Cougars Head to Stanford For Saturday Night Matchup

WSU Game Notes - at Stanford | Nick Rolovich Postpractice

WASHINGTON STATE at STANFORD
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020  • Fox Sports 1
Stanford Stadium (50,424)  •  Stanford, Calif.

COUGARS HEAD TO STANFORD FOR SATURDAY NIGHT MATCHUP
Washington State (1-1, 1-1 Pac-12) hits the road for a Saturday night matchup, presented by Northern Quest Resort & Casino, at Stanford (0-2, 0-2 Pac-12). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

SERIES HISTORY 
WSU has won the last four meetings against Stanford including a 49-22 victory in Pullman last season but the Cardinal lead the all-time series 40-29-1. The Cougars are 17-20 all-time in Stanford but have claimed the last two matchups in 2016 and 2018. Washington State is looking to beat Stanford in five straight meetings for the first time since posting eight-straight wins (1957-64).

LET'S ROLL 
Nick Rolovich was named the 33rd head football coach in Washington State history, Director of Athletics Pat Chun announced Jan. 14. Rolovich, 40, spent a total of eight seasons at the University of Hawai'i, the last four as head coach. He also served as Nevada's offensive coordinator for four seasons and spent two years coaching quarterbacks at City College of San Francisco. Rolovich completed his fourth season at Hawai'i with a 28-27 record and three bowl games in his time. Last season he guided UH to its first 10-win season since 2010 as the Rainbow Warriors went 10-5, capped by a 38-34 win over BYU in the Hawaii Bowl. 

• 1st WSU head coach to win his debut since Bill Doba in 2003 (25-0 against Idaho in Seattle)
• 1st WSU head coach to win his debut on the road since Warren Powers in 1977 (19-10 at No. 15 Nebraska)
• 2019 Mountain West Coach of the Year, Reached Mountain West Championship game
• Opened 2019 with back-to-back wins over Pac-12 foes Arizona and Oregon State
• Led Hawaii to first back-to-back winning seasons (2018-19) since 2006-07
• Produced 31 All-Mountain West Conference honors and 59 All-Academic honors
• In 2019, UH offense ranked fifth nationally with 338.0 ypg and No. 13 nationally in total offense at 471.0 ypg
• In 2018, UH had 5,800 yards of offense, 43 TD passes, 30.8 ppg and No. 9 nationally with 310.3 passing/g
• In 2016, took over the program as the fifth-youngest head coach in NCAA Division I FBS at the age of 37 
• Produced a 1,000-yard RB and 1,000-yard WR in 2016, hasn't been done at WSU since 2005 (Jerome Harrison and Jason Hill)

ROLO AND THE COMMUNITY
Washington State football was not able to hold spring practice but head coach Nick Rolovich was still able to connect with Cougar fans.
• Throughout the spring, Rolovich would order a number of meals at a local Pullman restaurant, tweet out a "password" and the first 20 people to show up at the restaurant and use the password, would receive the meal
• Rolovich also provided dinner to the staff at Pullman Regional Hospital who were working a late night shift

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• WSU recorded its 7th-straight win over OSU, the longest winning streak against OSU since winning 10 straight (1983-93)
• WSU blocked a punt at Oregon State week 1, it was WSU's first punt block since its last trip to Corvallis in 2018
• WSU made its school-record 5th straight bowl appearance last season, played Air Force in the Cheez-It Bowl
• WSU's 2020 roster features players from 18 states, British Columbia and American Samoa
• Since 2015, WSU owns 44 wins, tied for 3rd-most among Pac-12 schools (UW - 48, Utah - 46, Stan - 44)
• Since 2015, WSU owns 30 Pac-12 wins, tied for 3rd-most among Pac-12 schools (USC - 34, UW - 31, Stan - 30)
• WSU produced an All-America offensive lineman in 4 straight seasons (2015-18)

