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There have been winners & losers in the new era of college football that started in 2021 and has seen the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness deals for players, the Transfer Portal in which athletes can transfer as many times as they want without sitting out a year and massive conference realignment that has reshaped the sport.
The biggest winner is obviously Indiana, which went from a college football afterthought to national champions thanks to hiring head coach Curt Cignetti and funding from billionaire alum Mark Cuban.
The biggest loser, on the other hand, has been Washington State.
Not long ago, Washington State embodied what made college football unique and special. Far from traditional power centers, the Cougars played in a small college town on the Palouse, yet consistently found ways to punch above their weight.
Now, Wazzu is 1-4 on the 2026 season and one of the worst teams in the entire FBS.
We examine how things went so wrong so quickly in Pullman.
Dec 27, 2019; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach against the Air Force Falcons during the Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Before 2021, Washington State regularly won eight or nine games, developed quarterbacks, and built a rabid fanbase that made Pullman one of the sport’s best atmospheres.
Under legendary head coach Mike Leach, Washington State became “America’s College Football Team” after he was hired in 2012. The Air Raid made the Cougars appointment viewing, while personalities like QB Gardner Minshew helped turn the program into a national cult favorite.
6 years ago today, the late Mike Leach delivered this iconic breakdown of which Pac-12 mascot would win in a fight.
The 2018 season was the peak. Washington State went 11-2 and won the Alamo Bowl, ending the season as one of the best teams in the country with a final ranking of No. 10 in the AP Poll. That same fall, ESPN’s “College GameDay” finally made its first-ever trip to Pullman after years of Cougars fans waving the Ol’ Crimson flag at broadcasts across the country.
Washington State was never a traditional powerhouse, and that was part of its charm. The Cougars could recruit, develop, and retain enough talent to compete with the biggest programs in the Pac-12. They could still find the next quarterback or breakout star even without landing 5-star recruits.
Most importantly, Washington State felt it had a place in the sport. Pullman was remote, Martin Stadium was small, and the program lacked the resources of USC, Oregon, or Washington. Yet the Cougars consistently found a way to win.
That made what happened next even more jarring.
Washington State Since 2021
Over the last five years, the Cougars have been hit hard by the sport’s changes.
Washington State and Oregon State were left behind in the ruins of the Pac-12 as every other former member found a home in another power conference. Suddenly, the Cougars were trying to navigate a college football landscape where conference affiliation, NIL resources and transfer-portal spending were everything.
The program has also struggled to keep the people who make it successful. Coaching staffs have been raided, with figures such as head coaches Jake Dickert and Jimmy Rogers moving on to Wake Forest and Iowa State, respectively.
Washington State’s best players have increasingly become targets for better-resourced programs, as the roster itself has become a revolving door. Cam Ward developed into a star at Washington State before eventually transferring to Miami for a year and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. John Mateer followed a breakout season in Pullman by transferring to Oklahoma.
Instead of being the destination, Washington State has increasingly become a place where talent developed before moving elsewhere.
The consequences have been brutal. The Cougars have gone from regularly competing for eight or nine wins to becoming one of the worst teams in the FBS. This season, Washington State is just 1-4 on the season with the program’s lone coming coming against FCS Duquesne. Last Saturday, Wazzu lost at home to Fresno State, 26-6, and had just 182 yards of offense total.
Even the atmosphere has suffered, with Washington State struggling to consistently fill its 32,000-seat stadium.
That is what makes Washington State such a painful symbol of college football’s transformation. The Cougars did not suddenly stop caring. Their fans did not disappear. Their history did not become less meaningful; the sport around them changed.
Washington State once proved a program didn’t need to be a traditional powerhouse to become nationally relevant. Now, simply staying relevant has become the fight.
