The unbeaten Cougars made their first trip to Pasadena, but the game was played at Tournament Park, rather than Rose Bowl stadium, which would be constructed seven years later. WSU and Brown were knotted up at 0-0 through two quarters, but the Cougars got on the board in the third quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run from Ralph Boon.

Carl Dietz doubled the lead in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard scoring run and the Cougars, who’d only given up one field goal and one touchdown all season, kept the Bruins and star tailback Fritz Pollard scoreless. Pollard would later become the first black player named to a Walter Camp All-American and the first black head coach in the National Football League.

The game was played in front of 10,000 fans and on a muddy surface. A cold spell, followed by heavy rain and snow three days prior to the game slowed both clubs down, allowing the Cougars to post their only bowl shutout in school history.

Fifteen years after WSU blanked Brown in the Rose Bowl, Alabama kept the Cougars off the scoreboard for four quarters in the Rose Bowl. Nobody felt better about that than Crimson Tide coach Wallace Wade, who was a member of the 1916 Brown team that felt short in Pasadena.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Alabama poured on three touchdowns in the second to take a 21-0 lead. The barrage started with a 62-yard pass from Jimmy Moore to John Suther. Quarterback John Cain received the snap and handed the ball to Moore, a left end, who stopped and hurled a deep throw to Suther.

The Cougars were intercepted on their next possession, leading to Monk Campbell’s 1-yard touchdown run. The Crimson Tide scored touchdown No. 3 later in the quarter when Campbell broke free for a 43-yard run. Wade’s Alabama teams had posted seven shutouts entering the game and outscored opponents 247-13.

Amid heavy rain, an estimated 81,000 still showed up for the game. Wade’s team took an all-business approach and players spend minimal time sightseeing. “We did go on one trip,” All-American tackle Fred Sington said. “Out to an orange grove. We picked two oranges and came back. That was his big outing.”

Following a bowl drought that lasted a half-century, the Cougars returned to the postseason in 1981.

At Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, it was your classic tale of two halves. The Cougars of BYU stormed out to a 31-7 lead after two passing touchdowns from Jim McMahon, a 20-yard field goal, a 1-yard run from Waymon Hamilton and a 35-yard interception return from Tom Holmoe. But the Cougars of WSU stopped the bleeding and rallied to score four of the final five touchdowns.

Don LaBomme, Robert Williams, Ricky Turner and Mike Martin all scored rushing touchdown, but quarterback Clete Casper was sacked on the final Cougar possession and BYU ran the clock out to preserve the victory.

McMahon was the offensive MVP with 368 passing yards and three touchdowns and BYU linebacker Kyle Whittingham, currently the head coach at Utah, was defensive MVP. There was also a cameo from BYU backup quarterback named Steve Young, who lined up in the backfield for one play in the first quarter, took a pitch from McMahon and completed a 26-yard pass to Gordon Hudson.

In Honolulu, it was another all-Cougar bowl, with No. 18 WSU taking on No. 14 Houston in a Christmas day game at the Aloha Bowl.

Houston opened the score sheet with a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the game was one in the second, when WSU scored three touchdowns and booted a field goal to take a commanding 24-9 lead into the break. Victor Wood was responsible for two of those touchdowns, first recovering a fumble for a 5-yard touchdown then catching a 15-yard pass from Timm Rosenbach.

Houston signal-caller David Dacus hit two separate receivers for touchdowns in the second half, but a failed two-point conversion on the first of those TD receptions would prove to be decisive in a game that Jack Pardee’s team lost by just two points.

WSU, coached by Dennis Erickson, controlled the ball for nearly three minutes to end the game after the team from Pullman recovered a Houston fumble late in the fourth quarter. Steve Broussard never did get into the end zone on Dec. 25, 1988, but the WSU running back set the tone for the Cougars on the ground with 139 rushing yards on 33 carries.

The game in Tucson, Arizona, was officially a meeting between the 18th-ranked Cougars and unranked Utes. Unofficially, it was a duel between two high-caliber quarterbacks – WSU’s Drew Bledsoe and Utah’s Frank Dolce.