INDIVIDUAL (Player Notes Pages 10-17)
• WR Renard Bell enters the week leading the Pac-12 in rec yds (218) and tied for Pac-12 lead in rec (16) with Travell Harris
• QB Jayden de Laura was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week following the season-opening win at OSU
• RB Max Borghi was only Power-5 player with 800+ rush yards, 550+ rec yards and 16 total TD in 2019
• RB Deon McIntosh enters the week 11th in the country averaging 7.0 yds/carry, tied for 2nd in Pac-12 with 10 plays of 10+ yds
• LB Jahad Woods is the Pac-12's active leading tackler with 304 career tackles, 6th-most among all FBS players
• DB Ayden Hector was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week last week, 4 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT vs. Oregon
• P Oscar Draguicevich III enters the week 2nd in the country in punting (48.6), 1st in Pac-12 with 4 punts inside the 20
• K Blake Mazza was a 2019 Lou Groza Award Finalist (3), went 20-for-21 in FG attempts, All-Pac-12 First Team

2020 SCHEDULE NOTES
• WSU last played a seven-game schedule in 1926, when it went 6-1
• The season-opener at OSU marked the latest regular season start since 11/28/1918 against Gonzaga, a 20-6 win
• WSU opened the season with a road conference game for the first time since 1991 (40-14 loss at Oregon)
• WSU won a season-opener against a conference opponent on the road for the first time since 1964 (29-23 at Stanford)
• Prior to this season, the final contest marks the latest regular season game since 2002 (Dec. 7 at UCLA)
• The 12/4 contest at USC is the 1st regular season game in December since the 2010 Apple Cup (12/4 in Pullman)

FRIENDLY CONFINES OF MARTIN STADIUM
Washington State went 7-0 at home in 2017, 6-1 in 2018 and 5-1 last season before dropping its home-opener to No. 11 Oregon last week to push it's Martin Stadium record to 18-3 over the past three-plus seasons.  

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the middle of the 2003 season, ESPN's College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 252 after appearing virtually last week at The Masters. 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 by dozens of friends and alumni. 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. 

ANOTHER NEW FACE BEHIND CENTER
The Cougars saw true freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura become the newest face to lead the Cougar offense. Luke Falk left with a program-record 27 wins following the 2017 season, Gardner Minshew II transferred in and led WSU to 11 wins in 2018, earning 2018 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and Anthony Gordon followed with a record-setting 2019 season, throwing for 5,579 yards and 48 TD, both Pac-12 Conference records. 

BIG DEBUT BY DE LAURA
True freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week following the season-opening win at Oregon State. de Laura, the first true freshman to open the season at quarterback in program history, threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 43 yards and a score in the road victory over Oregon State. The Honolulu native was the first true freshman to start any game under center since 2009. de Laura was the first Cougar freshman to earn a Pac-12 weekly award since Travell Harris earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors in 2018.

• Jayden de Laura is the first true freshman QB to start a season-opener in program history
• The last true freshman to start at Cougar QB was Jeff Tuel at Oregon in 2009
• ProFootballFocus College gave de Laura the 4th-best QB grade in the country following the win over OSU
• de Laura tallied his 1st career 300-yard game last week against Oregon, (25-of-39, 321 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT)
• de Laura enters the week 2nd in the Pac-12 in passing yards (548) and 3rd in passing TD (4)

COUGAR WIDE RECEIVER NOTES (Ratings Based On PFF College) (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 10-17)
• WSU returned just six players who caught a pass last season led by running back Max Borghi who caught a team-high 86 passes • WSU returned wideouts Renard Bell (114 career rec, 14 career TD rec) and Travell Harris (74 career rec, 6 career TD rec) • Dezmon Patmon was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 6th round • last season, WSU had 7 receivers with 40 catches, 8 players with multiple TD catches and 7 players with 500+ rec yards • Travell Harris (2nd) and Renard Bell (5th) were among the top 5 rated slot receivers in the Pac-12 last season • Harris had quite the season-opener last week at Oregon State, matching a career-high with 7 catches, setting a career-high with 107 receiving yards and scored 3 total TD, two receiving (29, 28) and one rushing (44) • Bell followed week 1 performance with a career night in week 2 against Oregon, setting career-highs in catches (10) and receiving yards (158) to go along with a TD, his 15th career TD catch • walk-on Lucas Bacon started at X for the second straight game and turned his 1st career catch into an 18-yard TD early in the first quarter against Oregon

