COUGARS HOST LOUISIANA TECH SATURDAY NIGHT ON THE CW
Washington State returns to Gesa Field for a Saturday night matchup against Louisiana Tech. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on The CW.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State returns from its second bye week with a 4-5 record after posting wins over Idaho, San Diego State, at Colorado State and Toledo. The Cougars had a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks held off at No. 4 Ole Miss and at No. 18 Virginia. Head Coach Jimmy Rogers is in his first year at WSU after coaching the previous two seasons at South Dakota State highlighted by an FCS National Championship in 2023. The Cougars went 8-5 last season, the most wins since 2018, and earned a trip to the Holiday Bowl for the program's eighth bowl game in the last nine full seasons. The 2025 roster featured just three returning starters on offense and 75 newcomers. 

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• WSU rushed for season-highs of 162 yards and 2 touchdowns against Toledo • WSU rushed for 125 yards at Oregon State, its fifth-straight game with 100-plus rushing yards and sixth this season • Jimmy Rogers was the first head coach to win his first two games at WSU since Mike Price in 1989 • The 2025 Apple Cup was the first Gesa Field sellout (32,952) since 2023 (Oregon State)

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT (Player Notes Pages 9-12)
• QB Zevi Eckhaus has started last 6 games, beat Colorado State to earn first win as a Coug, has 5 career games as a Coug starter with 2 pass TD • DE Isaac Terrell's 4 tackles-for-loss at Ole Miss are tied for the 3rd-most by any player nationally, was the most by a Coug since 2017 (5.0, Hercules Mata'afa, at Utah) • Terrell's 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks are team-highs • TE Trey Leckner's 2 TD catches against San Diego State was the 5th 2-TD game by Cougar TE in program history • C Brock Dieu was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List (Top Collegiate Center) • WR Jeremiah Noga and OL AJ Vaipulu were named to the 2025 Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List • Jack Stevens go-ahead 32-yard FG with three seconds remaining was the 1st last-minute victory since 2019 (54-53, Max Borghi TD run, Oregon State) • TE Beau Baker's first career catch was a 12-yard TD in the Apple Cup • WR Joshua Meredith leads WSU with 10 catches for 20+ yards including 3 of 40+ yards

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the first meeting between Washington State and Louisiana Tech and the first for WSU against a Conference USA opponent.

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the 2003 season, ESPN College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 331 last week at Texas Tech. The first appearance came in Austin, Texas (10/4/03) and the streak began two weeks later in Madison, Wisc. (10/18/03). Two flags – Ol' Crimson and Gray – have been flown in the background of the GameDay set. The Gray flag was added in 2014 after Whitey was retired in honor of Steve Gleason's "No White Flags." Appearance No. 217 was its first in Pullman (10/20/18), a 34-20 win over Oregon. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
16,578 - WSU will travel 16,578 miles to and from its 6 road games in 2025
10,000 - Zevi Eckhaus surpassed 10,000 career passing yards vs. Toledo, enters week with 10,183 
75 - WSU's 2025 roster features 75 new players
54 - 54 players have made their WSU debuts in 2025
24 - 24 players have made their collegiate debuts
21 - WSU returned 21 players who earned a varsity letter in 2024
12 - 10 true freshmen have played this season
10 - WSU's 2025 schedule features teams from 10 different conferences 
8 - Jack Stevens started the season 8-of-8 in FG, matching best start to a career by a Cougar kicker (Aaron Price, 1992)
7 - 7 Cougs were named to the East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List (C Brock Dieu, S Matthew Durrance, LB Caleb Francl, CB Colby Humphrey, RB Angel Johnson, S Tucker Large, OL AJ Vaipulu)
7 - 7 seniors have spent their entire careers at WSU; C Brock Dieu, RT Christian Hilborn, WR Joshua Meredith, WR Leon Neal Jr., RB Dylan Paine (6th), WR Leyton Smithson, DE Raam Stevenson
5 - WSU lost road games at No. 4 Ole Miss (24-21) and No. 18 Virginia (22-20) by a combined 5 points
3 - WSU returned 3 starters, all on offense; C Brock Dieu, RT Christian Hilborn, WR Josh Meredith

