The Washington St. Cougars have some big games this year in the first season of the Mike Leach era. It'll be challenging to get back to .500, but Leach tends to excel at putting out winning teams.

Washington State starts with a road trip to Leach's alma mater, BYU. The Cougars aren't quite as strong as they've historically been, but it's always challenging to win in Provo. After that Washington State has two winnable contests--home against Eastern Washington, then a road trip to Las Vegas to play UNLV.

Then the Pac-12 tests begin. The Cougars start with two home games against the Colorado Buffaloes and California Golden Bears, with a road game against the Oregon St. Beavers also mixed in-between. Washington State then has a huge road test in Seattle against the Oregon Ducks, which could feature one of the most high-profile contests of the season between two exciting offenses.

After the bye week, Washington State goes on the road three of the next four games (at Stanford, at Utah, home to UCLA, at Arizona State) before concluding their season at home in the Apple Cup.

To discuss Washington State football, go to CougCenter.