COUGARS OPEN ROAD SLATE SATURDAY AT NORTH TEXAS
Washington State hits the road for the first time in 2025 with a matchup at North Texas in Denton, Texas Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 12:35 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State has opened the seasons with home wins over Idaho (13-10) and San Diego State (36-13) under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers who coached South Dakota State the previous two seasons highlighted by an FCS National Championship in 2023. The Cougars went 8-5 last season and earned a trip to the Holiday Bowl for the program's eighth bowl game in the last nine full seasons. The Cougars eight wins were the most since the 11-2 campaign in 2018. The 2025 roster features just three returning starters on offense and 75 newcomers. 

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• Jimmy Rogers is the first Cougar head coach to win his first two games at WSU since Mike Price in 1989
• WSU has won 4 straight season-openers and is 2-0 for the 4th straight season
• WSU went 8-5 last season, the most wins since 2018, went 8th bowl in last 9 full seasons, 19 bowls all time
• WSU's roster features 5 players from the state of Texas; 
    CB AJ Davis, S Gaylon McNeal, S Kyle Peterson, DT Mike Sandjo,  DE Raam Stevenson

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT (Player Notes Pages 8-11)
• 31 players made their WSU debuts including 7 who made their collegiate debuts in the week 1 win over Idaho
• 5 more made their WSU debuts week 2 against San Diego State including 2 who made their collegiate debuts
• Trey Leckner's 2 TD catches against San Diego State was the 5th 2-TD game by Cougar TE in program history
• Leckner's 2 TD catches are tied for 4th-most among tight ends nationally
• 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 with two seconds remaining, Oregon State)

SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars will meet the Mean Green for the first time in program history. WSU's last trip to the state of Texas came in 2021, a 24-21 defeat to Central Michigan at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. The Cougars last regular season game in Texas was 31-24 win over Houston at NRG Stadium in Houston in 2019. North Texas Head Coach Eric Morris is in his third season in Denton after making two coaching stops at WSU in 2012 (Inside WR) and 2022 (Offensive Coordinator).

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the 2003 season, ESPN College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 322 last week in Norman for Michigan-Oklahoma. 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
75 - WSU's 2025 roster features 75 new players
36 - 36 players have made their WSU debuts in the first 2 weeks, 9 have made their collegiate debut 
21 - WSU returned 21 players who earned a varsity letter in 2024
10 - WSU's 2025 schedule features teams from 10 different conferences 
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
3 - WSU returned 3 starters, all on offense; C Brock Dieu, RT Christian Hilborn, WR Josh Meredith

COUGAR DEFENSE IMPRESSES IN 2-0 START
The Washington State defense has opened 2025 with a pair of soild performances under new defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit
• WK1 | Idaho; 10 pts, 33 rush yards, 5 TFL, 2 takeaways (2 fumbles) 
• WK2 | San Diego State; 13 pts, 7 TFL, 3 sacks, 2-of-13 on 3rd downs, safety, 215 yds of total offense

POSTGAME NOTES - SAN DIEGO STATE WIN
• WSU improved to 2-0 for the fourth straight season • Jimmy Rogers is the first Cougar head coach to win his first two games at WSU since Mike Price in 1989 • WSU recorded its first safety since 2021 (blocked punt out of end zone, fog game against Arizona in Pullman) • Five made their Cougar debuts; Damarius Russell (Special Teams), Mike Sandjo (DT), Kai Rapolla (Special Teams), Landon Wright (WR), Maxwell Woods (RB) • Two players made their collegiate debuts; Damarius Russell (Special Teams), Landon Wright (WR) • Jaxon Potter threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, his first career 3-TD game • Kirby Vorhees set a career-high with 13 carries, finished with 67 yards • 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 • Josh Meredith set a career-high with eight catches for 88 yards • Isaac Terrell recorded his first career sack, a safety in the second quarter, finished 1.5 sacks

JAXON POTTER DELIVERS WIN IN FIRST CAREER START
Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Jaxon Potter notched a couple firsts in his first career start in 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) • 31 players made their WSU debuts; LB Anthony Palano, RB Angel Johnson, S Tucker Large, QB Julian Dugger, CB Colby Humphrey, S Duhron Goodman, LB Caleb Francl, RB Kirby Vorhees, DE Buddha Peleti, LB Carsten Reynolds, CB AJ Davis, WR Jeremiah Noga, WR Carter Pabst, CB Trillion Sorrell, S Matthew Durrance, LB Sullivan Schlimgen, S Kyle Peterson, S Trey Ridley, K Jack Stevens, LB Jack Ellison, LS Colton Peoples, DT Kaden Beatty, DT Soni Finau, RG AJ Vaipulu, TE Beau Baker, TE Ademola Faleye, WR Mackenzie Alleyne, TE Luke Leighton, DT Darrion Dalton, DT Max Baloun, DE Malaki Ta'ase • Seven players made their collegiate debuts; CB Trillion Sorrell, WR Carter Pabst, S Kyle Peterson, LB Jack Ellison, LB Sullivan Schlimgen, TE Beau Baker, TE Luke Leighton • LT Ashton Tripp and LG Jonny Lester each made their first career starts • Tony Freeman started, set career highs with seven catches for 64 yards • Kirby Vorhees set career highs with five catches for 18 yards • Caleb Francl (11), Matthew Durrance (9) Anthony Palano (9) each made set career-highs in tackles in their Cougar debuts • 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 Josh 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

MISSION COUGS
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.

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.

APPLE CUP DATES SET, WSU ADDS HOME AND HOME SERIES WITH ARIZONA
Washington State and Washington have set the dates for the 2026 and 2027 Apple Cups, while the Cougars have also added a home-and-home series with the Arizona Wildcats, beginning in 2026. The 2026 Apple Cup will be contested Sept. 5 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, while the 2027 game will be held Sept. 18 at Gesa Field in Pullman. The 2028 contest, the fifth in the five-game agreement signed in 2023, will be played at Husky Stadium though no date has been announced. WSU signed a home-and-home agreement with the University of Arizona, beginning in 2026. The 2026 contest will be played Sept. 26, in Pullman, while the return game is set for Sept. 25, 2027, in Tucson.

COUGARS UNVEIL MADE OF CRIMSON CAMPAIGN
Washington State Athletics unveiled its Made of Crimson campaign for the 2025 Cougar Football season, focusing on the pride and passion Cougar fans have for Washington State Football. "The goal of the campaign is to reemphasize that Washington State Athletics and Cougar Football are national brands, said Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing and Fan Experience Miranda Fernandez. "In the ever-changing world of college athletics, Cougar Pride has never wavered, and we are providing an outlet for fans to show that pride through this social campaign. 

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. With multiple screens throughout the room, fans will be able to enjoy college football games from all around the country. 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. Fans looking for the pregame experience found at Hollingbery Fieldhouse in previous years can now enjoy that same festive atmosphere at Kickoff At The CUB in the Compton Union Building Senior Ballroom or at Cougville on Rogers Field.
 
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. Head Coach Jimmy Rogers will lead the Cougars through the RV1 parking lot, past the Cougar Pride Statue, and into the Northeast entrance to Gesa Field. Fans of all ages are invited to join in this celebration of welcoming the Cougs to Gesa Field each home game.