Why do Washington State and Oregon State play each other twice in 2025?
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A rare college football schedule quirk will begin in Week 10 when Washington State and Oregon Statemeet in the first of two regular season games against each other.
It’s common for teams to play each other twice in a season, especially in conference championship games as well as bowl and playoff contests. Of course, the second meeting of teams generally isn’t scheduled, but rather a result of how the season unfolds. It does get strange when the games are intentionally scheduled in the regular season, as is the case with the Beavers and Cougars.
So why are Washington State and Oregon State playing each other twice in the regular season? Here’s what to know about the unusual scheduling feature from the two teams left behind in 2024’s major conference realignment.
When do Washington State-Oregon State play each other?
The Cougars and Beavers will meet first at Oregon State in Week 10 on Saturday, Nov. 1. They will then face each other again in Week 14, this one taking place at Washington State on Saturday, Nov. 29
- Saturday, Nov. 1: Washington State at Oregon State, 7:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Saturday, Nov. 29: Oregon State at Washington State, 6:30 p.m. ET (CW)
Why do Washington State-Oregon State play each other twice?
Conference realignment is the main culprit. When the 10 other teams left the Pac-12, it left Washington State and Oregon State in uncertainty of who would make up their conference games. Last season, the two schools had an agreement with the Mountain West that helped fill up the schedule.
However, the Mountain West decided not to continue the agreement in 2025, leaving the Cougars and Beavers again without a set schedule. As the two teams scrambled to make up their slate, it was clear playing each other twice made sense.
How many times have teams played twice in a regular season?
Rematches have happened several times in conference title games, and in the postseason; teams have played each other again in bowl games, playoff matchups or the national title 26 times.
As for the regular season, Washington State vs. Oregon State will be only the third time FBS teams meet twice in scheduled showdowns.
The two times it happened were 2018 and 2019 between Liberty and New Mexico State. The Flames and Aggies played twice as they were both independent schools − and like Washington State and Oregon State − needed help filling their schedules. New Mexico State had been voted out of the Sun Belt Conference in 2016, while Liberty just started the transition to the FBS level
What have Washington State, Oregon State said about two meetings?
Both teams have embraced the rare opportunity. Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers compared it to like playing each other in the postseason, so you can’t repeat the plan in both meetings.
“You just need to be aware that you can’t do the same exact things. What’s hard, I would say more than anything, is doing everything right and having a ton of success, and then you come back around and say ‘what would we change?’” Rogers said during media availability this week. “Then you feel like an idiot for changing, and then you feel like an idiot if you didn’t change and you didn’t have success. So there’s a balance with that. You got to be somewhat unpredictable at times.”
Regardless of how the season has gone, the 1-7 Beaves and 4-4 Cougars are trying to claim the pseudo-conferenc championship.
“It’s going to be like being back in the division race,” said Oregon State interim coach Robb Akey to the media. “You’ve got to beat everybody, try to win it twice, you win the division, go to the playoffs, and we get the opportunity to be able to play them twice. If we can win it twice, we get to be the PAC-12 champions.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Washington State-Oregon State will play each other twice
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