COUGARS SET TO FACE UTAH STATE IN FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL
Washington State is set to face future Pac-12 Conference member Utah State in the 2025 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Kickoff is set for Monday, December 22 in Boise, Idaho at 11 a.m. (PT) on ESPN.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State is appearing in its 20th bowl game in program history and ninth in the last 10 full seasons (not including 2020). The Cougars finished the regular season with a 6-6 record after posting wins over Idaho, San Diego State, at Colorado State, Toledo, Louisiana Tech and Oregon State. The Cougars had four fourth-quarter comebacks held off at No. 4 Ole Miss, at No. 18 Virginia, at Oregon State and at No. 21 James Madison. Cougar Defensive Coordinator and linebackers coach Jesse Bobbit was named the Interim Head Coach after Jimmy Rogers left December 5 following his first season. The 2025 roster featured just three returning starters on offense and 75 newcomers.

TEAM
• WSU is playing in its 20th bowl, seeking first bowl win since 2018 (Alamo Bowl, Iowa StatE) • WSU rushed for a season-high 186 yards and matched a season-high with three rushing touchdowns in the bowl-clinching win over Oregon State, WSU's eighth straight game with 100+ rush yards and ninth this season • The 2025 Apple Cup was the first Gesa Field sellout (32,952) since 2023 (Oregon State) • Over the last 8 games, WSU allowed a combined 12.6 ppg, 290.3 ypg in total offense, 170.2 passing yards/g and tallied 21 sacks

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT (Player Notes Pages 9-12)
• QB Zevi Eckhaus started last 9 games, beat Colorado State to earn first win as a Coug, has 5 career games as a Coug starter with 2 pass TD • Eckhaus' 8 rushing TD are tied for the 4th-most rush TD by a Coug QB in single-season history (Ty Paine, 1972) • DE Isaac Terrell's 4 tackles-for-loss at Ole Miss are tied for the 2nd-most by any player nationally, was the most by a Coug since 2017 (5.0, Hercules Mata'afa, at Utah) • Terrell's 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks are team-highs • TE Trey Leckner's 2 TD catches against San Diego State was the 5th 2-TD game by Cougar TE in program history • C Brock Dieu was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List (Top Collegiate Center) • WR Jeremiah Noga and OL AJ Vaipulu were named to the 2025 Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List • Jack Stevens go-ahead 32-yard FG with three seconds remaining was the 1st last-minute victory since 2019 (54-53, Max Borghi TD run, Oregon State) • TE Beau Baker's first career catch was a 12-yard TD in the Apple Cup • WR Joshua Meredith leads WSU with 13 catches of 20+ yards including 3 of 40+ yards

KIRBY MOORE NAMED COUGAR FOOTBALL HEAD COACH
Washington State University Interim Director of Athletics Jon Haarlow announced December 12 that Kirby Moore has been named the Cougars' Head Football Coach. Moore agreed in principle to a five-year contract and becomes the 36th head football coach in program history. Moore has strong ties to eastern Washington, having grown up in Prosser, Wash., where his father, Tom, was a legendary football coach at Prosser High School. He has spent the past three seasons serving as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Missouri for Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz. During the 2025 season, Moore has helped Missouri to an 8-4 record and a spot in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against Virginia, Dec. 27. Prior to Missouri, Moore coached six seasons at Fresno State including the final season as the offensive coordinator. Moore was a four-year letterwinner, two-year starter, at the Boise State University (2009; 2010-13), where he helped the Broncos to a 45-8 record and four consecutive bowl appearances.

COUGARS SET TO MAKE 20th BOWL APPEARANCE
Washington State is set to make its 20th bowl appearance, the ninth bowl game in the last 10 full seasons and 10th in 13 seasons. This year marks WSU's first appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which dates back to the inaugural game in 1997, known as the Humanitarian Bowl. Previously WSU has played in the Rose Bowl (1916, 1931, 1998, 2003), the Holiday Bowl (1981, 2003, 2016, 2017, 2024), the Aloha Bowl (1988), the Copper Bowl (1992), the Alamo Bowl (1994, 2018), the Sun Bowl (2001, 2015), the 2013 New Mexico Bowl and the 2022 LA Bowl. The Cougars are 8-11 in bowl games all time.

UTAH STATE SERIES HISTORY
Monday's matchup will mark the sixth meeting all-time between Washington State and Utah State, WSU holding a 3-2 advantage, with the most recent being a 49-28 Cougar victory at Gesa Field during the 2024 season. Utah State will join the Pac-12 Conference next fall.