COUGAR DEFENSE SETTLING IN
The Washington State defense has settled in under new defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit. Over the last five games the Cougars held Colorado State (W, 20-3), at No. 4 Ole Miss (L, 21-24), at No. 18  Virginia (L, 20-22), Toledo (W, 28-7) and at Oregon State (L, 7-10) to a combined 13.2 ppg, 311.4 ypg in total offense and 183.6 passing yards/g 
• held Idaho to 10 points, 33 rush yards, recorded 5 TFL, 2 takeaways (2 fumbles) 
• held San Diego State to 13 points and 215 yds of total offense, recorded 7 TFL, 3 sacks, 2-of-13 on 3rd downs, a safety 
• held Colorado State to season-low 3 points, recorded 9 TFL and 4 sacks 
• held No. 4 Ole Miss to then-season lows in total offense (439) and points (24), had 6 TFL and 3 sacks, the most sacks allowed by Ole Miss 
• held No. 18 Virginia to 122 rush yards and 179 pass yards and then-season low 22 points 
• held Toledo to 61 rush yards and season-low 7 points
• held Oregon State to 10 points, 184 yards of total offense, 60 pass yards, had 8 TFL and 3 sacks

JIMMY ROGERS NAMED HEAD COACH
WSU Director of Athletics Anne McCoy announced December 28 that Jimmy Rogers had been named the Cougars' Head Football Coach. Rogers agreed in principle to a five-year contract in becoming the 35th head football coach in program history. Rogers arrived at WSU having spent the last 12 years at South Dakota State University, the past two as head coach. In those two years, he guided SDSU to a 27-3 record, led the Jackrabbits to the 2023 FCS Championship and reached the FCS semifinals last season.

POSTGAME NOTES - AT OREGON STATE
• WSU recorded eight tackles-for-loss including three sacks • WSU rushed for 125 yards, its fifth-straight game with 100-plus rushing yards and sixth this season • Kirby Vorhees scored his third rushing touchdown of the season, third in last four games • Angel Johnson's 21-yard run in the second quarter was his longest rush of the season • Anthony Palano made 10 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of the season • Sullivan Schlimgen made his first career start, recorded eight tackles including his first career tackle-for-loss • Buddha Peleti recorded five tackles, matched career high with two tackles-for-loss • Bryson Lamb matched a career-high with five tackles, made career-high two tackles-for-loss including first career solo sack • Jack Janikowski made a career-high five tackles, matched a career-high with one tackle-for-loss • Tony Freeman's 47-yard punt return was a career long

POSTGAME NOTES - TOLEDO WIN
• WSU rushed for a season-high 162 yards • WSU rushed for two touchdowns, its first game of 2025 with multiple rushing touchdowns • WSU's 21 first-half points were the most scored in any half this season • WSU recorded its second, second-half shutout of the season (at Colorado State) and third shutout half of the season (1st, Idaho) • Kirby Vorhees rushed 15 times for 62 yards and one touchdown • Joshua Meredith caught four passes for 81 yards including a pair of 40-yard catches • Carter Pabst caught his first career touchdown pass, finished with two catches for 49 yards • Parker McKenna recorded 10 tackles and picked of his second career pass, first as a Coug • Tucker Large made a career-high 13 tackles including one for loss, his first career double-digit tackle game • Jack Janikowski recorded his first career sack, also forced a fumble on the play

POSTGAME NOTES - at No. 18 VIRGINIA
• WSU's 35 rush attempts were the second-most this season (36, San Diego State) • WSU rushed for 143 yards, its third straight 100-game and fourth this season • Kirby Vorhees set a career high with 16 carries, rushed for 45 yards and had a 10-yard catch • Angel Johnson had a season-high 33 rush yards on five carries • Joshua Meredith had seven catches for 108 yards, his second career 100-yard game • Caleb Francl made a team-high 11 tackles, his second career double-digit tackle game (11, Idaho), made season-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss • Jack Stevens connected from 37 yards in the second quarter and 42 yards in the third quarter, is 10-of 11 this season

