Colorado State's Jackson Brousseau drops back to pass during the State pride game against Washington State at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo., on Sept. 27, 2025. Logan Newell/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Expect Washington State Pass Rush To Be Major Element of Cougs' Continued Growth

Originally posted on Washington State Cougars on SI
By Joe Londergan | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 4:00 PM ET

With a 20-3 win over Colorado State this past weekend, the Washington State Cougars will have a winning record of 3-2 headed into their bye week. Considering some of the early adversity his team has faced, including injuries, Jimmy Rogers noted his happiness with the team's current state.

Among several areas of growth and encouraging notes from the Colorado State win, the Cougars' pass rush stands out. Helping fill in the gap left by an injury to Max Baloun, Cal Poly transfer Soni Finau posted two sacks, causing a total loss of 13 yards to the Colorado State offense. That performance marked Finau's first career two-sack game

"Honestly, I think he's getting better the more we play. I think he's getting more in shape. His gas tank is expanding obviously as the season's going and he's just a big human to block. So, when you get tired on offense, you got to block 320, maybe 340 pounds running at you consistently. So proud of him because those were huge momentum plays for us."

Allowing only three points, the Washington State defense gave up their smallest point total since beating San Jose State 31-0 in 2018. The defensive front also posted season highest with nine tackles for loss and four total sacks.

Among other strong contributors to the defensive push up front were veteran Raam Stevenson, picking up his first sack of 2025, and Isaac "Bobby" Terrell, who had three total tackles and tackle for loss. Terrell continues a breakout start to the season with a team-leading 5.5 tackles for loss over the first five games.

While the defensive performance was a strong example of bending without breaking, Rogers would prefer his team do neither. In the second half in particular, the WSU defense had trouble getting off of the field quickly. While the Rams did not score, they did mount three drives of ten plays or more - resulting in two turnovers on downs and a blocked field goal.

"There's tons of things to improve. Like I said, we're not just going to look past them just because we won and I'm excited to kind of grow going into the bye-week, but the things that we need to improve at."

Washington State will be idle this weekend before a game at Ole Miss on October 11 on the SEC Network.