannacchione comes to Pullman having spent the 2022 season as the head strength and conditioning coach at Akron. A former standout offensive lineman who played collegiately at Boise State, Iannacchione arrived at Akron after spending the 2021 campaign at Pitt after prior stops on the football staffs at Kansas (2020), Wyoming (2018-19), LSU (2011-15, 2016-17) and Youngstown State (2015).