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the 2003 season, ESPN College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 335 at the SEC Championships Game. 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. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
16,578 - WSU has traveled 16,578 miles to and from its 6 road games in 2025
10,000 - Zevi Eckhaus surpassed 10,000 career passing yards vs. Toledo, enters bowl with 10,697 
75 - WSU's 2025 roster features 75 new players
57 - 57 players have made their WSU debuts in 2025
27 - 27 players have made their collegiate debuts
21 - WSU returned 21 players who earned a varsity letter in 2024
13 - 13 true freshmen have played this season
10 - WSU's 2025 schedule featured teams from 10 different conferences 
8 - 8 of WSU's 11 opponents are bowl eligibile, 4 are ranked in the College Football Playoff Rankings
8 - Jack Stevens started 2025 8-of-8 in FG, matching best start to a WSU career (Aaron Price, 1992)
7 - 7 Cougs were named to the East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List (C Brock Dieu, S Matthew Durrance, LB Caleb Francl, CB Colby Humphrey, RB Angel Johnson, S Tucker Large, OL AJ Vaipulu)
7 - 7 seniors have spent their entire careers at WSU; C Brock Dieu, RT Christian Hilborn, WR Joshua Meredith, WR Leon Neal Jr., RB Dylan Paine (6th), WR Leyton Smithson, DE Raam Stevenson
6 - Zevi Eckhaus' 8 rushing TD are tied for 4th-most by a quarterback in WSU single-season history
5 - WSU lost road games at No. 4 Ole Miss (24-21), No. 18 Virginia (22-20), No. 21 James Madison (24-20) by a combined 9 points
3 - WSU returned 3 starters, all on offense; C Brock Dieu, RT Christian Hilborn, WR Josh Meredith

COUGAR DEFENSE SETTLED IN
The Washington State defense has settled in under new defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit. Over the last eight games the Cougars held Colorado State (W, 20-3), at No. 4 Ole Miss (L, 21-24), at No. 18  Virginia (L, 20-22), Toledo (W, 28-7), at Oregon State (L, 7-10), Louisiana Tech (W, 28-3), at No. 21 James Madison (L, 20-24) and Oregon State (W, 32-8) to a combined 12.6 ppg, 290.3 ypg in total offense, 170.2 passing yards/g and tallied 21 sacks.

• WSU has held six opponents to 10 points or less in 2025 and gone 5-1 in those games • WSU has held four opponents to single-digit points this season, the most since 1994 (6) • WSU held two straight opponents (Oregon State, Louisiana Tech) under 200-yards of total offense for the first time since 1994 • WSU did not allow a touchdown at Colorado State and Louisiana Tech, the first time holding two FBS opponents without a touchdown in the same season since 1994 (Fresno State, at UCLA, vs. Baylor) • held Idaho to 10 points, 33 rush yards, recorded 5 TFL, 2 takeaways (2 fumbles) • held San Diego State to 13 points and 215 yds of total offense, recorded 7 TFL, 3 sacks, 2-of-13 on 3rd downs, a safety • held Colorado State to season-low 3 points, recorded 9 TFL and 4 sacks • held No. 4 Ole Miss to then-season lows in total offense (439) and points (24), had 6 TFL and 3 sacks • held No. 18 Virginia to 122 rush yards and 179 pass yards and then-season low 22 points • held Toledo to 61 rush yards and season-low 7 points • held Oregon State to 10 points, 184 yards of total offense, 60 pass yards, had 8 TFL and 3 sacks • WSU held Louisiana Tech to 3 points, just 167 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed since 2018, 60 passing yards and 11 first downs • WSU held No. 21 James Madison to 144 pass yards and 14 first downs • WSU held OSU to 8 points, 40 rush yards, recorded their fifth shutout half of the season, second first-half shutout this season (Idaho) and recorded season-highs of six sacks and three takeaways (2 INT, 1 fumble)

POSTGAME NOTES - OREGON STATE WIN
• WSU recognized 25 seniors prior to their final home game at Gesa Field • WSU recorded its sixth win of the season, is headed to 20th bowl in program history and ninth bowl in last 10 full seasons • WSU finished the season 5-1 at Gesa Field • Jimmy Rogers is the fourth Cougar Head Coach to lead WSU to a bowl game in his first full season; joining William H. Dietz (1915, 1916 Rose Bowl), Bill Doba (2003, Holiday Bowl) and Jake Dickert (2022, LA Bowl) • WSU recorded its fifth shutout half of the season, second first-half shutout this season (Idaho) • WSU recorded season-highs of six sacks and three takeaways (2 INT, 1 fumble) • WSU rushed for a season-high 186 yards and matched a season-high with three rushing touchdowns • Kyle Martin made his first career start, started at center in his third career game • Christian Hilborn made his 45th career start, tied with Gunner Eklund (2012-15) for sixth-most in WSU history • Zevi Eckhaus threw for 197 yards and one touchdown, rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown, his sixth game this season with one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown • Angel Johnson rushed for a season-high 64 yards including his first touchdown of the season • Trey Leckner caught his third touchdown pass of the season, tying for third-most by a tight end in WSU single-season history • Tony Freeman caught seven passes for 84 yards • Freeman had six punt returns for a school-record 169 punt return yards, breaking Shawn Tims' record of 167 (1997, Louisiana-Lafayette) • Caleb Francl picked off a pass for the second straight game, second of the season and third of his career, also forced a fumble, broke up a pass and finished with five tackles • Isaac Terrell made a career-high six tackles including 1.5 sacks, pushed his team-high season totals to 12 tackles-for-loss and 7 sacks • Colby Humphrey picked off his second pass of the season and sixth of his career 

