Washington State football looks to carry momentum into Nick Rolovich era

Washington State football will begin a new era in 2020 with Nick Rolovich taking over for Mike Leach. Can the Cougars continue the momentum Leach built?

The Mike Leach era in Pullman, Wash., officially came to an end after the 2019 season as Leach signed onto become the head coach at Mississippi State. With that, the Washington State Cougars are set to embark on a new era under Nick Rolovich.

Rolovich comes to Washington State and the Pac-12 after four years of his alma mater of Hawaii, where he led the Rainbow Warriors to a 28–27 record, a 2019 Mountain West Championship Game appearance and three Hawaii Bowls which included two victories.

He will have massive shoes to fill in Pullman, where Leach leaves after guiding a historically mediocre Washington State program to a 55–47 record and 26-26 conference mark in eight seasons, including an 11-2 season in 2018, two nine-win seasons, six bowl appearances and two bowl wins. In 2019 under Leach, the Cougars posted a 6-7 record and earned a trip to the Cheez-It Bowl, where they were defeated by Air Force.

Not only will Rolovich have to fill Leach’s shoes, but he will also need to look for a way to replace the production of quarterback Anthony Gordon who finished second in the nation with 5,579 passing yards and 48 touchdowns a year ago.

Gordon, whose now with the Seattle Seahawks, shattered the Washington State single-season passing yard and touchdown record which given the Cougars history of great quarterback play in Ryan Leaf, Drew Bledsoe, Mark Rypien and Gardner Minshew was no small feat.

Can Rolovich continue to build on the success built by Leach in year one on the job?

Here’s a look at what may be ahead for the 2020 Washington State Cougars.