The WSU football team is going bowling this year and continuing a trend that has happened in nine of the last 10 years. The Cougars finished the season at 6-6 with a dominant win over fellow Pac-12 member Oregon State.
The list of bowl games that the Cougars could play in includes the New Mexico Bowl, Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, the LA Bowl and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Here are the best possible outcomes for the Cougars this bowl season.
- LA Bowl vs. Boise State (8-4, 6-2) – Dec. 13
The bright lights of LA make for a great bowl destination for the Cougars, who are looking to show what they are about for the final time this season. The last time the Cougars matched up with the Broncos was last season, when the Cougars suffered a crushing loss fueled by current Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty. The Broncos and Cougars are two very different teams compared to who they were last season. It would be an excellent preview to a new era of the Pac-12 conference. The Broncos lost their game against San Diego State 17-7. The Cougars beat SDSU 36-13 in week two.
- Hawaii Bowl vs. Hawaii (8-4, 5-3) – Dec. 24
A bowl game in the Aloha state would be a great way to cap off the season for the Cougars. The sandy beaches and blue skies would be a nice change of scenery compared to the cold winters of Pullman. This game would encapsulate what a bowl game is. It is a matchup against an out-of-conference team with a great destination included. The last time that the Cougars and Rainbow Warriors met on the field was last season, when the Cougars trounced Hawaii 42-10 on homecoming weekend. Hawaii recently dominated SDSU 38-6, putting them on notice as a real threat in the Mountain West Conference. Hawaii has improved significantly this season after going 5-7 last season.
- New Mexico Bowl vs. New Mexico (9-3,6-2) – Dec. 27
Of all the games on this list, this is the most likely to come to fruition. Multiple outlets, including ESPN, have predicted this game for the Cougars. It would be the toughest of the bunch, with New Mexico being significantly improved over the last year since they brought in former Idaho head coach Jason Eck. Last season, the Lobos finished 5-7 and, as Cougar fans know all too well, upset the Cougars in week 11. Earlier this week, the Lobos agreed to a new five-year contract with Eck, extending him through the 2030 season. New Mexico’s defense ranks No. 44 in stop rate, while the Cougars rank No. 20 according to ESPN Research. The destination of the game is nowhere near as appealing as the two previously mentioned, but it would be a great test for the Cougars and head coach Jimmy Rogers to end year one.
Declan Curran • Dec 4, 2025 at 11:42 am
I’m praying we get selected for the Las Vegas Bowl, because I’ll be going to that bowl game this year and it would be really cool to see the Cougs in Vegas.
Lance M Dugger • Dec 3, 2025 at 5:53 pm
Rogers, just getting to a bowl in his first year as head coach of the Cougars, is quite an accomplishment by itself. Working out the chemistry with a completely new cast of players and coaches, in a completely new environment showed his organizational talents and his ability to coach and recruit quality players bodes well for the future of this program.