POSTGAME NOTES - AT NO. 4 OLE MISS
• WSU rushed for 127 yards on 28 carries, its third game with 100-plus rushing yards this season • WSU recorded six tackles-for-loss including three sacks • Jaylin Caldwell started at right tackle in his Cougar debut • Kirby Vorhees' 46-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest run of the season, first touchdown as a Coug • Vorhees rushed for a WSU-season high 88 yards • Landon Wright's fourth career catch was a 26-yard touchdown, his first career TD • Tony Freeman matched a career-high with nine catches, set a career-high with 92 receiving yards and caught his first career touchdown pass • Parker McKenna recorded 12 tackles • Isaac Terrell matched a career-high with five tackles recorded four tackles-for-loss with two sacks and forced fumble • Terrell's four tackles-for-loss tied for the eighth-most in WSU single-game history and most since Hercules Mata'afa recorded five in the win at Utah in 2017 • Jack Stevens missed his first field goal of the season, had started 8-for-8 to match Aaron Price for the best start by a Cougar kicker to start his career (1992) 

POSTGAME NOTES - AT COLORADO STATE WIN
• WSU allowed just three points, the fewest points allowed since beating San Jose State 31-0 in 2018 (Pullman) • WSU posted its first second-half shutout since 2021 at California (W, 21-6) • WSU matched a season-high with three fourth down stops (San Diego State) • WSU's nine tackles-for-loss were a season-high • WSU's four sacks were a season-high • Zevi Eckhaus earned his first win as a Cougar quarterback • Leo Pulalasi's 45-yard run in the second quarter was a career long • Jeremiah Noga caught his first touchdown as a Coug, had one touchdown catch in 2023 for Oregon State • Ademola Faleye's touchdown was his third career touchdown and first as a Coug (1 in 2021, 1 in 2022 at Norfolk State) • Parker McKenna recorded 10 tackles, his first double-digit tackle game as a Coug • Anthony Palano recorded a career-high 13 tackles • Soni Finau recorded his first career two-sack game • Bryson Lamb recorded WSU's first blocked field goal since 2023 (Jaden Hicks, at UCLA) 

POSTGAME NOTES - APPLE CUP
• Game temperature was 81 degrees, the hottest game temperature in Apple Cup history • first Gesa Field sellout of 2025 and first since 2023 (Oregon State) • WSU recorded three sacks, the most sacks in an Apple Cup since 2012 • WSU recorded seven tackles-for-loss, the most in an Apple Cup since 2015 • WSU had a season-high 14 receivers catch a pass • WSU recorded season-highs in first downs (21) and passing yards (277) • Devin Ellison (WR) made his WSU debut on offense, had 8-yard touchdown catch in third quarter • Beau Baker's first career catch was a 12-yard touchdown

POSTGAME NOTES - at NORTH TEXAS
• Maxwell Woods set career-highs with five catches for 42 yards • Landon Wright recorded his first career catch, a 34-yard grab in the second quarter • Cale Reeder made his WSU debut, finished three tackles • Jack Ellison made his 1st career, made five tackles

POSTGAME NOTES - SAN DIEGO STATE WIN
• WSU recorded its first safety since 2021 (blocked punt out of end zone, fog game against Arizona in Pullman) • Jaxon Potter threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns • Trey Leckner caught a career-high six passes, his first and second touchdowns of the season, second and third of his career • Leckner recorded the fifth 2-TD game by Cougar tight end in program history • Leon Neal Jr. caught his first career touchdown, 18-yard catch in third quarter, finished with two catches for 19 yards • Isaac Terrell recorded his first career sack, a safety in the second quarter

JAXON POTTER DELIVERS WIN IN FIRST CAREER START
Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Jaxon Potter notched a couple firsts in his first career start, the season-opening 13-10 win over Idaho. Potter went 23-of-30 for 208 yards including his first career touchdown pass, a six-yard scored to wideout Joshua Meredith in the second quarter. Potter capped his night going 6-for-6 on his first career game-winning drive, guiding WSU to a nine-play, 59-yard drive before Jack Stevens kicked the go-ahead 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining.