ALL-PURPOSE, ALL THE TIME (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 10-17)
Cougar running backs served all-purpose roles for the Air Raid and will now look to increase their production in the run-n-shoot offense under Nick Rolovich. In each of the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Cougar backs combined to record 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. The 2018 group combined for 974 rush yards and 1,044 receiving yards while scoring 28 total TD. Last season, the 2019 backs combined for 953 rush yards, 710 rec yards, 103 catches and 19 total TD • Deon McIntosh rushed for a career-high 147 yards in the win at Oregon State, the most by a Coug since Dwight Tardy's 214 yards against UCLA in 2007 • McIntosh added another 92 yards and a score on the ground against Oregon, enters the week No. 11 in the country averaging 7.0 yds/carry

BORGHI RETURNS LOOKING FOR MORE 
Running back Max Borghi produced one of the best seasons by any running back in the country in 2019.
• Last season, Borghi was named Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention after rushing for 817 yards and 11 TD, and caught team-high 86 passes for 597 yards and five TD • led all Pac-12 running backs averaging 6.4 yards-per-carry • 2nd in the Pac-12 with 16 total TD last season, tied for 3rd with 11 rushing TD • led all RB nationally with 86 receptions and 26 missed tackles forced after the catch • only player in the country with 800+ rush yards, 550+ rec yards and 16 total TD in 2019 • has caught a pass in all 26 career games

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTES (Ratings based on PFF College) (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 10-17)
• WSU returned 77 career starts on the offensive line to start 2020, LT Liam Ryan (26), RG Josh Watson (25) and RT Abraham Lucas (26) • a pair of players recorded their 1st career starts at Oregon State, redshirt-sophomore Jarrett Kingston (LG) and redshirt-junior Brian Greene (C) • Lucas was placed on the PFF College National Team of the Week after blocking for 229 rushing yards, did not allow a pressure and led WSU with 4 knockdown blocks in the win at Oregon State • last season, WSU allowed 20 sacks on 730 dropbacks, the fewest sacks allowed in the Pac-12 • in the win at Oregon State, WSU's 229 rushing yards were the most since rushing for 254 against Colorado in 2016 • WSU rushed for 229 yards and threw for 227 yards in the win at Oregon State, it was the first time WSU had more rushing yards than passing yards since recording 221 rush yards and 157 pass yards in a win at Oregon State in 2010

• 2 former Cougar offensive linemen are in the NFL including a pair of starters; 
- 2016 5th-rd pick Joe Dahl starts at left guard for the Detroit Lions 
- 2019 1st-rd pick Andre Dillard made 3 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, will miss 2020 with injury
• WSU produced an All-America offensive lineman in four-straight seasons; 
- LT Joe Dahl, 2015; LG Cody O'Connell, 2016; LG Cody O'Connell, 2017; LT Andre Dillard & RT Abraham Lucas, 2018

JAKE DICKERT TO LEAD COUGAR DEFENSE
Cougar Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert owns 13 years of collegiate coaching experience and worked the last three seasons at the University of Wyoming including the 2019 campaign as the defensive coordinator while working with the linebackers and safeties. Last season, the Cowboys were sixth in the country in red zone defense, No. 11 in the country in rush defense (107.1) and scoring defense (17.8), No. 40 in tackles-for-loss (83) and No. 43 in total defense. Dickert saw four Cowboys earn All-Mountain West Conference honors led by second-team All-American linebacker and Butkus Award Finalist Logan Wilson, who was later selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. Dickert also saw redshirt-freshman defensive end Solomon Byrd earn Freshman All-American accolades. Dickert originally joined the Wyoming football staff in 2017 and coached the safeties for the 2017-18 seasons before he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2019 where he started the season coaching the linebackers and later coached the safeties. In his three seasons at Wyoming, Dickert coached a pair of future NFL safeties including three-time first-team All-Mountain West pick Andrew Wingard, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and saw four players earn All-MWC honors in 2019 while another earned 2019 Freshman All-America accolades on the defensive line.

