Next Steps: Cougars' Path Forward Following Close Week 1 Victory Over Idaho

Washington State's 2025 campaign got off to a much rockier start than expected, narrowly defeating the FCS Idaho Vandals 13-10 in their opening matchup at home. Expectations were understandably lower going into the season, with navigating substantial roster shuffling in the offseason a main point of emphasis among both national and local media. However, despite their victory, the Cougars' showing in Week One was far below the standard the team's fanbase expects.

With 1-0 San Diego State next on the schedule, here are the main areas head coach Jimmy Rogers and his staff need to address before the upcoming week's matchup.

Semblance Of Run Game

As heavy favorites and opening against an FCS opponent, the Cougars' performance in Saturday night's contest was incredibly underwhelming, finishing with a mere 13 points. Sophomore quarterback Jaxon Potter was decent enough on his own, but a staggering 0.4 yards per carry remains the main focus point in the offense moving forward. Starting running back Angel Johnson tallied negative four yards on 10 carries for the night, with backup Kirby Vorhees not faring much better with 19 on six rushes. Eight total teamwide rushing yards is a far cry from adequate against any opponent, much less one as inferior as Idaho.

Facing a San Diego State team in Week Two that allowed just 1.9 YPC to FCS Stony Brook in their season opener, increasing the efficiency and productivity of the run game should be of major importance in this week's practices.

Ball Security A Must

A brief glance at the stat sheet shows that the Cougars lost just one fumble on the night, with Angel Johnson as the ball carrier. However, a deeper look reveals that backup QB Julian Dugger and RB Kirby Vorhees both fumbled the ball, despite regaining possession. With both a nonexistent run game and ball security issues, arguably the two most important offensive aspects begin the season as major negatives for Washington State.

The Aztecs failed to create a turnover against Stony Brook, but they have a much more talented defense on paper than the Vandals. With WSU opening as 1.5-point favorites (via FanDuel), maintaining control of the ball will be a major factor in whether they are able to cover the spread and win the game.

Apply The Pressure

While only surrendering 10 points against Idaho, a noticeable flaw on the defensive side of the ball was a severe lack of pressure on the quarterback, Joshua Wood. Idaho's run-first offensive scheme likely played a role in this, but not registering a single sack against an FCS team is tough to swallow. They only tallied two QB hits the entire night as well, with many of their pressures only occurring on schemed screens and misdirections.

Up against an SDSU offensive line that allowed three hurries and three pressures with zero sacks in Week One, major improvements will have to be made for the Cougars' defensive front to make a sizeable impact. With many of their top defensive playmakers in 2024 either transferred or graduated, new faces will have to step up and fill the void in the pass rush game.