Cougars to Face Miami in Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
PULLMAN, Wash. (December 5, 2021) - The Washington State University Cougars accepted an invitation to play in the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, Friday, Dec. 31, at 9 a.m. PT, Sun Bowl Executive Director Bernie Olivas announced Sunday.
The 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will feature the Cougars against the Miami Hurricanes from the Atlantic Coast Conference in a rematch of the 2015 Sun Bowl. This will mark the second meeting between the two teams.
"Washington State is excited to be returning to El Paso for the 2021 Sun Bowl," said WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun. "Cougar fans have great memories of both the 2001 and 2015 Sun Bowl games, and we look forward to another great week in El Paso to close out 2021."
Under first-year head coach Jake Dickert, the Cougars finished the regular season with a 7-5 overall record, 6-3 in Pac-12 play. It also marks the sixth bowl appearance in seven seasons by the Cougars, and sixth-straight when not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
The 2021 Sun Bowl marks the 17th overall bowl game for the Cougar program. In 2019, WSU fell short against Air Force at the Cheez-It Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz. In 2018, the Cougars came away with a 28-26 victory over No. 25 Iowa State in the Valero Alamo Bowl, en route to a program-record 11-win season and a No. 10 final ranking. Previously WSU has played in the Rose Bowl (1916, 1931, 1998, 2003), the Holiday Bowl (1981, 2003, 2016, 2017), the Aloha Bowl (1988), the Copper Bowl (1992), the Alamo Bowl (1994, 2018), the Sun Bowl (2001, 2015) and the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. The Cougars are 8-8 in bowl games all time.
"What a great opportunity for our team to play in the Sun Bowl against a very good Miami program," said Dickert. "This year's team has worked tremendously hard to carry on the bowl tradition at Washington State and we look forward to writing the final chapter of the our 2021 season."
In the 2015 Sun Bowl, the Cougars came away with a 20-14 victory over Miami, the only prior meeting between the two teams. In a game played through a driving second-half snow storm, quarterback Luke Falk threw for two touchdowns and was the game MVP as the Cougars won their first bowl game since the 2003 season.
Tickets for the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl may be ordered through wsucougars.com. Fans may also call the Cougar Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-COUGS starting at 9 a.m., Monday morning. More information is also available at www.sunbowl.org.
The 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will be televised live nationally by CBS at 9 a.m. PT from Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.