2016 Washington State Cougars football team

2016 Washington State Cougars football
Holiday Bowl, L 12–17 vs. Minnesota
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Division	North Division
Record	8–5 (7–2 Pac-12)
Head coach	Mike Leach (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Alex Grinch (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 3–4
Home stadium	Martin Stadium

2016 Pac-12 Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 4 Washington x$^		8	–	1					12	–	2
Washington State		7	–	2					8	–	5
No. 12 Stanford		6	–	3					10	–	3
California		3	–	6					5	–	7
Oregon State		3	–	6					4	–	8
Oregon		2	–	7					4	–	8
South Division
No. 17 Colorado x		8	–	1					10	–	4
No. 3 USC		7	–	2					10	–	3
No. 23 Utah		5	–	4					9	–	4
Arizona State		2	–	7					5	–	7
UCLA		2	–	7					4	–	8
Arizona		1	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Washington 41, Colorado 10
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 7–2 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place in the North Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they were defeated by Minnesota.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	5:00 pm	No. 14 (FCS) Eastern Washington*		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	L 42–45	32,952
September 10	7:15 pm	at Boise State*		Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	L 28–31	36,163
September 17	11:00 am	Idaho*		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	P12N	W 56–6	28,477
October 1	6:30 pm	Oregon		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	W 51–33	33,528
October 8	7:30 pm	at No. 15 Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ESPN	W 42–16	50,424
October 15	7:30 pm	UCLA		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPN	W 27–21	29,310
October 22	7:00 pm	at Arizona State		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	P12N	W 37–32	50,582
October 29	7:45 pm	at Oregon State		Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR	ESPN2	W 35–31	37,081
November 5	1:00 pm	Arizona	No. 25	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	W 69–7	33,547
November 12	7:30 pm	California	No. 23	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	ESPN	W 56–21	30,135
November 19	12:30 pm	at No. 10 Colorado	No. 22	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FOX	L 24–38	48,658
November 25	12:30 pm	No. 5 Washington	No. 23	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (109th Apple Cup)	FOX	L 17–45	33,773
December 27	1:00 pm	vs. Minnesota*		Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	L 12–17	48,704
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Pacific time

Conference opponents not played this season: Utah, USC

Rankings

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	25	23	20	23	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	25	23	20	23	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									25	23	22	23	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

Eastern Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#14 (FCS) Eagles	7	17	14	7	45
Cougars	14	14	0	14	42

See also: 2016 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

At Boise State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	7	14	28
Broncos	14	3	7	7	31

See also: 2016 Boise State Broncos football team

Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vandals	3	0	3	0	6
Cougars	7	14	7	28	56

See also: 2016 Idaho Vandals football team and Battle of the Palouse

Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ducks	7	7	6	13	33
Cougars	7	21	2	21	51

See also: 2016 Oregon Ducks football team

At Stanford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	7	14	14	42
#15 Cardinal	0	3	7	6	16

See also: 2016 Stanford Cardinal football team

UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bruins	0	0	7	14	21
Cougars	3	7	14	3	27

See also: 2016 UCLA Bruins football team

At Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	17	14	6	37
Sun Devils	7	7	7	11	32

See also: 2016 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

At Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	6	22	7	35
Beavers	14	10	0	7	31

See also: 2016 Oregon State Beavers football team

Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
#25 Cougars	24	14	14	17	69

See also: 2016 Arizona Wildcats football team

California

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Bears	0	7	7	7	21
#23 Cougars	14	14	7	21	56

See also: 2016 California Golden Bears football team

At Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Cougars	14	3	7	0	24
#12 Buffaloes	7	7	14	10	38

See also: 2016 Colorado Buffaloes football team

Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Huskies	28	7	0	10	45
#23 Cougars	3	7	7	0	17

See also: 2016 Washington Huskies football team and Apple Cup

Minnesota–Holiday Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	3	7	7	17
Cougars	3	3	0	6	12

See also: 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and 2016 Holiday Bowl

Coaching staff

Name	Title	Years at WSU	Alma mater
Mike Leach	Head coach	6	BYU, 1983
Alex Grinch	Defensive coordinator/secondary coach	3	Mount Union, 2002
Jason Loscalzo	Strength and conditioning coach	6	Humboldt State, 1999
Roy Manning	Outside linebackers coach	3	Michigan, 2004
Jim Mastro	Running backs coach	6	Cal Poly, 1994
Clay McGuire	Offensive line coach	6	Texas Tech, 2004
Eric Mele	Special teams coach	3	William Paterson, 2002
Dave Nichol	Outside receivers coach	2	Texas Tech, 1999
Ken Wilson	Linebackers coach	4	North Central, 1986
Brian Odom	Defensive quality control coach	2	Southeastern Oklahoma State, 2004

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