COUGAR DEFENSE STARTS ON STRONG (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 10-17)
The Cougar defense was impressive the season-opening win at Oregon State, recording 4 sacks, the most since recording 4 against Arizona in 2018 • last week against No. 11 Oregon, WSU forced three takeaways and tallied 6 tackles-for-loss • since 2015, the Cougars are 29-6 when forcing multiple turnovers including a 5-0 mark when doing so in 2019 • last season, Jahad Woods was 4th in the country and second in the Pac-12 with 141 tackles, the 4th-most in WSU history and most since 1991 • Woods is the Pac-12's active leading tackler with 304 career tackles, 6th-most among all FBS players • Woods tallied a team-high 11 tackles including 3 for loss and a sack last week against Oregon • Woods and defensive back Daniel Isom enter the week tied for 4th in the Pac-12 with 16 tackles while Woods is tied for 2nd with 3 tackles-for-loss • 4 players have made their 1st career starts on defense, DT Ahmir Crowder, EDGE Brennan Jackson, CB Jaylen Watson, SS Ayden Hector

AYDEN HECTOR NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
For the second straight week, a Washington State Cougar earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week accolades after defensive back Ayden Hector was selected for the award, the conference office announced Monday. Hector joined quarterback Jayden de Laura to earn Pac-12 Freshman weekly honors after de Laura received the award following the week one win at Oregon State. Hector picked up the accolade after recording four tackles, two fumble recoveries and his first career interception against No. 11 Oregon this past Saturday. Hector corralled all three takeaways for the Cougar defense against Ducks on three straight series in the first half. The Seattle native, who joined WSU in October as a walk-on, enters the week leading the Pac-12 with a pair of fumble recoveries and tied for fifth on the team with eight tackles. 

MAZZA OFF TO SOLID START (MAZZA NOTES Page 14)
Redshirt-junior Blake Mazza was a Lou Groza Award Finalist last season, one of three up for the award given to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker and was the first Cougar to be named a finalist for the award in program history. 
• Last season, was named to 2019 All-Pac-12 First Team and to Midseason All-America Second Team by The Athletic • was 20-of-21 in field goal attempts, made first 18 FG to start the season, longest consecutive FG streak in WSU history • led the Pac-12 with 20 made FG, tied for 4th-most in WSU single-season history • owns 3 career FG of 50+ yards (2018 at USC (50), 2019 vs. New Mexico State (50), 2019 at Utah (51)) • named to 2020 Lou Groza Award Watch List and Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team (Athlon, Media) • connected on a 34-yard FG at Oregon State • made all 3 FG against No. 11 Oregon (39, 49, 25) • owns 34 career FG, passed Rian Lindell for the 6th-most FG in WSU history • tallied 11 points against Oregon to push career total to 224, passing Rian Lindell for the 6th-most points in WSU history • leads the Pac-12 with 4 FG and 4th in scoring with 19 points

TWO COUGS EARN BACHELOR'S DEGREES
Two current Cougars entered the 2020 season already owning their bachelor's degree.
P Oscar Draguicevich III (social sciences) • DB Daniel Isom (social sciences)

FOUR COUGARS NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Washington State named four players team captains for the 2020 seasons; 
Max Borghi (Jr., RB), Jahad Woods (RS-Sr., LB), Liam Ryan (RS-Sr., OL), Abraham Lucas (RS-Jr., OL)

YOUNG COUGS TAKE THE FIELD TO START ROLOVICH ERA 
• 20 total freshman have played in 2020, 11 redshirt-freshmen and 9 true freshmen
• 21 players have made their WSU debuts in the first 2 games
• 9 true freshmen have played including starters Jayden de Laura (QB) and Ayden Hector (SS)
• 10 players made their first career start, 5 on offense and 5 on defense

