FROM THE PALOUSE TO THE PROS: THE CAM WARD ERA AT WSU
Matti Tenney - September 9, 2025
Washington State University isn’t known nationally as a college football “powerhouse”. As one of just two remaining schools from the former glory of the Pac-12, the Cougs have been able to stay relevant over the past few seasons. While Coug fans have their qualms with former head coach Jake Dickert (who left the school for Wake Forest after just 3 full seasons with WSU), one thing they can’t take away from him was the level of quarterback play he was able to bring in.
Taking over for Nic Rolovich midway through the 2021 season due to disputes around COVID vaccine requirements, Dickert’s interim season was led by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Jayden de Laura. De Laura’s tenure at Wazzu ended abruptly during the 2021 Sun Bowl when he refused to play after half time, letting Victor Gabalis, now the starter at Tarleton State, finish out the 24-21 loss to Central Michigan.
After that season, de Laura took off for the University of Arizona, while Gabalis left for Utah Tech. This is where things really got interesting. Dickert’s staff brought in an unknown kid from Incarnate Word, a zero star recruit out of high school. His name? Cameron Ward.
In addition to Ward, the WSU quarterback room had another notable name, John Mateer. The 2022 Cougars were a solid team, going 7-6 and losing the LA Bowl to Fresno State. The Cougs started 3-0, beating Idaho, a ranked Wisconsin team at Camp Randall, and Colorado State. By this time, Cam was already showing that he deserved to be at the FBS level.
Completing 67 of 103 passes for 8 touchdowns and 727 passing yards, Ward was comfortable and ready for the conference opener, a home game against Bo Nix and the 15th ranked Oregon Ducks. By halftime, the Cougs held a 17-9 lead, not allowing a single Oregon touchdown.
Wazzu fans were having flashbacks to the Ducks game of 2018, the year of Minshew Mania, the first (and only) time College GameDay was hosted in Pullman, WA, when David took down Goliath 34-20 and solidified the Cougs as a top-10 team in the country. Holding a 27-15 lead going into the 4th quarter, this is where I would like to introduce a term that tells the story of Washington State.
“Couging it”, or “coug’d it”, is a term used when a talented WSU team inevitably chokes a game or a season. I tell you this as it’s the best way to explain what happened. A 50-yard strike from Troy Franklin gave the Ducks their first lead of the game, 37-34 with just over a minute left in the game, but the ball was in WSU's hands. A field goal tied the game, a touchdown won it, anything else would result in a loss. With
the game on the line, WSU Offensive Coordinator Eric Morris called for a wide receiver screen backed deep in their own territory. Game on the line, the chance to improve to 4-0 and jump in the AP Polls, and Oregon edge rusher Mase Funa jumps the screen for a short pick-six. 44-34. Coug running back Nakia Watson would punch in a last-minute score, but it wasn’t enough and the Cougs lost 44-41. Despite the loss, this is the game that cemented Cam Ward as a top QB in the nation. He threw 48 passes, completing 37 of them for a 77% completion percentage, 375 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
Through the rest of the season, the Cougs became streaky. A win over Cal, 3 straight losses to USC, Oregon State, and Utah, wins over Stanford, ASU, and Arizona, finishing with losses in the Apple Cup vs. UW and the LA Bowl to Fresno State. By the end of his first season in D1 football, Cam finished with a 64.4% completion rate, slinging it for 3,232 yards, 23 passing touchdowns (5 more on the ground), and 9 interceptions. Enter Ben Arbuckle.
Eric Morris got the boot after the 2022 season, and the Cougs decided to take a chance on the youngest OC in the country. At just 27, Ben Arbuckle was given the reins of the Cougar offense. From the jump, the Cougs started hot. Outscoring their first 4 opponents 183-102, including a 31-22 win over #19 Wisconsin. With this immediate success, Wazzu found itself ranked 14th in the country during their bye week. Cougar mania was back, and Cam Ward was at the center of it all.
I’d like to tell you that the Cougs kept up their winning. I’d like to tell you that they kept climbing the polls. Unfortunately, after the bye week, a 25-17 loss to UCLA triggered a massive spiral. WSU lost 6 games straight, with their only win the rest of the season coming against Colorado in the first year of the Coach Prime Era. They would finish the season against Michael Penix, Jr. and the CFP hopeful UW Huskies. Against the #4 team in the country, the Cougs went blow for blow, going into halftime tied at 21 as the final seconds ticked away. Several questionable penalties against the WSU defense and the monster that was the 2023 UW offense set up the Huskies for a game winning field goal to cement an undefeated regular season. The 2023 season is a prime example of “couging it”.
The frustrating part of this season for WSU fans was that the team was not playing poorly. The rest of the season, WSU was only held under 10 points twice (@UCLA and vs. Arizona), averaged 24.6 PPG after the bye, but the defense just never found a solution. Cam ended his 2023 campaign with a 66.6% completion rate, 3,736 yards, 25 touchdowns (with an additional 8 on the ground), and 7 interceptions. The 2023 season also ushered in a new era of college football, the NIL Era.
With players now able to profit off of their name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal became the place to be, including for Ward, who would end up transferring to The U. The next year WSU would put John Mateer in control of Arbuckle’s offense, resulting in a jump from 5-7 in 2023 to 8-4 in 2024. WSU would lose a Heisman hopeful for the second year in a
row as in 2025 both Mateer and Arbuckle would leave the Palouse for Oklahoma, also losing head coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest (alongside many recruits that Dickert had brought in). This triggered a mass exodus, as the Cougs lost 47 players to the transfer portal.
While the future of WSU football is hazy with the collapse and hopeful rebuild of the Pac-12, Coug fans will always remember when WSU took an unknown, zero star, D2 quarterback and turned him into a Heisman contender and eventual first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
New evidence shows Kyren Lacy was not responsible for the fatal crash that led to charges against him. His case highlights serious flaws in the investigation and raises questions about why the truth was not revealed sooner.