David Riley's third season schedule just dropped, and the first thing you need to know is that the Cougars are going to be road warriors in a way we haven't seen since 1973-74. That is not a flex. Eleven nonconference games away from Pullman is a brutal math problem born from the new Pac-12's budget reality. Our take: this team is going to have to get comfortable in other people's gyms fast, or January is going to feel a lot longer than it actually is.
Let's start with the obvious gut punch, since we're all adults here. For the first time since 1917, Washington State and Washington will not play a regular-season game against each other. Instead, we get an exhibition on Oct. 25 in Seattle. An exhibition. That is like your grandma telling you she's making her famous pot roast, then handing you a can of Chef Boyardee. Riley has to find an identity on the road without that rivalry game anchoring the schedule, and the early stretch is no joke: three of four games away from Beasley, including trips to Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State. Speaking of tough tests, the Cougs just had a Tough test on the road for Cougs at Cal State Fullerton, and that kind of travel grind is only going to compound. Meanwhile, the new Pac-12 has us playing mostly Wednesdays and Saturdays, which means fewer weekend trips to Pullman for those of us trying to make a game. You are going to have to plan around a Wednesday tip at Fresno State on Jan. 3. That is your conference opener.
There is one bright spot that actually feels like Pullman. The Zags are coming to Beasley on Jan. 6. It's a Wednesday during winter break, which means the students will be gone, but the town will show up. That is the kind of game where you call in sick, shovel the driveway, and bring a voice you will lose by halftime. Then you have to turn around and play them in Spokane on Feb. 17, followed by San Diego State on Feb. 20. That two-game stretch is a monster. It is the kind of week that defines a season. You can bet the Leaupepetele brothers, who know something about showing up for family obligations, will be dialed in for that one, For the Leaupepetele brothers, Sunday dinner looks a lot different now, but their commitment to the program hasn't changed.
Here is the specific detail to watch: the Kirkland game on Nov. 14. That is an NAIA team. The Cougars haven't hosted a non-Division-I opponent since 2015. That is not a scheduling flex; it is a financial reality. Riley is buying a home win to keep the budget from bleeding out. The question is whether that kind of schedule, heavy on road games, light on marquee home nonconference matchups, hurts the Cougs when March rolls around. The new Pac-12 Tournament is in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, and the path to get there just got a whole lot longer. Go Cougs.