COUGARS HOST COLORADO FRIDAY NIGHT ON FS1
Washington State hosts Colorado Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on FS1.

WSU SET TO RECOGNIZE 17 SENIORS FRIDAY NIGHT
Prior to Friday's game against Colorado, the Cougars will recognize 17 seniors who will be playing in their final home game at Gesa Field; Joshua Erling (LB), Ma'ake Fifita (OL), Konner Gomness (OL), Isaiah Hamilton (WR), Brennan Jackson (Edge), Chris Jackson (DB), Cameron Johnson (TE), Cam Lampkin (CB), Sam Lockett III (S), Christy Nkanu (OL), Devin Richardson (LB), Na'im Rodman (DL), Simon Samarzich (LS), Ron Stone Jr. (Edge), Colton Theaker (K), Lincoln Victor (WR), Nakia Watson (RB).

SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars lead the all-time series 7-6 over Colorado and have won the last three meetings including a 41-10 win in Pullman in 2019, the last meeting between the two programs. WSU is 3-1 all-time against CU at Gesa Field. the Buffaloes last win in the series came in 2016, 38-24 in Boulder.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE 
Washington State enters the week with a 4-6 record including a 1-6 mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The Cougars are third in the country in passing (337.9) led by quarterback Cameron Ward who is sixth nationally in passing (312.7) and total offense (324.1). Wide receiver Lincoln Victor is sixth nationally with a Pac-12-best 73 receptions while linebacker Kyle Thornton is fourth in the league with 76 tackles and edge Brennan Jackson is seventh in the league with 9.5 tackles-for-loss. Head coach Jake Dickert owns a 14-15 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 (312.7) and in total offense/g (324.1) 
• Ward is a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and to the Davey O'Brien Award Class of 2023
• WR Lincoln Victor had 16 catches at Oregon, setting a WSU single-game record and Autzen Stadium record
• WR Josh Kelly is 9th in Pac-12 with 7 rec TD, Kyle Williams owns a catch in all 35 career games
• EDGE Brennan Jackson owns 18.5 career sacks and 31.5 career tackles-for-loss, both lead the team
• EDGE Ron Stone Jr. is 5th in the Pac-12 with 10 8 QB hits (PFF), 2nd on team with 7 TFL and 3 sacks
• LB Kyle Thornton is a semifinalist for The Burlsworth Trophy (Top former walk-on), 4th in Pac-12 in tackles (76)
• CB Chau Smith-Wade owns the 3rd-best coverage grade among Pac-12 cornerbacks
• 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 to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, is 3rd in Pac-12 in punting (44.) 
• 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 298 last week at Georgia. 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 tied for the 5th-most wins in the Pac-12 over the last 10 seasons (65), 5th-best winning pct (56.0), tied with Stanford for wins, more than UCLA, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon State, Arizona

COUGAR OFFENSE TAKING STRIDES
Washington State's offense has made big strides in year one of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. 

Thru 10 games    2022    2023
Passing    261.1 (40th)    337.9 (3rd)
Scoring    26.9 (77th)    30.3 (45th)
Total Offense    371.9 (80th)    418.9 (42nd)
3rd Down %    36.0 (93rd)    41.5 (50th)

DEFENSE TAKEAWAYS
Since 2020, Washington State's defense has tied for the 2nd-most takeaways in the Pac-12 (67). 
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
at Oregon - held Bo Nix to season-low 18 completions (18-of-25), 2 tackles-for-loss
Stanford - allowed 75 rush yards, 2.0 ypc, 142 pass yards, 1st half shutout, 2 sacks, 6 TFL, 1 INT
at Cal - 5 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 150 pass yards allowed, 3-of-9 on 3rd downs

RECORD BOOK WATCH (PAGE 7)
- EDGE Brennan Jackson owns 18 career sacks, moved into the WSU Top-10 last Saturday, now ninth-most in WSU history
- Jackson owns 31.5 career tackles-for-loss, 0.5 away from the WSU Top-10
- EDGE Ron Stone Jr. owns 27 career tackles-for-loss, 5 away from the WSU Top-10
- Stone Jr. owns 14 career sacks, 3.5 away from breaking into the WSU Top-10
- Kicker Dean Janikowski's 220 career points are the seventh-most points by a kicker in WSU history
- Janikowski's 35 career made field goals are 6th-most in WSU history
- Janikowski's 115 career made PAT are sixth-most in WSU history
- Janikowski's 77.7 career field goal percentage (35-45) is the second-best FG% in WSU history 
- Punter Nick Haberer is 10th in WSU history with 147 career punts, 9th with 6,344 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)
- WR Lincoln Victor's 73 catches is 3 away from breaking into WSU Top-10 for single-season catches
- QB Cameron Ward's 274 pass completions are 10th-most in WSU single-season history

