Washington State Set to Host BYU Saturday at Gesa Field

BYU (5-2, Independent) at WASHINGTON STATE (4-3, 3-2 Pac-12)
12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 •  FOX Sports 1
Martin Stadium (32,952)  •  Pullman, Wash.

WASHINGTON STATE SET TO FACE BYU SATURDAY AT GESA FIELD
Washington State wraps up its three-game homestand hosting BYU at Gesa Field Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

SERIES HISTORY 
Washington State trails the all-time series with BYU 1-3 and Saturday will be the first meeting between the two Cougars since BYU claimed a 30-6 win in the 2012 season-opener. Saturday will be the series' first matchup in Pullman.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE 
Washington State enters the week with a 4-3 overall record including a 3-2 mark in Pac-12 Conference play after posting three straight conference wins, at Cal and against Oregon State and Stanford. The Cougar defense enters the week leading the Pac-12 and ninth in the country with 15 takeaways while the 41 tackles-for-loss are tied for third-most in the league. Quarterback Jayden de Laura leads the Pac-12 with 15 passing touchdowns while receivers Travell Harris (44) and Calvin Jackson Jr. (37) rank third and fourth in the league, respectively. Linebacker Jahad Woods moved into the WSU Top-5 for career tackles earlier this season and enters the week with 364 career stops, most among all active Pac-12 tacklers.

COUGARS MAKE LEADERSHIP CHANGE WITH FOOTBALL PROGRAM
Monday, due to the requirements set forth in Washington Governor Jay Inslee's Proclamation 21-14.1, Nick Rolovich is no longer able to fulfill the duties as the football head coach at Washington State University. In addition, four football assistant coaches, Ricky Logo, John Richardson, Craig Stutzmann and Mark Weber, are also not in compliance with the Proclamation. As a result, Washington State University has initiated the separation process based on the terms of their respective contracts, effective immediately. Proclamation 21-14.1, prohibits, "Any State Agency from permitting any Worker to engage in work for the agency after October 18, 2021, if the Worker has not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provided proof thereof to the agency." Current WSU defensive coordinator Jake Dickert was elevated to acting head coach.

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 265 after appearing last Saturday in Athens for Kentucky=Georgia. 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. 

WSU, GESA CREDIT UNION ANNOUNCE GESA FIELD
Washington State and Gesa Credit Union announced a partnership to provide Gesa the naming rights to the playing surface at Martin Stadium, now named Gesa Field, pronounced gee-sah. The 10-year agreement is valued at a minimum $11 million, that will escalate as additional Gesa consumer-based incentives are reached. The agreement with WSU Athletics will formalize the first major sponsorship announced under the new Gesa Credit Union which recently merged with Inspirus Credit Union making it the second-largest credit union in the state. 

COUGARS PARTNERED IN PAC-12 MENTAL HEALTH WEEK
WSU partnered with Hilinski's Hope, Dam Worth It and The Hidden Opponent as part of the Pac-12 Mental Health Week last week. The week, hosted in conjunction with College Football Mental Health Week, focused on a series of mental health initiatives. Pac-12 Mental Health Week was a conference-wide week of action to end mental health stigma, increase mental health awareness, and supply resources for student athletes. Dam Worth It, The Hidden Opponent and Hilinski's Hope were all founded out of the Pac-12 to focus on ending stigma and increasing mental health resources for student-athletes. The Cougar football team will wear a helmet sticker showcasing a lime green ribbon, the official ribbon showing solidarity for those struggling with mental health and illness, with a "3" on the right corner.

JACKSON EARNS 2ND PAC-12 DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK 
EDGE Brennan Jackson earned his second Pac-12 Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week accolade of the season following the win over Stanford, the conference office announced Monday. Jackson recorded a season-high six tackles including one sack and recovered the game-ending fumble in the win Stanford, WSU's third-straight conference win and fifth straight victory over the Cardinal. Jackson tallied three tackles in the fourth quarter including a sack with under four minutes remaining and later pounced on a fumble in the final seconds after Quinn Roff sacked the Stanford quarterback. The redshirt-junior from Temecula, Calif. earned the same accolade after making four tackles and a sack in the win at California earlier in the season. Jackson enters the week with 26 tackles including 3.5 tackles-for-loss with 2.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery.

ALL-PURPOSE, ALL THE TIME
Cougar running backs served all-purpose roles for the Air Raid and increased their production in the run-n-shoot offense under Nick Rolovich • last season, 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 • Borghi opened the 2021 season with 86 rushing yards including a 64-yard rushing touchdown against Utah State • Borghi, McIntosh and Jayden de Laura each rushed for a touchdown against Portland State • in the win at Cal, Borghi and McIntosh combined for 93 rush yards and 6.2 yards-per-carry • in the win over Oregon State, the two combined for 98 rush yards and each scored a touchdown, Borghi (2-yard rush) and McIntosh (1-yard rec) • in the win over Stanford, Borghi rushed for 89 yards and a pair of 2-yard TD runs

