Cougars to play Grambling State in Seattle

Received by Newsfinder from APFeb 25, 2005 18:00 Eastern Time PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) _ 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.