The 2001 Washington State Cougars football team represented

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

as a member of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

during the

2001 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time. The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker, who was in his f ...

. The team was led by 12th-year head coach

Mike Price Michael Bruce Price (born April 6, 1946) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach at Weber State College from 1981 to 1988, Washington State University from 1989 to 2002, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2004 ...

and played its home games on campus at

Martin Stadium Martin Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Its full name is ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Thr ...

. Opening with seven straight wins, Washington State was 9–2 in the regular season and 6–2 in the conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-10. Invited to the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

on New Year's Eve, the Cougars defeated

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

for their tenth win, and were tenth in the final rankings. Four defensive backs on the team,

Lamont Thompson Lamont Darnell Thompson (born July 30, 1978) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He also played for the Tennessee Titans, Mia ...

Jason David Jason Aeron Walter David (born June 12, 1982) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Later, he would win Super Bowl XLI ...

Marcus Trufant Marcus Lavon Trufant (born December 25, 1980) is a former American football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for Washington State University, and was chosen by the S ...

, and

Erik Coleman Erik James Coleman (born May 6, 1982) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft and also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Li ...

, went on to play in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Schedule

Game summaries

Idaho

References

{{Washington State Cougars football navbox

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Washington State Cougars football seasons Sun Bowl champion seasons

Washington State Cougars football The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac- ...