FAMILY CONNECTION
The Cougar roster features a number of players who have family members who played professional sports. 
• LB Travion Brown's great, great uncle is Jackie Robinson (dad's side) • P Oscar Draguicevich III's dad, Oscar played professional soccer for 10 seasons including 3 for the San Jose Clash of the MLS • WR Joey Hobert's dad, Billy Joe played QB at Washington (1990-92), was a 3rd-round draft pick by the Raiders in 1993 and played 8 seasons in the NFL (Raiders, Bills, Saints, Colts), 29 career games played, 17 starts, 23 touchdown passes • WR Calvin Jackson Jr.'s dad Calvin Sr. played DB at Auburn, played 6 NFL seasons with Miami • CB Derrick Langford's dad Derrick Sr. was a 52nd-round MLB draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1994 • RB Deon McIntosh' brother, RJ played DL at Miami and is with the Giants, younger brother Kenny is a sophomore RB at Georgia • DL Will Rodgers III's uncle is former NBA start Jason Richardson, played 13 NBA seasons • S Tyrese Ross' dad, Dominique Ross played FB for Dallas Cowboys in late 1990's • RUSH Ron Stone Jr.'s dad, Ron Sr. played OL in the NFL for 13 seasons, 3x Pro Bowler, 2x Super Bowl Winner • Ma'ake Fifita's older brother, Mosese was the starting nose tackle at Air Force last season.

IT'S A CITY SITUATION
Since 2015, the Cougars have seen six players from San Francisco City College take the field. This season, DB Derrick Langford is the lone player from SFCC but a pair of Cougar coaches are tied to the school. Head coach Nick Rolovich played quarterback for "City" from 1998-99 and later coached the SFCC quarterbacks 2006-07. Cougar wide receiver coach Andre Allen, a San Francisco native, spent 27 seasons coaching at the City College of San Francisco (1991-2017), helping SFCC to three national titles (2007, 2011, 2015) and eight Northern California Championships. Past Cougars who played at SFCC, DB Shalom Luani (2015-16), S/KR Rob Taylor (2016-17), QB Anthony Gordon (2016-19), WR Easop Winston Jr. (2017-19), OL Robert Valencia (2017-19)

COUGAR FOOTBALL BROADCAST TEAM
Matt Chazanow is in his sixth season as the play-by-play voice for Cougar football, men's basketball and baseball broadcasts. Joining Chazanow for his third season will be former Cougar quarterback Alex Brink who is the only WSU quarterback to win three Apple Cups and was later a seventh-round draft pick by the Houston Texans. Returning for her ninth season as the sideline reporter is Jessamyn McIntyre, an executive producer for Q13 FOX in Seattle.

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF COUGAR FOOTBALL
Washington State is celebrating its 125th football season in 2020. WSU's first season came in 1894 and did not play the 1933 and 1934 seasons due to World War II. The Cougars own a 557-561-45 all-time record including an 8-8 bowl mark.

THIS WEEK IN COUGAR FOOTBALL HISTORY
Nov. 16 - 11/16/1968 - Mark Williams and Rick Reed each had 81-yard punt returns for touchdowns as WSU cruised by San Jose State, 46-0, in San Jose, Calif.

Nov. 17 - 11/17/ 2018 - Gardner Minshew throws for a school-record seven touchdowns as WSU defeats Arizona, 69-28, giving WSU 10 wins for the fifth time in school history

Nov. 18 - 11/18/1894 - WSU's first collegiate football game results in a 10-0 win at Idaho. Frank McReynolds of Albion scored the programs' first touchdown
    
Nov. 19 - 11/19/1983 - WSU rushed for 237 yards led by Kerry Porter's 169 and Richard Calvin rushed for two scores in the Cougars 17-6 Apple Cup win in Seattle.

Nov. 20 - 11/20/1937 - Eddie Bayne connected with Charles Holmes on a 20-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the game's only score as the Cougars defeated Oregon State, 7-0, in Corvallis.

Nov. 21 - 11/21/2016 - Guard Cody O'Connell was named an outland Trophy finalists, the first for WSU since Rien Long won the award in 2002. O'Connell went on to become just the second consensus All-American in school history.
    
Nov. 22 - 11/22/1997 - WSU defeats No. 16 Washington in Seattle to clinch its first Rose Bowl appearance in 67 years.