The Nick Rolovich era at Washington State will start 48 hours earlier than originally planned.

The Spokesman-Review confirmed the Cougars’ 2020 season opener at Utah State will be pushed up two days and take place on Thursday, Sept. 3. The game, which will be Rolovich’s first as the Cougars’ coach, was initially scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5. FBSchedules.com was the first to report the news regarding WSU’s schedule change.

Additionally, WSU removed one Mountain West school from its schedule in 2026 and 2027, and replaced it with another on Thursday. At Boise State’s request, the Broncos have opted out of their home-and-home series against the Cougars in those years, and have rescheduled the games for 2030 (Boise) and 2031 (Pullman).

Instead, WSU will play Fresno State in home-and-home games during which the Cougars pay the Bulldogs a visit on Sept. 19, 2026, and the Bulldogs make a return trip to Pullman on Sept. 18, 2027.

The Cougars have one nonconference date open in both seasons. They’re slated to visit Kansas State on Sept. 12, 2026, in a home-and-home series that takes the Wildcats back to Pullman in 2029, and they’re hosting Kansas on Sept. 12, 2027, the first of a home-and-home that takes the Cougars to Lawrence in 2028.

WSU’s set to square off against the Mountain West in nonconference play every year from now until 2028. The Cougars open the 2020 season on Sept. 3 against Utah State in Logan, then bring the Aggies to Pullman in 2021. They’ll have a home-and-home series against Colorado State in 2022 and ’23, then another against San Diego State in 2024 and ’25.