Week 1 of the 2020 season has arrived

It’s been 311 days since the Washington State Cougars last played a football game. Now, 44 weeks later and it is finally game week again.

Things will look a lot different when the Cougars take the field again. Obviously, the sidelines will be very different with a new coaching staff. The Cougars will also be led by a new quarterback, and we finally appear to know who that will be. According to Theo Lawson, true freshman Jayden de Laura will start for WSU against Oregon State.

By the time the Cougs take the field for the first time in 2020, No. 1 Clemson will have completed its eighth game of the season. That about sums up the state of the 2020 season. However, barring any Covid issues, we are now in line for seven straight weeks of Cougar football.

We should learn a lot about those seven weeks this week. That starts early in the week with the release of the first depth chart of the regular season. With practices being closed to the media, most fans don’t have a great sense of who is going to be involved in the action. With Covid issue, and silence from the coaching staff on injuries, we don’t really even know who is still on the active roster.

When the game finally comes, we will get a look at new schemes on both sides of the ball, and figure to see a number of true freshmen play, even beyond de Laura.

It’s been a long time in the making, but we finally made it to Cougar Football game week.

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Football:

Washington State vs. Oregon State: what to know | Sports | lmtribune.com
Washington State will open its pandemic-delayed season Saturday at Oregon State. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m..

A Grip on Sports: Come to think of it, everything in life is a competition of some sort | The Spokesman-Review
WSU: There is one Leach standard that hasn’t departed Pullman. Nick Rolovich will probably have an “or” on the quarterback depth chart this week.

Sources: Freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura to start for Washington State in season opener | The Spokesman-Review
These may not have been the circumstances, but two years ago Nick Rolovich probably envisioned Jayden de Laura starting – and starring – in his run-and-shoot offense when he offered the young quarterback a scholarship at the University of Hawaii, three months before de Laura played his first varsity game at Honolulu powerhouse Saint Louis.

ESPN updates Oregon's game-by-game projections for 2020 schedule
Oregon finally knocked off Mike Leach last season before the former Cougar coach left for Mississippi State this offseason. Now the Ducks will look to win on the Palouse for the first time since 2014 against new head coach Nick Rolovich.