The 2016 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 7–2 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place in the North Division.[1] They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they were defeated by Minnesota.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 3 | 5:00 pm | No. 14 (FCS) Eastern Washington* | | | P12N | L 42–45 | 32,952 |
| September 10 | 7:15 pm | at Boise State* | | | ESPN2 | L 28–31 | 36,163 |
| September 17 | 11:00 am | Idaho* | | | P12N | W 56–6 | 28,477 |
| October 1 | 6:30 pm | Oregon | | - Martin Stadium
- Pullman, WA
| P12N | W 51–33 | 33,528 |
| October 8 | 7:30 pm | at No. 15 Stanford | | | ESPN | W 42–16 | 50,424 |
| October 15 | 7:30 pm | UCLA | | - Martin Stadium
- Pullman, WA
| ESPN | W 27–21 | 29,310 |
| October 22 | 7:00 pm | at Arizona State | | | P12N | W 37–32 | 50,582 |
| October 29 | 7:45 pm | at Oregon State | | | ESPN2 | W 35–31 | 37,081 |
| November 5 | 1:00 pm | Arizona | No. 25 | - Martin Stadium
- Pullman, WA
| P12N | W 69–7 | 33,547 |
| November 12 | 7:30 pm | California | No. 23 | - Martin Stadium
- Pullman, WA
| ESPN | W 56–21 | 30,135 |
| November 19 | 12:30 pm | at No. 10 Colorado | No. 22 | | FOX | L 24–38 | 48,658 |
| 12:30 pm | No. 5 Washington | No. 23 | | FOX | L 17–45 | 33,773 |
| 1:00 pm | vs. Minnesota* | | | ESPN | L 12–17 | 48,704 |
|
Conference opponents not played this season: Utah, USC
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes | Week |
|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
|---|
| AP | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | RV |
|---|
| Coaches | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | RV |
|---|
| CFP | Not released | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | — | — | Not released |
|---|
Game summaries
Eastern Washington
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| #14 (FCS) Eagles
|
7
|
17
|
14
|
7 |
45 |
| Cougars
|
14
|
14
|
0
|
14 |
42 |
At Boise State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Cougars
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
28 |
| Broncos
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
7 |
31 |
Idaho
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Vandals
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
0 |
6 |
| Cougars
|
7
|
14
|
7
|
28 |
56 |
Oregon
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Ducks
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
13 |
33 |
| Cougars
|
7
|
21
|
2
|
21 |
51 |
At Stanford
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Cougars
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
14 |
42 |
| #15 Cardinal
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
6 |
16 |
UCLA
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Bruins
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
14 |
21 |
| Cougars
|
3
|
7
|
14
|
3 |
27 |
At Arizona State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Cougars
|
0
|
17
|
14
|
6 |
37 |
| Sun Devils
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
11 |
32 |
At Oregon State
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Cougars
|
0
|
6
|
22
|
7 |
35 |
| Beavers
|
14
|
10
|
0
|
7 |
31 |
Arizona
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Wildcats
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
7 |
| #25 Cougars
|
24
|
14
|
14
|
17 |
69 |
California
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Golden Bears
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
7 |
21 |
| #23 Cougars
|
14
|
14
|
7
|
21 |
56 |
At Colorado
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| #20 Cougars
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
0 |
24 |
| #12 Buffaloes
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
10 |
38 |
Washington
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| #6 Huskies
|
28
|
7
|
0
|
10 |
45 |
| #23 Cougars
|
3
|
7
|
7
|
0 |
17 |
Minnesota–Holiday Bowl
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
| Golden Gophers
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
7 |
17 |
| Cougars
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
6 |
12 |
Coaching staff
| Name |
Title |
Years at WSU |
Alma mater
|
| Mike Leach |
Head coach |
6 |
BYU, 1983
|
| Alex Grinch |
Defensive coordinator/secondary coach |
3 |
Mount Union, 2002
|
| Jason Loscalzo |
Strength and conditioning coach |
6 |
Humboldt State, 1999
|
| Roy Manning |
Outside linebackers coach |
3 |
Michigan, 2004
|
| Jim Mastro |
Running backs coach |
6 |
Cal Poly, 1994
|
| Clay McGuire |
Offensive line coach |
6 |
Texas Tech, 2004
|
| Eric Mele |
Special teams coach |
3 |
William Paterson, 2002
|
| Dave Nichol |
Outside receivers coach |
2 |
Texas Tech, 1999
|
| Ken Wilson |
Linebackers coach |
4 |
North Central, 1986
|
| Brian Odom |
Defensive quality control coach |
2 |
Southeastern Oklahoma State, 2004
|
Source:[2]
References
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