Rare company: Wisconsin’s trip to Pullman an unusual nonconference game in history of Washington State football

PULLMAN – Good luck overstating the importance of Washington State’s next game, a prime-time home matchup with No. 19 Wisconsin on Saturday.

It’s been 25 years since the Cougars hosted a game like this, a home nonconference game against a Power Five opponent.

WSU has only held two games that fit that description. In 1998, Illinois made the trip to Pullman, where the Cougars held on for a 20-13 victory. In 1947, Michigan State (back then known as Michigan State College) did the same, falling to the Cougars 21-7 in Pullman.

That’s the entire list – a big reason why WSU’s showdown with Wisconsin, which will be broadcast by ABC, looms so large. It’s the Cougars’ first home game televised on ABC since the 2004 Apple Cup.

Plus, the last time the Cougars hosted a Big Ten team in a “home game” was in 1974, when they fell to No. 1 Ohio State at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

That makes this as good a time as any to revisit some of Washington State’s biggest “home” games, at Martin Stadium and around the area.

1998: Washington State beats Illinois 20-13 in Pullman

In both teams’ season openers, WSU quarterback Steve Birnbaum kicked off the post-Ryan Leaf era by completing 19 of 34 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown, a 12-yard completion to Nian Taylor.

The Cougars scored first, thanks to defensive end Jonathan Nance’s sack and a scoop-and-score from defensive lineman Rob Meier, who returned the ball 52 yards , good for a 7-0 lead. They padded the lead with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Birnbaum to Taylor.

That’s when the Illini started clawing back. In the second quarter, as the Cougars tried to add to their lead, running back DeJuan Gilmore coughed up a fumble that turned into an Illinois touchdown.

After the Cougars botched a punt, the Illini capitalized with a field goal, slicing WSU’s lead to 14-10. But Washington State countered with a field goal, heading into halftime up 17-10.

In the end, former WSU coach Mike Price secured his 100th career victory.

1947: Washington State College beats Michigan State College 21-7 in Pullman

Just about the only information available about this one is the game program, which can be found at the WSU Library’s website.

2021: After Rolovich’s firing, WSU falls to BYU in Pullman

BYU wasn’t in the Big 12 at the time, but now that the program is playing in a power conference, let’s quickly revisit this one. Shortly after former WSU coach Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing to comply with the state COVID-19 vaccine mandate, current coach Jake Dickert took over in the interim. The Cougars couldn’t stop BYU running back Tyler Allgeier’s rushing attack.

“I know it’s been a tough week,” Dickert said. “It’s a little bit learning on the fly. I felt it was really smooth. For the most part we operated as a staff.”

2014: Rutgers beats Washington State 41-38 in Seattle

In the Scarlet Knights’ first game as a member of the Big Ten, the Cougars couldn’t capitalize on quarterback Connor Halliday’s enormous game: 40-for-56 passing for 532 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He completed passes to 10 receivers, including 12 to Vince Mayle and six to Isiah Myers, the latter of whom hauled in two scores.

WSU was undone by a forgettable beginning and end to the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova hit Leonte Carroo for a 78-yard touchdown pass. With a shade more than 3 minutes to play, running back Paul James scored to give the Scarlet Knights the lead for good.

2009: WSU edges SMU 30-27 in overtime in Pullman

SMU wasn’t a power conference team during this time, but the Mustangs are moving to the ACC in time for the 2024 season.

The winner came off the foot of Nico Grasu, with a 39-yard field goal in overtime. That capped a wild finish , from WSU safety Chima Nwachukwu’s overtime interception to linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis’s pick-six, which trimmed SMU’s lead to 24-13 at the end of the third quarter.

When Grasu nailed that field goal, WSU took its first lead of the season – in its third game.

2008: WSU falls to Oklahoma State 39-13 in Seattle

The Cougars couldn’t make first-year head coach Paul Wulff’s first game count. They didn’t cross midfield for the first time until halfway through the third quarter. By then, they faced an 18-0 deficit.

Dez Bryant starred for OSU, returning a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and finishing with seven catches for 90 yards.

The Cowboys’ spread offense fared much better than the Cougars’. Quarterback Gary Rogers hit on 12 of 24 passes for just 82 yards (an average of 3.4 yards per completion), one touchdown and one interception. That came out to a quarterback rating of 23.7.

2006: Cougars clip Baylor 17-15 in Seattle

To erase a two-score deficit and rally to beat the Bears, the Cougars got a winning 17-yard field goal from Loren Langley, ending their nonconference slate on the highest of notes.

“We finally finished,” WSU head coach Bill Doba said after the game. “We’ve been preaching all offseason and all spring and all preseason: finish. We made some plays when we had to.”

Cougars quarterback Alex Brink, whose shoddy play in the first half inspired boos and calls for Rogers (who led a touchdown drive), ended up completing 12 of his final 13 passes to get WSU down the field for the needed score. In the third quarter, WSU pulled a trick play, Brink catching a 4-yard touchdown pass from running back Dwight Tardy.

“I’ve taken a lot of heat for not being able to win games late,” Brink said. “And to just have the opportunity to do it against a good ball club was something I was looking forward to.”

1974: Washington State falls to Kansas 14-7 in Spokane

We don’t know much about this game, other than the final score, plus some game film available on YouTube .

This game fell in the middle of a series between the teams. The Cougars and Jayhawks played every year from 1970-1977, KU winning six to WSU’s two. The game in Spokane was the only one played away from Lawrence, where the Jayhawks went 5-2.

1974: Washington State falls to No. 1 Ohio State 42-7 in Seattle

The Cougars played a serious scheduled this season. They finished 2-9, but they clashed with four ranked teams – losses to No. 18 Illinois, top-ranked Ohio State, No. 7 USC and No. 19 Cal.

WSU’s only score came on a touchdown pass from Wally Bennett to running back Ron Cheatham, who led the team that season with 616 rushing yards.

1966: Baylor beats WSU 20-14 in Spokane

There’s no real information on this game , but there’s a video of this game as well. This time, it’s in black and white.

At the time, head coach Bert Clark and the Cougars were competing in a conference called the Athletic Association of Western Universities. That season, WSU played five home games – two at Rogers Field in Pullman, three at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.

1962: Washington State tops Indiana 21-15 in Spokane

Thanks to the New York Times’ archives, there are a few details. With 1 minute, 18 seconds to play, WSU quarterback Dave Mathieson found Hugh Campbell for a 50-yard touchdown pass, sealing the Cougars’ win.

All but one of the game’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter.

1953: TCU beats WSU 21-7 in Spokane

The Cougars couldn’t beat the Horned Frogs , but that season, they did take down Idaho (at the time WSU’s 27th straight win in the series) and rival Washington in Seattle.

1942: Washington State College beats Michigan State College 25-13 in Spokane

1941: Washington State College clipped by Texas A&M 7-0 in Tacoma in “Evergreen Bowl”

Inside a copy of the Dec. 7, 1941, Spokesman-Review, whose front page included the headline “Roosevelt sends message to Japanese emperor,” there are a few details, including the fact that an official confused the crowd of 25,00 with a penalty call and that the Aggies scored on a pass from quarterback Derace Moser (“pass-pitching,” according to the AP story) to receiver Leo Daniels.