Pac-12 Conference announces 2023 football schedule; Cougars with six home games

PULLMAN — The Pac-12 Conference has released its 2023 football schedule and Washington State will play six games at Gesa Field, including four Pac-12 contests and a nonconference matchup against Wisconsin.

The Cougars open the 2023 campaign at Colorado State (Sept.2) after WSU posted 38-7 victory over the Rams last season in Pullman.

WSU’s home opener will be the following week when Wisconsin comes to town (Sept. 9). The Cougars defeated the Badgers last season in Madison, 17-14, picking up their first win in the three-game series. The Wisconsin games marks the first Big Ten team to play in Gesa Field since WSU defeated Illinois 21-13 to open the 1998 season.

The final nonconference game will see WSU host Northern Colorado (Sept. 16). The only previous meeting in the series came in 2019, a 59-17 Cougar victory.

WSU opens Pac-12 Conference play Sept. 23 when Oregon State visits. The Cougars have won eight of the last nine meetings, including the last four played in Pullman.

Following their lone bye of the season, WSU travels to Los Angeles to face UCLA (Oct. 7). The matchup marks the first meeting in the series since 2019 and the first meeting in Los Angeles since WSU came away with a 31-27 victory during the 2015 campaign.

The Cougars host Arizona on Oct. 14. WSU has won each of the last three meetings, and the last three played in Pullman (2016, 2018, 2021).

The only back-to-back road games of the season begin the following week as the Cougars travel to Oregon (Oct. 21) and Arizona State (Oct. 28).

A home meeting with Stanford (Nov. 4) is up next. The Cougars have won the last six meetings in the series, including the last three played in Pullman.

A road trip to California (Nov. 11) follows as the Cougars look to make it two in a row in Berkeley following a 21-6 victory during the 2021 season.

The final home contest takes place Nov. 17 as the Cougars host Colorado in a Friday night matchup. The two teams have not played since a 2019 season when WSU won 41-10 victory in Pullman. The Cougars have won each of the last three meetings and four of the last five.

The Cougars close out their 2023 regular season with the Apple Cup game vs. Washington on Saturday, Nov. 25 in Seattle. The last time these two teams played in Seattle, the Cougars came away with a 40-13 victory.

Dates for WSU's 2023 homecoming and family weekend games will be announced at a later date.

2023 WASHINGTON STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Home games in CAPS

Times TBA

September

2 — at Colorado State. 9 — WISCONSIN. 16 — NORTHERN COLORADO. 23 — OREGON STATE. 30 — Bye.

October

7 — at UCLA. 14 — ARIZONA. 21 — at Oregon. 28 — at Arizona State.

November

4 — STANFORD. 11 — at California. 17 — COLORADO. 25 — at Washington.

Zags' Ejim, Maxwell named

to Mid-Major Award Watch List

Yvonne Ejim and Brynna Maxwell were two of the 15 players named to the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Midseason Watch List, presented by Her Hoop Stats. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. FGCU's Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021 and 2022.

This year's midseason watch list includes representatives from 14 schools and 11 conferences. The West Coast Conference leads all conferences with three watch list members. Gonzaga is the lone team with multiple players on the list.

Ejim currently leads the Zags in scoring with 16.1 points a game and has recorded three double doubles already this year. She has scored at least 20 points in five games this season, including a career-high 32-point performance against Queens on Dec. 6. With her efforts so far this year, she has been named WCC Player of the Week two times, while she averages 27.9 minutes a game.

Maxwell has been averaging 14.8 points a game this year while being the best free throw and three-point shooter in the country. Maxwell is currently shooting 98.1 percent from the charity stripe and 54.4 percent from the three-point line to lead the nation in both categories. She has scored in double figures in 16 games so far this year as she has scored a three-pointer in every game. She has also been named WCC Player of the Week twice this season.