1956 Washington State Cougars football team

1956 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record3–6–1 (2–5–1 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRogers Field, Memorial Stadium
1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Oregon State $ 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
No. 18 USC 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
UCLA 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Washington 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Oregon 3 – 3 – 2 4 – 4 – 2
Stanford 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Washington State 2 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
California 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Idaho 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1956 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State College during the 1956 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Sutherland, the team posted a 3–6–1 overall record, and were 2–5–1 in the Pacific Coast Conference.[1][2]

Hired in January, Sutherland was previously an assistant at rival Washington for a season under head coach John Cherberg, preceded by two years at California under Pappy Waldorf. His initial contract with the Cougars was for three years, estimated at $12,000 per year,[3][4] and he led the program for eight seasons, through 1963.[5][6][7]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 22No. 14 Stanford
L 26–4023,000[8]
September 29San Jose State*
W 33–189,000[9]
October 6at Idaho
W 33–1916,300[10][11]
October 13at UCLA
L 0–2827,192[12]
October 20Oregon State
  • Rogers Field
  • Pullman, WA
L 0–2114,500[13]
October 27at Pacific (CA)*
L 12–3323,500[14]
November 3No. 20 USC
  • Rogers Field
  • Pullman, WA
L 12–2813,000[15]
November 10at Oregon
T 7–713,200[16]
November 17at California
W 14–1332,000[17]
November 24Washington
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Spokane, WA (rivalry)
L 26–4020,700[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • Source: [19][20]

NFL draft

One Cougar was selected in the 1957 NFL draft, which was 30 rounds and 360 selections.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Don Gest End 30 360 New York Giants

[21]

References

  1. ^ Boni, Bill (November 25, 1956). "Hammering Huskies, 40 to 26". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
  2. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 74. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "Sutherland named WSC coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. January 18, 1956. p. 21.
  4. ^ "WSC hires Sutherland". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. January 18, 1956. p. 2B.
  5. ^ Johnson, Bob (December 6, 1963). "WSU in market for new coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Sutherland out as grid coach". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. December 6, 1963. p. 2B.
  7. ^ "Sutherland out as football coach at Washington State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. December 6, 1963. p. 14.
  8. ^ "Indians roll over Cougars in 40–26 rout". The Idaho Statesman. September 23, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "WSC stomps San Jose". The Sacramento Union. September 30, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Boni, Bill (October 7, 1956). "Police by gas, WSC by 33–19". The Spokesman-Review. p. 1, sports.
  11. ^ "WSC gridders beat Vandals 33–19; students battle to draw". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. October 7, 1956. p. 11.
  12. ^ "Soph Long sparks UCLA over Washington State". The Register. October 14, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Beavers bounce Cougars". Herald and News. October 21, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "COP crushes WSC to stay undefeated". Oakland Tribune. October 28, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "USC comes back to beat Cougars without Arnett". The Bellingham Herald. November 4, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Cougars tie Webfoots, 7–7". The Oregon Daily Journal. November 11, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Cougar passes edge California by 14–13 tally". The Bellingham Herald. November 18, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Hammering Huskies, 40 to 26". The Spokesman-Review. November 25, 1956. Retrieved January 18, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "1956 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  20. ^ "Schedule/Results (1956 Washington State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  21. ^ "Pickings and pickets at NFL draft meet". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. February 1, 1957. p. 15.
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