CAMERON WARD BY THE NUMBERS
- Opened 2023 with 451 pass TD, 3 pass TD, 1 rush TD in win at Colorado State, the most passing yards in a season opener since Connor Halliday (532, 2014) and the most in a season-opening win in program history
- Ward added 2 pass TD in the win over No. 19 Wisconsin week two
- 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, Senior Bowl)
- 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 10 games as a Coug with a rushing TD and pass TD
- Ward rushed for 5 TD last season and 6 TD in 2023, his 11 career rush TD at WSU are the most by a Cougar QB since Ryan Leaf (11), dating back to 1996
- Ward is 6th in the NCAA in passing yards (312.7) and total offense (324.1), 4th in completions (274)
- Ward is in WSU Career Top-10; completions (6th, 594), passing TD (9th, 43), pass yds (8th, 6,359)

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 week one 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 to earn the best PFF defensive grade among power 5 players and the Bednarik Award National Defensive Player of the Week. 
- Last season, named Freshman All-America, led Pac-12 freshmen with 76 tackles
- Enters week with 66 tackles, made career-high 12 tackles at UCLA with 2 TFL and blocked FG

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. . 
- Enters the week 2nd on the team with three sacks and seven tackles-for-loss
- Enters week sixth in the Pac-12 with 37 pressures and fourth with 11 QB hits

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 for a touchdown late. 
- Jackson is 7th in the Pac-12 with 9.5 tackles-for-loss, 5th with 6.5 sacks, owns 48 tackles, 3 PBU

LINCOLN VICTOR HEATS UP
Senior wide receiver Lincoln Victor, a Hawaii transfer two seasons ago delivered all season.
- 3 career 100-yard games, all this season; 168 at CSU, 119 vs. Northern Colorado, 161 at Oregon
- Victor's 16-catch game at Oregon was a WSU single-game record and Autzen Stadium record, tied for the most catches in a game in the country this season (Tory Horton - CSU at Colorado)
- Victor leads the Pac-12 and is 6th nationally with 73 catches, 3rd with 424 yards after the catch

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 their first season with the Cougs. 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. 
- 1st time 2 WR had 150+ rec yards since 2014 (California, Vince Mayle – 263, River Cracraft – 172)
- Williams among Pac-12 leaders; 10th in catches (53), 10th in rec yards (711), 2nd on team rec TD (4)
- Williams owns a catch in all 35 career games (the first 25 at UNLV, 2020-22)
- Kelly among Pac-12 leaders; 9th in receiving touchdowns (9), 12th in caches (47)

DEAN JANIKOWSKI NAMED TO CAMPBELL TROPHY SEMIFINALIST, MORE THAN A KICK
Kicker Dean Janikowski was named a semifinalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation, presented to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Off the field last season, Janikowski started a Pledge call "More than a Kick" where donations were made for each field goal and PAT by Janikowski and the donations went to children with cancer and helped others battling cancer in the Pullman community. Janikowski later started the Heather Janikowski Foundation and started another event called "Kicking with Cancer" with an annual goal of raising $30,000 to support the Seattle Children's Hospital Can Research Center.
- Janikowski is 10-of-14 on field goal attempts, 2 of 50+ yards (55 at Colorado State, 50 at Oregon)
- the 55-yard FG in the season-opening win at Colorado State, was longest in the Pac-12 this season - Janikowski enters the week among the WSU Career Top-10 in Field Goals (6th, 35), field goal pct (2nd, 77.7%), 50+yard FG (T4th, 3), PAT (6th, 115) and points kicking (7th, 220)

NICK HABERER NAMED TO RAY GUY AWARD WATCH LIST
Punter Nick Haberer was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List prior to the season and has delivered. The Ray Guy Award honors the nation's top collegiate punter in the FBS. Haberer, a junior from Sunshine Coast, Australia, was named to watch list prior to the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
- Ray Guy Award Ray's 8 of the Week, given to the nation's top eight punters of the week, after an impressive performance at UCLA, career-high 9 punts, 44.9 yards-per-punt, 5 fair catches, 4 inside 20
- Punted 6 times against Stanford, averaged 48.3, had 3 of 50+, matched career long of 62, 2 inside 20
- Enters week 3rd in the Pac-12 averaging 44.9 yards-per-punt with 11 inside the 20 and 5 of 50+

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 arrived 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 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).