2021 Washington State Cougars football team

2021 Washington State Cougars football
Sun Bowl, L 21–24 vs. Central Michigan
ConferencePac–12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Record7–6 (6–3 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrian Smith (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorCraig Stutzmann (2nd season)
Offensive schemeRun and Shoot
Defensive coordinatorJake Dickert (2nd season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 22 Oregon xy   7 2     10 4  
Washington State   6 3     7 6  
Oregon State   5 4     7 6  
California   4 5     5 7  
Washington   3 6     4 8  
Stanford   2 7     3 9  
South Division
No. 12 Utah xy$   8 1     10 4  
UCLA   6 3     8 4  
Arizona State†   0 3     0 5  
USC   3 6     4 8  
Colorado   3 6     4 8  
Arizona   1 8     1 11  
Championship: Utah 38, Oregon 10
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Nick Rolovich for the first seven games of the season. Rolovich was fired on October 18 after refusing to comply with Washington's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert took over as the team's interim head coach for the reminder of the season. He was announced as the Cougars 34th head coach following their Apple Cup victory on November. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

After finishing the regular season with an overall record of 7–5, the Cougars accepted an invitation to the Sun Bowl, to face the Miami Hurricanes. On December 26, the Hurricanes announced that they would not be able to play, due to COVID-19 issues; organizers stated that they would try to secure a replacement team to face the Cougars.[1] On December 27, the Central Michigan Chippewas were named as the Sun Bowl replacement team.[2] The Chippewas had originally been scheduled to face the Boise State Broncos in the Arizona Bowl, until the Broncos had to withdraw due to COVID-19 issues and the Arizona Bowl was canceled.[3][4]

  1. ^ Adelson, Andrea (December 26, 2021). "Miami out of Sun Bowl against Washington State due to COVID-19 issues in football program". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  2. ^ Sallee, Barrett (December 27, 2021). "Central Michigan to play Washington State in Sun Bowl after Miami pulls out due to COVID-19 issues". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Glasspiegel, Ryan (December 27, 2021). "Dave Portnoy announces Boise State out of Barstool Bowl due to COVID-19". New York Post. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  4. ^ "UPDATE: Arizona Bowl canceled for 2021". KOLD-TV. December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via MSN.com.