POSTGAME NOTES - AT JAMES MADISON
• WSU rushed for 130 yards, its seventh straight game with 100+ rush yards and eighth this season 
• WSU played its fifth one-score game of the season, is 1-4 in one-score games in 2025 • Zevi Eckhaus' 48-yard touchdown pass to Tony Freeman was his 90th career touchdown pass, 15th as a Coug • Eckhaus scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season, tied for sixth-most rushing touchdowns by a Coug quarterback in single-season history (Ty Paine, 1972) • Kirby Vorhees rushed for 61 yards on a career-high 19 carries • Maxwell Woods recorded season-highs of 10 carries and 43 rushing yards, also caught three passes for 28 yards • Tony Freeman caught his third touchdown of the season, had six catches for 81 yards, his 48-yard touchdown catch was a career-long • Caleb Francl picked off his second career pass (at Iowa, 2022) and first as a Coug

POSTGAME NOTES - LOUISIANA TECH WIN
• WSU rushed for 157 yards and a season-high three touchdowns • WSU scored on its opening drive for the third time this season (at Colorado State, at Virginia) • WSU recorded its third, second-half shutout of the season (at Colorado State, Toledo) and fourth shutout half of the season (1st, Idaho) • Zevi Eckhaus threw for 146 yards and one touchdown, also rushed for 56 yards including his first career two-rushing TD game • Kirby Vorhees rushed for 76 yards including a 19-yard touchdown run, his third-straight game with a rushing touchdown • Colby Humphrey picked off his first pass of the season, fifth interception of his career, finished with five tackles • Kayo Patu appeared in his fifth career game, fourth this season, and his pass breakup on the first-quarter fake punt was his first career stat • Tony Freeman's second-quarter 58-yard punt return was a career long, his third punt return of 40-plus yards this season

POSTGAME NOTES - AT OREGON STATE
• WSU recorded eight tackles-for-loss including three sacks • WSU rushed for 125 yards, its fifth-straight game with 100-plus rushing yards • Kirby Vorhees scored his third rushing touchdown of the season • Anthony Palano made 10 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of the season • Sullivan Schlimgen made his first career start, recorded eight tackles including his first career tackle-for-loss • Tony Freeman had a 47-yard punt return

POSTGAME NOTES - TOLEDO WIN
• WSU rushed for a season-high 162 yards • WSU rushed for two touchdowns, its first game of 2025 with multiple rushing touchdowns • WSU's 21 first-half points were the most scored in any half this season • WSU recorded its second, second-half shutout of the season (at Colorado State) and third shutout half of the season (1st, Idaho) • Kirby Vorhees rushed 15 times for 62 yards and one touchdown • Joshua Meredith caught four passes for 81 yards including a pair of 40-yard catches • Carter Pabst caught his first career touchdown pass, finished with two catches for 49 yards • Parker McKenna recorded 10 tackles and picked of his second career pass, first as a Coug • Tucker Large made a career-high 13 tackles including one for loss, his first career double-digit tackle game • Jack Janikowski recorded his first career sack, also forced a fumble on the play

POSTGAME NOTES - at No. 18 VIRGINIA
• WSU's 35 rush attempts were the second-most this season (36, San Diego State) • WSU rushed for 143 yards, its third straight 100-game and fourth this season • Kirby Vorhees set a career high with 16 carries, rushed for 45 yards and had a 10-yard catch • Angel Johnson had a season-high 33 rush yards on five carries • Joshua Meredith had seven catches for 108 yards, his second career 100-yard game • Caleb Francl made a team-high 11 tackles, his second career double-digit tackle game (11, Idaho), made season-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss

