WSU Cougars finalize hodgepodge 2025 football schedule
Nov 1, 2024, 4:40 PM | Updated: 7:38 pm
The WSU Cougars walk through the tunnel at Lumen Field prior to the 2024 Apple Cup against the UW Huskies. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
The WSU Cougars have officially cobbled together a football schedule for the 2025 season.
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Washington State announced Friday that it has added a road matchup against James Madison on Nov. 22, 2025, which completes a hodgepodge 12-game slate that includes opponents from 10 different conferences.
After the Pac-12’s demise, the league’s two remaining schools – Washington State and Oregon State – had a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West this season. That allowed the Cougars to play eight of their 12 games against Mountain West opponents.
However, the Pac-12 and Mountain West did not extend their deal for 2025. That forced Washington State to get particularly creative to fill out next year’s schedule, including the highly unusual move of playing Oregon State twice in the same season.
The Cougars’ top home matchups next season include the Apple Cup against archrival Washington and their regular-season finale against Oregon State. Their top road games include trips to Ole Miss, Virginia and Oregon State. WSU has never played Ole Miss or Virginia before.
the 2025 Cougar Football Schedule🙌
📲 https://t.co/BoqCLbEHg5 pic.twitter.com/ckeGH1owlk
— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) November 1, 2024
Washington State will play at least one team from every FBS conference except the Big 12.
The Cougs will face teams from the SEC (Ole Miss), the Big Ten (Washington), the ACC (Virginia), the American Athletic Conference (North Texas), the Pac-12 (Oregon State twice), the Mountain West (San Diego State and Colorado State), the Mid-American Conference (Toledo), the Sun Belt (James Madison) and Conference USA (Louisiana Tech). They also will face FCS-level Idaho from the Big Sky Conference.
Washington State is on track to return to a more normal schedule in 2026, which is when the new-look Pac-12 is slated to begin. The conference currently has seven football members who are set to begin play in the revamped league in 2026: Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Utah State. The conference still needs to add one more member to be recognized as an FBS league.
This season, the Cougars are 7-1 and ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Washington State has a bye this week before hosting Utah State on Nov. 9.
More on WSU Cougars football
• No. 22 WSU Cougars’ season debut in poll a point of pride for Pac-12
• WSU Cougars rally past San Diego State 29-26 to improve to 7-1
• WSU Cougars upgrade rivalry against ‘Pac-2’ cohort Oregon State
