1962 Washington State Cougars football team

1962 Washington State Cougars football
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
Record	5–4–1 (1–1 AAWU)
Head coach	Jim Sutherland (7th season)
Home stadium	Rogers Field, Joe Albi Stadium
Seasons ← 1961 1963 →

The 1962 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU, Big Six) during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh season under head coach Jim Sutherland, the Cougars compiled a 5–4–1 record (1–1 in AAWU, third), and outscored their opponents 213 to 167.^[1][2]

The team's statistical leaders included Dave Mathieson with 1,492 passing yards, George Reed with 503 rushing yards, and Hugh Campbell with 848 receiving yards.^[3]

Midway through the schedule, WSU was undefeated at 4–0–1, equaling their best start since 1936.^[4] They received a vote in that week's UPI Coaches Poll (tied for 23rd),^[5][6] but managed only a rally win at neighbor Idaho (in the snow) in the final five games.

After three years as an independent, WSU was admitted to the conference in the summer of 1962;^[7][8] due to advanced scheduling, they played few of the southern members (of California) per season until the late 1960s.^[7][8] The AAWU expanded to eight in 1964 with the addition of Oregon and Oregon State.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	San Jose State*	Rogers Field Pullman, WA	W 49–8	15,300
September 29	at Wyoming*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 21–15	12,385	[9]
October 6	at Arizona State*	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	T 24–24	31,015
October 13	Stanford	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 21–6	17,000
October 20	Indiana*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 21–15	15,500
October 27	at Pacific (CA)*	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	L 12–13	11,050
November 3	Oregon State*	Rogers Field Pullman, WA	L 12–18	16,500
November 10	at Oregon*	Hayward Field Eugene, OR	L 10–28	19,400
November 17	at Idaho*	Neale Stadium Moscow, ID (Battle of the Palouse)	W 22–14	11,500	[10][11][12]
November 24	Washington	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	L 21–26	35,700
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Source:^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Two Cougars were selected in the 1963 NFL draft, which was twenty rounds (280 selections).

^[18][19]

• Game program: San Jose State at WSU – September 22, 1962
• Game program: Stanford vs. WSU at Spokane – October 13, 1962
• Game program: Indiana vs. WSU at Spokane – October 20, 1962
• Game program: Oregon State at WSU – November 3, 1962
• Game program: Washington vs. WSU at Spokane – November 24, 1962