COUGAR DEFENSE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE
• Since 2015, the Cougars are 32-10 when forcing multiple turnovers • Jahad Woods enters the week with 364 career tackles, fifth in WSU history and the most by any active Pac-12 player, tied for 3rd-most among all FBS players • WSU opened 2021 by forcing a pair of turnovers against Utah State, recorded two more against Portland State and added 3 more takeaways along with 9 TFL against USC • WSU forced six fumbles and recovered three at Utah • in the win at Cal, WSU allowed just 273 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed since San Jose State week two in 2018 (109) • in the win over Oregon State, WSU picked off two passes, allowed just 158 pass yards and held OSU to 0-for-3 on 4th-down attempts • in the win over Stanford, WSU recovered 2 more fumbles, tallied 8 TFL including 4 sacks • WSU's 15 takeways are the most in the first 7 games of a season since 2016 (16) • WSU enters the week leading the Pac-12 with 8 fumble recoveries, third-most in the country • WSU's 15 takeaways lead the Pac-12 and are ninth-most in the country

GEORGE HICKS III, LIAM RYAN NAMED PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
WSU collected a pair of Pac-12 Conference honors last week as defensive back George Hicks III was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week and left tackle Liam Ryan was named the Offensive Lineman of the Week Monday. Hicks III earned his first career Pac-12 accolade after leading the team with 10 tackles and his first interception of the season in the 31-24 win over Oregon State. According to PFF College, the senior from San Bernardino, Calif. earned the Pac-12's second-highest overall defensive grade, the best coverage grade in the Pac-12 and sixth-best in country during the win. Hicks' interception came late in the first half and ended an Oregon State rally to keep it a one-score game while seven of his tackles came in the second half, including the final tackle of the game as OSU came up one yard short of a first down inside the red zone in the final minute. Ryan earned his second career Pac-12 weekly accolade (New Mexico State, 2019) after anchoring an offensive line that helped produce 491 yards of total offense in the win. Ryan played a total 71 plays, graded out at 96 percent with six knockdowns, earned the No. 12 OT grade in the country and did not allow a pressure on 47 passing snaps. 

JACKSON NAMED PAC-12 DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK AFTER CAL WIN
EDGE Brennan Jackson was named the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week following the road win at Cal. Jackson earned his first career weekly accolade after recording four tackles with one sack, one pass breakup and helped the Cougar defense record seven tackles-for-loss including four sacks in a 21-6 road win at Cal, WSU's first win in Berkeley since 2013. Jackson was credited with five total pressures including four quarterback hurries while the defense held Cal to just six points, 152 passing yards and 3-of-15 on third downs. WSU held Cal scoreless the final 52 minutes and the six points allowed are the fewest allowed to a conference opponent since shutting out Colorado in 2017. Jackson was the first Cougar to win DL of the Week since its inception in 2019. 

HARRIS NAMED PAC-12 SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK AFTER PORTLAND STATE WIN
Kick returner/punt returner Travell Harris was named the Pac-12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following the week two win over Portland State. Harris earns his second career conference weekly accolade after recording 188 all-purpose yards including a 50-yard kickoff return and a career-long 22-yard punt return, both set up touchdown drives for the Cougars in the 44-24 win over Portland State. The redshirt-senior also caught six passes for 80 yards including two for touchdowns (19, 13). Harris' 50-yard kickoff return was his seventh career kick return of 40-plus yards. The Tampa, Fla. native earned his first Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week award back in 2018 after his 100-yard kickoff return against Eastern Washington.

COUGAR FOOTBALL BROADCAST TEAM
Matt Chazanow is in his seventh season as the play-by-play voice for Cougar football, men's basketball and baseball broadcasts. Joining Chazanow for his fourth 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.

16 COUGS HAVE EARNED DEGREES
Renard Bell    Social Science
Cammon Cooper    Business Administration
Brian Greene    History
Jarrett Guarantano    Psychology
Travell Harris    Sport Management
George Hicks    Political Science
Tyrone Hill    Social Science
Dallas Hobbs    Digital Technology & Culture
Calvin Jackson, Jr.    Humanities
Brennan Jackson    Business Administration
Armani Marsh    Sport Management
Deon McIntosh    Social Science
Christian Mejia    Kinesiology
Justus Rodgers    Business Administration
Liam Ryan    Criminal Justice
Jahad Woods    Humanities

WSU ATHLETICS ANNOUNCED PROCEDURES FOR VACCINE VERIFICATION AT GESA FIELD
Washington State Athletics, in alignment with our football partners in the State of Washington, the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Huskies, has implementated new gameday vaccination verification procedures at Gesa Field. All guests 12 years of age and older attending Cougar Football games will need to be verified by providing proof of vaccination or proof of a FDA-approved negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of the event. Fans under 12 years of age are exempt from providing proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Guests planning to attend the game should note that there are no on-site testing capabilities at Gesa Field and it is highly recommended that negative COVID-19 testing be completed before arriving in Pullman. On gameday, fans can be verified before the game by showing proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test at various kiosk locations outside of Gesa Field. Gameday verification will be available at the Compton Union Building (CUB), Beasley Coliseum, Cougville and the four guest service kiosks positioned at the perimeter of the stadium beginning three hours prior to kickoff. These stations will close at kickoff. At that time, all verifications will be done at the gate. Guests who do not get verified before heading into the stadium will be screened at the gates. However, all guests are highly encouraged to get verified with a stamp before approaching the stadium gates. There will be express lanes for those that have been verified at Gates, A, B, F, I and the Premium Seating Entrance. Cougar Athletics mandated masks for all fans in attendance at Gesa Field, regardless of vaccination status. This included both indoor and outdoor seating at all times, unless actively eating or drinking. That mandate remains in effect going forward.