POSTGAME NOTES - IDAHO WIN
• WSU won its fourth straight season-opener, won its 11th straight game in the series against Idaho • Jack Stevens go-ahead 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining was WSU's first last-minute victory since 2019 (54-53, Max Borghi TD run with two seconds remaining, Oregon State) • Jack Stevens made his first career field goal (30 yards, 3rd quarter) and his second career field goal was the go-ahead 32-yarder with three seconds remaining

SIX NAMED TEAM CAPTAINS
Washington State announced its team captains for 2025 as voted by the players; OL Brock Dieu, S Tucker Large, WR Joshua Meredith, DT Max Baloun, DE Raam Stevenson, LB Caleb Francl.

13 COUGS HAVE EARNED DEGREES
Four players with college degrees; DL Max Baloun (Physical Education), LB Keith Brown (Social Sciences), LS Colson Brunner (Social Sciences), TE Hudson Cedarland (Management), CB Jamorri Colson (Humanities), DL Darrion Dalton (Business), QB Zevi Eckhaus (Social Sciences), OL Christian Hilborn (Humanities), LB Parker McKenna (Social Sciences), WR Leon Neal Jr. (Marketing), WR Jeremiah Noga (Public Health), RB Dylan Paine (Marketing), DT Mike Sandjo (Human Rights). 

COUGAR FOOTBALL PLUS ONES
Four Washington State players took the plunge this past offseason.
    - C Brock Dieu married his wife Chloe this past summer
    - LG Jonny Lester married his wife Chloe this summer
    - DE Isaac Terrell married his wife Madison this summer
    - DE Malaki Ta'ase married his wife McKinley this past January

COUGS ON A MISSION
A pair of Cougs recently completed their missions; LB Gage Jones spent two years (2022-2023) on a mission in Chile and DE Malaki Ta'ase spent two years (2022-23) on a mission in Ghana.

WALK-AROUND ALCOHOL PILOT PROGRAM AT GESA FIELD
Washington State announced a new pilot program that will allow walk-around beer and wine sales at Gesa Field. This initiative is designed to enhance the fan experience while maintaining a strong commitment to safety and responsible consumption. Fans aged 21 and over with valid, government-issued identification (ID) will be able to purchase beer and wine from general concession stands throughout the stadium. The program follows a successful model already implemented within the state that has gone through a thorough review by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board's enforcement team. The Liquor Board provided final approval at its Sept. 10 meeting. 
 
Key elements of the pilot program per the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board include: 
- No stadium re-entry once a ticket has been scanned. 
- Walk-around beer and wine sales are available through the end of the third quarter. 
- Student section remains alcohol-free with a strict zero-tolerance policy. 
- Limit of two alcoholic drinks per person, per transaction and ID checks for all alcohol purchases. 
- Rogers Field/Cougville becomes part of the ticketed footprint of Gesa Field and will require a game ticket to enter. Fans entering Rogers Field/Cougville will not be allowed to re-enter the stadium once they leave.
 
WSU and Aramark will continue to emphasize responsible drinking through staff training, signage, and enforcement protocols. 

FAN EXPERIENCE ENHANCEMENTS FOR COUGAR FOOTBALL GAMES
Kickoff At The CUB
New this year is the Kickoff At The CUB tailgate, located in the CUB Senior Ballroom. Beginning three hours prior to kickoff, all fans are welcome to enjoy the pregame atmosphere with featured food and drinks – including beer, wine, soda, and cocktails - available for purchase. The CUB Senior Ballroom is located on the second floor of the Compton Union Building.
 
Hollingbery Fieldhouse
New this year, Hollingbery Fieldhouse will not be open to the public. The venue  will be used to host private events for corporate partners of Cougar Athletics.
 
Cougville
Cougville, located on Rogers Field, remains one of the premier pregame tailgate spots on campus. Cougville provides fans with entertainment options for the entire family, including a beer garden for adults and a kids zone with inflatable bounce houses for young Cougar fans to enjoy. Cougville will open two hours prior to kickoff, close once the game begins, then re-open for halftime. Fans must show their game tickets to enter Cougville pregame.
 
Cougar Prowl
Don't miss this gameday tradition as fans gather to cheer on the Cougars as they make their way into Gesa Field. New for the 2025 season, the Cougar Prowl will begin two hours and 40 minutes prior to kickoff and will now start at the Taylor Sports Complex.