Washington State football looks to carry momentum into Nick Rolovich era

How will Washington State football fare in 2020?

With the Pac-12 deciding to cancel non-conference play amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington State will no longer take on Utah State, Houston or Idaho. That leaves the Cougars with 10 games with Pac-12 foes.

Here’s how they may fare in 2020 as long as the season is not canceled.

• Sept. 26: vs. Utah (W)
• Oct. 3: vs. Oregon (L)
• Oct. 10: at UCLA (L)
• Oct. 17: vs. California (L)
• Oct. 30 at Stanford (L)
• Nov. 7: at USC (L)
• Nov. 14: vs. Arizona State (L)
• Nov. 21: at Oregon State (W)
• Nov. 27: vs. Washington (L)
• Dec. 5: at Colorado (W)

Prediction: 3-7

If non-conference play were not canceled, Washington State would likely be on their way to a bowl. All three of their opponents were beatable with perhaps the biggest challenge in Houston being a home game.

Now, WSU will have to play a full conference schedule in an improving Pac-12 North division that features no automatic victories.

The lone bright side for the Cougars is many of their most winnable games are at home where when rocking, Pullman is one of the toughest places in the conference to play.

With reduced crowd capacity likely, however, home field won’t mean as much as usual and make pulling off upset victories far more difficult.

Thus, expect three wins for the Cougars in 2020 in the first year of a new era of Washington State football.