California
4 stories filed under California on Wazzu. The newest of them: “Cal drops Cougs but can't stop a few standout Palouse performances”, “Ethridge on the California win: what stood out after the final buzzer”, and “Cougs learn early: 2026-27 starts in Cali”. Cal drops Cougs but can't stop a few standout Palouse performances. The final buzzer sounded in Berkeley, and the Cougs walked off the floor with an 80-58 loss to Cal. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every California story on Wazzu, newest first.
Cal drops Cougs but can't stop a few standout Palouse performances
Cal drops Cougs but can't stop a few standout Palouse performances. That headline tells you exactly what you need to know: the final score wasn't pretty, but the box score had some real bright spots. You don't win a ball game on moral victories, but when you're watching from the couch, or, if you were lucky enough to be in the building, from the bleachers, you take what you can get. And what we got were a few individual efforts that reminded you why you watch in the first place. Some guys just refused to let the game get away from them entirely. They made plays that would have been the story on a different Saturday. This is why we do what we do here. We aren't going to pretend a loss is a win. But we also aren't going to ignore the guys who showed up. If you want a full rundown of who stood out and what it means going forward, we've got you covered. For a deeper look at the individual performances that made this game worth watching, check out "Coug ballers made Week 8 worth watching from the couch." Those are the names you'll want to know. It's a long season. The scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story. Go Cougs.
Ethridge on the California win: what stood out after the final buzzer
The final buzzer sounded in Berkeley, and the Cougs walked off the floor with an 80-58 loss to Cal. That score is what it is, cold, decisive, and the kind of opener that makes you wince a little. But Gubi Ethridge came away from that game seeing something worth talking about, and that is why we listen to him. What stood out after the buzzer wasn't the final margin. It was the way this team fought through the cold start. The Cougs fell behind by double digits in the second quarter, and that is a hole no one wants to dig in week one. But Ethridge pointed to the moments where the offense found its rhythm, where the defense held its ground against a Cal squad that came ready to play. It wasn't pretty, but it was real. You can build on real. This is year two under Coach Riley, and it started the same way year one did: with a loss. That stings. But the promise of a clean slate is still there, even if the first game didn't go our way. We wrote about that in "Year two under Riley starts the same way as year one: a loss," and it is worth a read if you want the full picture of what this team is carrying into the season. For now, take Ethridge's read for what it is: a coach who saw his team get punched and still found the thread worth pulling.
Cougs learn early: 2026-27 starts in Cali
The 2026-27 season starts in California. That's what the early schedule says, and it's not a vacation. Washington State's men's basketball team will open next year on the road, playing at Cali. It's a long way from Pullman, but it's also a statement. You don't get to ease into things. You go west, you play a real program, and you find out what you're made of right away. This is the kind of detail that matters when you're following a program that has had to rebuild from scratch more than once. David Riley's roster vanished again. He rebuilt anyway. That's Pullman. If you haven't read that piece yet, it connects directly to why this opening matters. Riley doesn't get to start slow. He gets to start in Cali, with a team that is still taking shape, against a program that won't feel sorry for you. We've seen this team fight. We watched them claw back against SDSU and come up short. We saw them scrap with Utah State and lose in five, but never lose the fight. That fight is the whole point. Starting in Cali isn't a punishment. It's a chance to show that the Cougs are ready to compete, no matter where the tip-off happens. The schedule is what it is. You show up, you play, and you don't make excuses. Go Cougs.
Cougs on the grass: WSU soccer finds its rhythm against Fresno State
The grass at the Lower Soccer Field is starting to feel like home again. WSU soccer has found its rhythm against Fresno State, and for a program that has spent the last few seasons searching for its footing, that matters. This isn't about style points or tournament résumés yet. It is about a team that looked comfortable, connected, and like they finally trust what they are building. Cougs on the grass is a good look. We have been writing a lot about how Washington State is finding ways to tell its own story better, check out our piece on Wazzu tapping FanWord AI to tell more Coug stories if you want to see how that plays out across the department. This soccer team is writing its own chapter right now, one shift at a time. You do not need to overthink this one. The Cougs showed up, played clean, and handled business against a Fresno State side that did not make it easy. That is the kind of win that does not make national noise but keeps a locker room believing. No grand pronouncements here. Just a solid afternoon of Cougar soccer and a team that looks like it knows what it wants to be. Go Cougs.