POSTGAME NOTES - AT NO. 4 OLE MISS
• WSU rushed for 127 yards on 28 carries, its third game with 100-plus rushing yards this season • WSU recorded six tackles-for-loss including three sacks • Jaylin Caldwell started at right tackle in his Cougar debut • Kirby Vorhees' 46-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest run of the season, first touchdown as a Coug • Vorhees rushed for a WSU-season high 88 yards • Landon Wright's fourth career catch was a 26-yard touchdown, his first career TD • Tony Freeman matched a career-high with nine catches, set a career-high with 92 receiving yards and caught his first career touchdown pass • Parker McKenna recorded 12 tackles • Isaac Terrell matched a career-high with five tackles recorded four tackles-for-loss with two sacks and forced fumble • Terrell's four tackles-for-loss tied for the eighth-most in WSU single-game history and most since Hercules Mata'afa recorded five in the win at Utah in 2017 

POSTGAME NOTES - AT COLORADO STATE WIN
• WSU allowed just three points, the fewest points allowed since beating San Jose State 31-0 in 2018 (Pullman) • WSU posted its first second-half shutout since 2021 at California (W, 21-6) • WSU's nine tackles-for-loss were a season-high • WSU's four sacks were a season-high • Zevi Eckhaus earned his first win as a Cougar quarterback • Jeremiah Noga caught his first touchdown as a Coug, had one touchdown catch in 2023 for Oregon State • Ademola Faleye's touchdown was his third career touchdown and first as a Coug (1 in 2021, 1 in 2022 at Norfolk State) • Parker McKenna recorded 10 tackles, his first double-digit tackle game as a Coug • Anthony Palano recorded a career-high 13 tackles • Soni Finau recorded his first career two-sack game • Bryson Lamb recorded WSU's first blocked field goal since 2023 (Jaden Hicks, at UCLA) 

POSTGAME NOTES - APPLE CUP
• Game temperature was 81 degrees, the hottest game temperature in Apple Cup history • first Gesa Field sellout of 2025 and first since 2023 (Oregon State) • WSU recorded three sacks, the most sacks in an Apple Cup since 2012 • WSU recorded seven tackles-for-loss, the most in an Apple Cup since 2015 • WSU had a season-high 14 receivers catch a pass • WSU recorded season-highs in first downs (21) and passing yards (277) • Beau Baker's first career catch was a 12-yard touchdown

POSTGAME NOTES - at NORTH TEXAS
• Maxwell Woods set career-highs with five catches for 42 yards • Landon Wright recorded his first career catch, a 34-yard grab in the second quarter • Cale Reeder made his WSU debut, finished three tackles • Jack Ellison made his 1st career, made five tackles

POSTGAME NOTES - SAN DIEGO STATE WIN
• WSU recorded its first safety since 2021 (blocked punt out of end zone, fog game against Arizona in Pullman) • Jaxon Potter threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns • Trey Leckner caught a career-high six passes, his first and second touchdowns of the season, second and third of his career • Leckner recorded the fifth 2-TD game by Cougar tight end in program history • Leon Neal Jr. caught his first career touchdown, 18-yard catch in third quarter, finished with two catches for 19 yards • Isaac Terrell recorded his first career sack, a safety in the second quarter

POSTGAME NOTES - IDAHO WIN
• WSU won its fourth straight season-opener, won its 11th straight game in the series against Idaho • Jack Stevens go-ahead 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining was WSU's first last-minute victory since 2019 (54-53, Max Borghi TD run with two seconds remaining, Oregon State) • Jack Stevens made his first career field goal (30 yards, 3rd quarter) and his second career field goal was the go-ahead 32-yarder with three seconds remaining

SIX NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Washington State announced its team captains for 2025 as voted by the players; OL Brock Dieu, S Tucker Large, WR Joshua Meredith, DT Max Baloun, DE Raam Stevenson, LB Caleb Francl.

13 COUGS HAVE EARNED DEGREES
Four players with college degrees; DL Max Baloun (Physical Education), LB Keith Brown (Social Sciences), LS Colson Brunner (Social Sciences), TE Hudson Cedarland (Management), CB Jamorri Colson (Humanities), DL Darrion Dalton (Business), QB Zevi Eckhaus (Social Sciences), OL Christian Hilborn (Humanities), LB Parker McKenna (Social Sciences), WR Leon Neal Jr. (Marketing), WR Jeremiah Noga (Public Health), RB Dylan Paine (Marketing), DT Mike Sandjo (Human Rights). 

COUGAR FOOTBALL PLUS ONES
Four Washington State players took the plunge this past offseason.
    - C Brock Dieu married his wife Chloe this past summer
    - LG Jonny Lester married his wife Chloe this summer
    - DE Isaac Terrell married his wife Madison this summer
    - DE Malaki Ta'ase married his wife McKinley this past January

COUGS ON A MISSION
A pair of Cougs recently completed their missions; LB Gage Jones spent two years (2022-2023) on a mission in Chile and DE Malaki Ta'ase spent two years (2022-23) on a mission in Ghana.