Good morning Coug fans, and welcome to COUGAR FOOTBALL SATURDAY! This is annually a top-5 best day of the year. Your Washington State Cougars welcome the independent New Mexico State Aggies to Martin Stadium to open the 2019 season. It’s still August, and I won’t remind you what happened the last time WSU played in August. Look it up.

Anyway, there’s a ton of excitement heading into the season, what with last year’s 11-2 record and all. The Cougs return a solid core, including a stacked offense. They’ll be using their third starting quarterback in as many years, but Anthony Gordon has a ton of fans on his side who can’t wait for him to write his own story—and what a story it is already.

We’ve previewed the season and the game. Here’s a reminder of what you might want to re-read:

• Anthony Gordon is your most important player.
• WSU won’t be the only team running a version of the Air Raid tonight.
• Here’s everything and more that you need to know about the Aggies.
• Podcast vs. Everyone previewed the Aggies, too.
• The CougCenter Hour also previewed the game, this time with New Mexico State play-by-play guy Jack Nixon.

By the time you read this, there may be more, so get up to date!

OK, now that you know everything there is to know about tonight’s season opener, let’s get to this season’s first official bold predictions.

Three Bold Predictions

1. Mike Leach will use one of those student-designed plays, and it will go for a first down.
2. Clay Markoff will score a touchdown on a run of at least eight yards.
3. The game will end no sooner than 11 p.m.

You remember those student-designed plays, right? Jesse evaluated them and it would surprise nobody if Leach used one or more this season. Leach debuted Big Gulp Left in last season’s opener at Wyoming, so it’s not out of the question, for sure. Which one will it be, though?

As for Markoff? The one-time fullback is suddenly finding himself in line for some decent duty. He’s slimmed down, so it wouldn’t be as cool as seeing the fullback-sized version of Markoff score from eight or more yards out, but it’s still a cool story nonetheless. Walk-ons rule.

In Jesse’s Coach’s Corner, he mentioned that fans should expect a lot of passing tonight, which means the game could go long. That’s bad enough for those who have to drive a certain distance from Pullman after the game, but possibly worse for those in later time zones. We should be used to this by now.

We made it to another football season, everybody. Let’s have a good one.

Links

Football

Watchability rankings -- The most entertaining teams in college football
Which teams will bring the fun and drama in 2019? Mark Schlabach uses a formula involving Paul Finebaum, Nicolas Cage, Steve Spurrier and Lee Corso to find out.

Rivals.com - Pac-12 Breakdown: Top-ranked recruits on each roster
With the college football season set to swing into full action this weekend, recruiting is always on my mind. So I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the highest ranked returning player on each roster and the highest ranked player from the class of 2019. We continue today with the Pac-12.

Reality check: WSU punter Oscar Draguicevich's dad sat son down
Papa D, a former pro soccer player, bursts with pride over son whose skills he once doubted.

The Six Pack: Auburn-Oregon, Louisville-Notre Dame among best college football picks in Week 1 - CBSSports.com
It's time to Trust The Process again with plenty of college football picks for Week 1.

WSU season opener features two of nation's best return men
The side plot of the Cougars season opener will be in special teams.

Bowl projections for Washington State concentrated on two places
Cougs set for a rematch with Miami? A first-ever meeting with Florida State in the offing?

WSU's projected starters vs. New Mexico State
WASHINGTON STATE has produced an All-America offensive lineman in each of the last four seasons per WSU SID and with four returning starters up front, the quest to make it....

Live thread: Updates on which Washington State, Eastern Washington, Idaho and Spokane-area prep players made NFL 53-man rosters | The Spokesman-Review
These next 24 hours are some of the most nerving on the football calendar for NFL hopefuls. All 32 teams will have their rosters trimmed to 53 players by 1 p.m. PT Saturday and most of the 30 players from local schools vying for roster spots will either have good news or bad news by the time they sit down to watch their alma maters open the 2019 college football season.

With historic season in rearview mirror, Washington State aiming to find its identity in 2019 | The Spokesman-Review
The Cougars are 31 1/2-point favorites against the Aggies and the betting line probably won’t drop when they host Northern Colorado of the FCS Big Sky Conference a week from now. Perhaps that’s why Leach believes he won’t have a true gauge on his team’s identity until after the first “few games.”

The pick: Why Washington State will beat New Mexico State | The Spokesman-Review
Why Washington State will beat New Mexico State Saturday night at Martin Stadium.

Two-minute drill: Keys to victory for No. 23 Washington State against New Mexico State | The Spokesman-Review
The keys to a potential victory for Washington State against New Mexico State Saturday at Martin Stadium.

10 bold predictions for the WSU Cougars in 2019 | The Seattle Times
The Cougars won a program-best 11 games in 2018. What will WSU do in 2019 with a new quarterback under center and established players returning on offense and defense?

Soccer

Volleyball

Cougars Sweep Away Dukes - Washington State University Athletics
WSU handles James Madison on the road to begin the new season.