Oregon State Football Opponent Preview: Washington State Cougars

After a quality season in 2024, Oregon State's Pac-12 rival will be undergoing a big transition.

With the departure of former head coach Jake Dickert, in addition to significant roster turnover, the Cougars are going to be entering a new chapter this season.

Jimmy Rogers, who won the 2023 FCS national championship at South Dakota State, is now at the helm in Pullman.

The Beavers play WSU twice in the month of November, and there will be plenty of time for opponent scouting when the matchups come around this late in the regular season.

But for right now, let's see how the Cougars look heading into Week One.

With the departure of dual-threat QB John Mateer to Oklahoma, the Cougars are ready to hand the keys to a veteran who has waited his turn.

Cougar fans got a taste of Zevi Eckhaus last season in the Holiday Bowl, where he threw for 332 yards and three TDs in a loss to Syracuse.

Zevi spent three years starting for the Bryant Bulldogs, where he proved his ability to orchestrate a quality passing attack.

But does he have the tools necessary to do this in 2025 with the Cougs? While they may not be getting much attention preseason, the Washington State receiving unit could be more of a weapon than people realize.

Senior wideout Josh Meredith (whom Eckhaus connected with five times in the Holiday Bowl) should play a big role this season now that Kyle Williams is gone.

Junior college transfer Devin Ellison caught 16 TDs in ten games last season at Monterrey Peninsula college, and has an 88 transfer rating from 247.

Finally, Oregon State transfer Jeremiah Noga brings experience to the room, and he demonstrated an ability to get open in third-and-short situations in his time with the Beavers.

On the ground, Washington State has a few solid options to carry the ball.

Coach Rogers is bringing over Kirby Vorhees and Angel Johnson from South Dakota State, both of whom were standouts last season at the FCS level.

They are also returning Leo Pulalasi, who had 65 carries for 302 yards and two TDs last season as a true freshman.

Coach Rogers ran a system that utilized multiple running backs during his time with the Jackrabbits, meaning there could be significant playing time for all three of these guys.

There isn't much room to go but up, as the Washington State defense was a liability most of last season (such as in the 38-35 shootout loss to Oregon State).

In 2025 the Cougars will be relying heavily on transfers, many of whom came over from South Dakota State with Rogers.

Washington State's pass defense, which finished 124th last season, will depend largely on guys who are making a jump from the FCS level.

One particular player to highlight is free safety Tucker Large, an FCS central All-American last season who is expected to be an important piece of the defense this year.

Fellow Jackrabbit transfers Colby Humphrey and Matt Durrance are also expected to start in the secondary.

While Wazzu has to be happy about all this starting experience at defensive back, these players are bumping up a level, and it could take time for them to adjust.

In the middle of the defense, the Cougs have some solid pieces to work with.

They are returning senior Keith Brown at Mike linebacker, who was a big part of the rotation in 2024.

A former four-star recruit from the state of Oregon, Brown will be looking to break out in his final year of college eligibility.

He will likely be starting alongside senior Caleb Francl, who led the Jackrabbits in tackles for loss last season and was named to Phil Stelee's FCS All-America first team.

In addition, redshirt freshman Carsten Reynolds was one of coach Rogers' highest recruits in his 2024 class, and could find himself in the rotation with senior Parker McKenna.

While the linebacking group has solid potential, the defensive line will be a bit of a question mark for Wazzu heading into the season.

The Cougars have lost a lot of production from 2024, with Khalil Laufau and Ansel Din-Mbuh both transferring to power four schools(these two players combined for ten of the Cougars' 12 sacks last year).

Fortunately they have added a couple of defensive linemen in the transfer portal, and are also returning guys who were part of the rotation last season.

Still, the defensive line is looking like the most vulnerable part of this side of the ball heading into the season.

All in all, coach Rogers should be happy about the additions the Cougs have made on defense.

With the experience they're adding in the secondary, they should be better against the pass than they were in 2024.

However, Washington State will still want to hold realistic expectations about how good their defense can be, given the cards they've been dealt this season.

MORE: Pro Cougs: Kyle Williams Projected Fifth on Patriots' Depth Chart While Washington State has lost some big weapons from 2024, this is a team that shouldn't be slept on.

They have a talented and experienced arm at QB, and the Cougar offense will have had most of the season to build up chemistry by the time the Beavers first meet them on November 1st.

The defensive side of the ball could remain a weakness for Washington State(we of course won't know until the season starts) , and OSU will be in good shape if they're able to push around a less-experienced Cougar defensive line.

The conference rivals will meet for the first time on November 1st in Corvallis and then again on November 29th in Pullman, where the Beavers haven't won since 2013..

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