The Cougars got into the end zone twice in the first five minutes, when Shaumbe Wright-Fair scored on a 3-yard run and Bledsoe found Phillip Bobo for an 87-yard touchdown pass. Those two, Bledsoe and Bobo, would connect seven times for 212 yards and two touchdowns by the time all was said and done.

Dolce ignited the Utah engine in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass and the Utes made it a seven-point game when Keith Williams scored on a 25-yard run. But with 31 seconds left in the half, the Cougars squeezed in one more touchdown.

Bledsoe hit Bobo for 48 yards and Mike Price’s bunch went into the locker room up 14. Dolce hooked up with Henry Lusk for a 49-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-score game and the Utes evened things at 28-28 when Pierre Jones hustled into the end zone from eight yards out.

But this duel of QBs wasn’t ultimately won by Bledsoe or Dolce – it was decided by a kicker. WSU’s Aaron Price, the coach’s son, had nailed a game-winner against Arizona in the same stadium earlier that.

Price calmly slotted another decisive kick in the desert, giving WSU the three-point victory. Bledsoe finished 30-of-46 passing with a school record 476 yards. Dolce was 21-of-40 with 316 yards. Together, the offenses accounted for more than 1,100 yards.

The Bears entered this New Year’s Eve game scoring nearly 33 points per game, while the Cougars entered with the nation’s second-ranked defense.

With 44,106 packed into the stands in San Antonio, it was a defensive struggle between two teams that would combine for only 444 yards of offense. WSU scored on the game’s opening drive, but Kevin Hick’s 1-yard run into the end zone with 8:28 remaining in the first quarter was the first and final touchdown fans would see.

The Cougars drove 50 yards right before halftime to set Tony Truant up for a manageable field goal and the WSU kicker extended the lead to 10-0 with a 37-yarder. The Cougars played a relentless half of defense, allowing the potent Baylor offense just 41 yards – 24 on the ground and 17 in the air.

The Bears closed the deficit with a field goal toward the end of the third quarter and nearly knotted the score up in the final minutes of the fourth, but Todd Jensen intercepted Jeff Watson to preserve the victory.

Cougar quarterback Chad Davis was named offensive MVP after completing 27 of 35 passes for 286 yards. Baylor’s record-setting offense was limited to 151 yards of total offense, eight first downs and one field goal in what would be the lowest-scoring bowl game in WSU history.

Making their first trip back to Pasadena in 67 years, the Cougars met national champion and top-ranked Michigan in a Rose Bowl game that was played in front of 101,219 fans.

Eighth-ranked WSU thwarted the Wolverines on their first two offensive drives, allowing quarterback Ryan Leaf and the Cougars to begin their first scoring drive on the Michigan 47-yard line. Leaf and the WSU offense marched to the 15-yard line, where the Cougar signal-caller hooked up with Kevin McKenzie for the game’s first touchdown.

The Cougars nearly went up two touchdowns, but Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson intercepted Leaf’s 12-yard attempt into the end zone. Michigan proceeded to even the score midway through the second quarter on Bob Griese’s 58-yard touchdown strike to Tai Streets.

The Cougars drove the length of the field to score their next touchdown after Jason Vinson mishandled a Michigan punt in the third quarter, setting WSU up on the 1-yard line. But Leaf completed four passes that amassed 73 yards and Shawn Tims took a reverse run into the end zone from 14 yards out.

The PAT was blocked, but the Cougars took a 13-7 lead nonetheless. Then came a Michigan barrage. The Wolverines scored on two passes from Griese – a 58-yard touchdown bomb to Streets and a 23-yard hookup with Jerame Tuman. Those touchdowns put the favorites up 21-13, but a 48-yard field goal from Rian Lindell cut it the Michigan lead down to five points and the Cougars got the ball back with 29 seconds remaining.

