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Washington State

Cougars · Pac-12

GIE rank
#130
of 138 FBS
Rating
1330
2026 Week 10
Record
1-8
2026 season
Proj record
2-9
11-game season

Head coach Kirby Moore Year 1 with Washington State

Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs. preseason expectation

Season projection

2026 W10 · 10,000 sims
Expected wins
1.7
0.7 more wins in 2 left
Win range (90%)
1 to 3
Final rank (90%)
#130 (124–134)
Make playoff
0%
Win conference
0%

Path to glory

No remaining game changes Washington State's playoff odds. Make playoff 0%

Schedule

Full 2026 slate. Tap a row for the matchup breakdown.

Schedule and results
Week Opponent Result or win prob.Result or win probability
Wk 1 Sep 6 at Washington Big Ten Loss, 10-24 Final
Wk 2 Sep 12 at Kansas State Big 12 Loss, 7-34 Final
Wk 3 Sep 19 vs Duquesne Non-FBS Win, 48-7 Final
Wk 4 Sep 26 vs Arizona Big 12 Loss, 24-34 Final
Wk 5 Oct 4 vs Fresno State Pac-12 Loss, 6-26 Final
Wk 6 Oct 10 at Utah State Pac-12 Loss, 16-17 Final
Wk 7 Oct 17 at Oregon State Pac-12 Loss, 30-48 Final
Wk 8 Oct 24 vs Boise State Pac-12 Loss, 10-31 Final
Wk 9 Oct 31 at San Diego State Pac-12 Loss, 20-26 Final
Wk 10 Bye
Wk 11 Nov 15 vs Colorado State Pac-12 Win probability: 40%
Wk 12 Nov 21 at Texas State Pac-12 Win probability: 9%

Latest stories

Stories about Washington State will appear here as they're published. Check back during the season for analysis, hot takes, and game write-ups.

In the news

More coming. Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.

If QB1 is out

Zevi Eckhaus

GIE projects a 4.0 rating drop and a 15.8pp shift in playoff probability if Washington State loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=2 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Returning production · 2026

82 score

  • Quarterback 81% (5/7)
  • Offensive line 95% (20/21) players
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 91% (23/29)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 58% (24/35)
  • Secondary 64% (13/20)
  • Special teams 100% (6/7)

Share of last season's production each unit returns. Higher means more continuity: 70%+ is healthy, 45–70% a normal rebuild, under 45% a major turnover.

Portal additions · 2026

+0.3 rating

27 proven transfers in, carrying the production below from their prior school.

Washington State incoming transfers
Player From Impact
Paul Hutson IIIDT From Marshall Marshall 131
Jaylen ThomasS From San José State San José State 102
Khamari TerrellCB From Texas State Texas State 80
Linus ZunkDE From Vanderbilt Vanderbilt 77
Caden PinnickQB From UC Davis UC Davis 75
Jalil TuckerCB From Oregon State Oregon State 66

Impact scores offensive skill additions (QB/RB/WR/TE) — prior-season production normalized within position (100 ≈ a 90th-percentile producer at that spot) and discounted for non-FBS competition, so a top back counts alongside a top quarterback. Defensive and O-line additions count as transfers but aren't box-score measurable, so they carry no impact score. The rating figure is this class's portal contribution vs. the FBS average, capped at ±2.5.

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 36.0%
    43th — below avg
  • Red-zone TD rate 14.8%
    50th — average
  • 4th-down aggression 35.0%
    44th — below avg
  • Late & close 4.2 yds/play
    25th — below avg

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.