The Washington State Cougars battle the No. 21 Syracuse Orange in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl today at 5 PM in Snapdragon stadium at San Diego State University.
The Cougars (8-4), are making their fifth Holiday Bowl appearance. They are previously 1-3 all-time in the Holiday Bowl, and are 8-10 all-time in bowl games. Their last Holiday Bowl appearance was a 42-17 loss to Michigan State in 2017. Their last bowl appearance was a 22-6 loss to Fresno State in the 2022 LA Bowl.
WSU has only played Syracuse (9-3) once previously, in 1979, a game which the Orange won 52-25.
The Cougars will be led by defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis. Due to a series of coaching changes, including head coach Jake Dickert moving to Wake Forest, Kaligis is now the veteran on the staff, and will get a chance to serve as interim head coach for the first time.
Kaligis spoke to the media last week after a practice on Dec. 21 about his new role as coach.
“We’re stepping into the gap,” said Kaligis. “Rallying and locking arms…this is what we do, and this is what we signed up to do.”
He credited his fellow assistant coaches for stepping up into bigger roles on the staff.
Leading the team at quarterback is Zevi Eckhaus. Eckhaus, a senior, transferred to Pullman last spring but failed to beat out John Mateer for the starting job this summer. He opted to use a redshirt instead, and now will start the Holiday Bowl with a chance to prove why he deserves to be the Cougars starter in 2025.
Eckhaus takes over the reigns from Mateer, who started all twelve of the Cougars regular season games in 2024. Mateer entered the transfer portal and has since committed to play for the University of Oklahoma. He’s already in Norman, Oklahoma, and did not take the trip with the team to San Diego.
Other players in the transfer portal did make the trip to San Diego and are likely to play. According to Kaligis, there are over 90 Cougs in San Diego practicing for the Bowl. 32 Cougs are either in the transfer portal or have already transferred, so at least some of them are in San Diego with the team.
Among them is senior defensive end David Gusta. Kaligis did not confirm wether Gusta would play, as he just committed to Texas Christian University for his final season of eligibility.
Senior wide receiver Kyle Williams will be taking the field, as will senior tight ends Cooper Mathers and Trey Leckner. That should provide Eckhaus with veteran talent and help him move the ball downfield.
Protection shouldn’t be an issue for the Cougs either, as four of Wazzu’s five starting linemen should be playing.
Senior Esa Pole spoke to the media after a practice about the line’s preparations for the game.
“At the time that we feel like a lot of separation is happening, the best thing we can do is come together,” said Pole.
He said the offensive line was planning to celebrate Christmas with a white elephant gift exchange.
The run game might be more of a question, with freshman Wayshawn Parker now set to transfer to Utah. Djouvensky Schkenbaker and Leo Pulalasi are expected to receive the bulk of the carries in the Holiday Bowl, but neither back provided much juice in the regular season.
“We’re a family,” Schlenbaker told WSU athletics. “We get one more opportunity to try to do it again for (the seniors).”
Defensively the Cougs have been gutted by the transfer portal, particularly in the secondary. They will still have senior captain Kyle Thornton at linebacker leading the way, and his presence should help keep some stability on the defense.
Freshman corner Ethan O’Conner will not be playing due to his transfer status, but corner Stephen Hall is expected to play. Hall is in the portal and has received offers from USC and Missori, but he has yet to commit anywhere and will play one last game with his former team.
The team also got some good news for Christmas, as cornerback Jamorri Colson announced he would be withdrawing from the transfer portal and returning to Wazzu.
Another question mark on the defense is Buddah Al-Uqdah. The sophomore linebacker made the trip to San Diego despite being in the portal, but he committed yesterday to the University of Washington.
His status for the game is unclear, though it is probable that he will not be playing.
Safety Tanner Moku, who will be playing in the game, spoke to WSU athletics after a  practice last week about the teams process going into the game.
“We’re gonna finish,” Moku said. He spoke about how thankful he was to get to play in a bowl game after once walking on at Wazzu,
“I would say, like to you know guys who come on like me like as a walk on, chase your dreams man,” Moku said. “Work your ass off, work your tail off, until you get to where you want to be.”
While Wazzu will be playing shorthanded, so will the Orange, who have eleven players in the portal, most of them on defense.
Syracuse biggest advantage is at quarterback. Senior Kyle McCord will be playing in the Bowl, giving the Orange an edge. McCord finished tenth in Heisman voting this year, leading Syracuse to a 9-3 record with ranked wins over Nevada-Las Vegas and Miami.
McCord passed for 4,326 yards and 29 touchdowns, while throwing just 12 interceptions.
According to the ESPN matchup predictor, the game is a tossup, giving the Orange a 50.2% chance of victory and the Cougars a 49.8% chance of victory. Despite that, the Orange is favored by 18 points according to ESPN Bet. Bettors were likely scared away from WSU due to the coaching departures and star players hitting the portal, as the line moved from Syracuse -4.5 to Syracuse -18.
“I’m not using the underdog mentality,” said Kaligis. “I know Coach Dickert is gone, but the foundation they’ve built for three years is the rock they still stand upon…we’re gonna go out, we’re gonna be Cougs, we’re gonna represent, that’s how it is.”