Needing 93 yards, Leaf threw to Nian Taylor for a 46-yard gain to the Michigan 47 and after a delay of game penalty, the WSU gunslinger hit Love Jefferson at the Wolverine 25-yard line. Jefferson lateraled to Jason Clayton, but Clayton managed just nine more yards before being brought down with two seconds left.

WSU tried to spike the ball on first down, but officials determined the clock had expired, preventing one final shot at an upset for the Cougars.

The Jason Gesser-led Cougars were ranked No. 13 in the country coming into their first bowl game of the new millennium and faced the unranked Purdue Boilermakers in front of 47,812 at El Paso, Texas.

It was the first-ever meeting between WSU and Purdue and the first Sun Bowl appearance for both schools. WSU took control early when Jason David returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, then extended the lead with a 46-yard pass from Gesser to Mike Bush. Purdue reeled off 20 points in the second quarter to make it 20-17 in favor of the Boilermakers entering halftime, but the Cougars had a dominant period of their own, scoring 13 points in the third to re-claim the lead.

Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton dialed up a late 51-yard touchdown pass, but the Cougars ultimately held on to win the fourth bowl in their last five tries.

It couldn’t have happened without WSU kicker Drew Dunning, who booted four field goals – from 47, 34, 30 and 37 yards out – and nailed three PATs to account for 15 of the 33 Cougar points.

Gesser’s Cougars missed out on a bowl in 2002, but No. 7 WSU returned to Pasadena in ’03 and met a defensive-minded Oklahoma team that sat just one place behind the Pullman team in the national rankings.

The 89th Rose Bowl was played on New Year’s Day in front of 86,848 fans, though you couldn’t blame the WSU contingent for exiting the gates early. The Sooner stifled Gesser’s high-flying passing attack and lead 17-0 at halftime then 27-0 before the Cougars finally got on the board in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma scored two touchdowns with under two minutes left in the first half, including a 42-yard punt return from Antonio Perkins with 42 seconds left.

WSU’s only offensive touchdown came on a 37-yard pass from Gesser to Jerome Riley and Sammy Moore provided some late fireworks with a 89-yard kickoff return for the Cougars, but by that point only 1:15 remained in the fourth quarter and it was too little, too late for a WSU comeback.

WSU strangely played two bowl games during the same calendar year – it was the only time in school history that happened – and the 15th-ranked Cougars met No. 5 Texas in San Diego.

Just 364 days after a Rose Bowl loss to Oklahoma, WSU once again let its Big 12 opponent pull ahead early on. The Longhorns made it 7-0 minutes into the second quarter and knocked home a field goal with four seconds left in the half to lead 10-3. WSU responded in the third quarter, first with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Matt Kegel to Sammy Moore.

On the next WSU touchdown, Kegel lined up under center but ran in motion to the right sideline, leaving running back Jonathan Smith alone in the backfield. Smith botched the snap, but recovered to sprint in for a 12-yard touchdown.

The Cougars scored for the third time in the quarter when Jason David scooped up a fumble and returned it 18 yards into the end zone. Smith would rush 21 times for 110 yards in the game and Kegel completed 18 of 32 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. WSU reached the 10-win plateau for the second time in as many seasons with the victory.

An aerial showdown between WSU’s Connor Halliday and Colorado State’s Garret Grayson was decided in the final three minutes.

The Cougars led by as many as 22 points, but WSU’s last touchdown came with 9:35 to play when Halliday linked up with Isiah Myers for a 22-yard score that made it 45-30, in favor of the Pac-12 club.

The Rams then staged a furious comeback nearly seven minutes later, beginning with Grayson’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jordon Vaden. CSU got the ball back when Shaquil Barrett forced Jeremiah Laufasa to fumble at the Cougar 33-yard line and Kapri Bibbs charged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown just a few plays later. Donn Alexander snuck in for a two-point conversion, tying things up at 45-45 with 33 seconds left.

WSU continued to crumble when Teondray Caldwell lost the ball on the ensuing kickoff. The Rams recovered and set up Jared Roberts for a 40-yard field goal attempt. Roberts nailed his fourth field goal of the game and this one, with the time expiring, meant a three-point win for Jim McElwain’s group.

