PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State will play Grambling State
in Qwest Stadium next fall, marking the fourth straight year the
Cougars have played in the Seattle Seahawks' home stadium.
The Sept. 17 game fills an open date in the Cougars' 2005
schedule, announced Friday by WSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk and
coach Bill Doba.
"As always, this year's schedule has some real interesting
matchups in the Pac-10," Doba said. "Overall, this will be a
challenging schedule for the Cougars, but I believe we will be up
to the challenge."
The Seattle game is considered a home game for the Cougars.
Other home games, in Pullman's Martin Stadium, include Idaho on
Sept. 1, Stanford on Oct. 8, UCLA on Oct. 15, Arizona State on Nov.
5 and Oregon on Nov. 12.
Grambling State, which will bring its famous marching band, is a
Division I-AA team, but a victory over the Tigers would count
toward the Cougs' NCAA bowl eligibility.
Road games start Sept. 9 at Nevada, followed by Oregon State on
Oct. 1, at California on Oct. 22, at Southern Cal on Oct. 29 and
the annual Apple Cup battle at Washington on Nov. 19.
California returns to WSU's schedule for the first time since
the 2002 season. The Cougars do not play Arizona this season.
Game start times will depend on possible regional or national
television contracts and will be announced later, Sterk said.