Washington State Cougars: 2022 L.A. Bowl vs. Fresno State – TV, Weather, More
Ed Stein
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The Washington State Cougars 2022 season comes to an end this week at the Jimmy Kimmel Los Angeles Bowl. Pacific Northwest Sports has all you need to know.
PNWS presents what you need to know as the Washington State Cougars play their final game of 2022 at the Los Angeles Bowl. PNWS has Washington State football fans covered.
Details
Who: Washington State Cougars (7-5 Overall, 4-5 Pac-12) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (9-4 overall).
Where: SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, California.
When: Saturday, December 17, 2022 – 12:30 PM PST.
TV: ABC. Announcers: Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, and Molly McGrath.
Radio: ESPN. Announcers: Jorge Sedano, Rod Gilmore, and Quint Kessenich.
Weather: It will be a good day to play football in SoCal, with partly sunny skies, temperatures in the low 60s, and a light wind from the west. (weather.com)
Line: Washington State +5. Over/Under: 53.5 (Odds Shark).
Interesting Trends
The Washington State Cougars three-game win streak was snapped in the Apple Cup. Wazzu may be a good bet. Against the spread, they are 4-1. The total has gone under in 6 of Washington State’s last 8 games.
Fresno State comes into the Los Angeles Bowl on an 8-game win streak. But they haven’t fared well against Pac-12 opponents, losing 4 of the last 5. The Bulldogs went under in their last 2 games.
Injury Report
Washington State Cougars
Out – WR C.J. Moore (undisclosed), OL Rodrick Tialavea (lower body), LT Jarrett Kingston, WR Daiyan Henley (opt-out). The following players entered the transfer portal: LB Francisco Mauigoa, LB Travion Brown, WR De’Zhuan Stribling, and WR Donovan Ollie.
Questionable – WR Renard Bell (arm), LB Cooper Mathers (undisclosed).
Fresno State Bulldogs
Out – WR Josh Kelly (transfer)
Outlook
The Jimmy Kimmell Los Angeles Bowl is also a mini-Apple Cup. UW’s coach Kalen DeBoer coached at Fresno in 2021, so the Bulldogs offense should look very familiar.
Last year, the Washington State Cougars roster was decimated by transfers and opt-outs against Central Michigan in the Sun Bowl, which cost them dearly. This time around, Wazzu will be without five key players.
Losing receivers De’Zhaub Stribling and Donovan Ollie will hurt. Fortunately, the Cougs are deep at receiver.
Cougs QB Cameron Ward still has Renard Bell, Robert Ferrel, Leyton Smithson, Lincoln Victor, and Orion Peters, who are more than capable of making big plays. The biggest change might be more opportunities for tight end Billy Riviere.
Additionally, since coming back from injury four games ago, running back, Nakia Watson has 553 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns. Fresno has a good defense, allowing more than 16 points only twice during their 8-game win streak, but WSU has more offensive weapons than the Buldogs have seen.
Going back to successful injury returns, Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener has been very efficient since coming back on October 29. He is 155 of 209 passing (73.4%) for 1,762 yards and 14 touchdowns with just 2 interceptions. FSU has won all 6 of those games.
For the most part, Wazzu’s defensive backs should be able to stay with Fresno’s top receivers, Jalen Cropper, Nikko Remigio, and Zane Pope, on deep routes. The run is a different story.
Through opt-outs and transfers, the Washington State Cougars are without their top three linebackers. Ben Wilson and Kyle Thornton are the new starters. Although each man played every game, the duo has 40 combined tackles. On passing downs, safety Jordan Lee may move down to play linebacker.
Fresno State running back Jordan Mims must have been licking his lips when he read about the defections. He has 1,169 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing this year. He could break some big runs.
Catch up with PNWS on Sunday when we present our biggest takeaways from the game.