In the losing effort, Halliday was still tabbed offensive MVP after completing 37 of 58 passes for 410 yards and six touchdowns. WSU receiver River Cracraft caught nine balls for 125 yards. CSU’s Bibbs rushed 27 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

Amid snow flurries, the Cougars never trailed en route to their first bowl win in 12 years. Luke Falk put WSU on the board first with a 31-yard pass to running back Jamal Morrow, but the Hurricanes evened the score at 7-7 when Brad Kaaya hit Stacey Coley for short 4-yard touchdown. The second quarter belonged to the Cougars.

Erik Powell knocked in a 30-yard field goal, Falk and Gabe Marks linked up for a 25-yard touchdown and Powell slotted his second field goal from 25 yards out as the clock ran out. The Cougars went into halftime up 20-7 and took the same advantage into the fourth quarter after a scoreless third.

Miami’s Mark Walton made it a one-score game almost two minutes into the final period with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Hurricanes nearly took the lead with 5:14 to play but Kaaya’s touchdown pass to Coley was called back for a penalty and WSU cornerback Marcellus Pippins recovered a Miami fumble two plays later.

The Cougars would have to punt on their next possession, but Shalom Luani sealed the victory when he picked off a halfback pass with 2:58 to play. Falk was 30-for-54 with 300 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Marks and River Cracraft each caught five balls for 60-plus yards.

Heavy favorites entering the game, the Cougars faced a Golden Gopher team seemingly in shambles. Ten Minnesota players were dismissed in the weeks leading up to the bowl game after a sexual assault investigation and a handful of others threatened to not show up at all. The Gophers arrived, the Cougars evidently did not.

WSU’s potent passing game was held to only 264 yards and one touchdown and the Cougars didn’t find any success on the ground, carrying the ball 23 times for just 39 yards. WSU’s Erik Powell and Minnesota’s Emmit Carpenter traded field goals in the first half, with Powell hitting a 26-yarder, Carpenter hitting a 43-yarder and Powell connecting on a 41-yarder to make it a 6-3 WSU lead entering the break.

But the Cougars, who’d scored 50 points in four games during the regular season – a school record – were held to just one touchdown in the second half. That came on an 8-yard pass from Luke Falk to Kyle Sweet, but not before two Minnesota touchdowns – a 13-yard pass from Mitch Leidner to Shannon Brooks and a 9-yard run from Rodney Smith. Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, which averaged 40.3 points per game, crossed the 50-yard line just twice and managed under four yards per play.

Washington State’s history in the Holiday Bowl against the Big Ten Conference and the Cougars’ documented struggles to contain quarterbacks with the ability to run and pass morphed into one big catastrophe in San Diego. Tyler Hilinski started in place of the ailing Luke Falk – the Cougars still couldn’t get their Air Raid to manufacture anything resembling offense, and the Michigan State Spartans, just like Minnesota before them, showed just how simple it can be to shut said offense down, stomping WSU 42-17 in front of 47,092 fans.

The Cougars, as Gardner Minshew put it a few days earlier, have still never lost a party. Behind the right arm of a record-setting quarterback and the clutch play of an underappreciated defense, WSU captured an elusive 11th win in the Alamo Bowl, defeating Big 12 opponent Iowa State 28-26 in front of 60,675 fans.

The Cougars squandered a change to win consecutive bowl games for the first time in program history with running back Max Borghi stopped inside the five on multiple occasions. Instead WSU lost to Air Force in front of 34,105 fans at Chase Field in Phoenix to finish with a losing record for the first time since 2014.

The Cougars, held scoreless and limited to under 50 yards of offense in the first half, turned this one into a thriller down the stretch. They roared back behind their walk-on quarterback Victor Gabalis and their never-say-die defense, but their late rally wasn’t quite enough in a loss to Central Michigan – who was play in place of Miami due to COVID-19 – on a rainy morning at a sparsely populated Sun Bowl Stadium.