Takeaways From WSU Football's Win Over SDSU

WSU Football beat future Pac12 foe SDSU 36-13 on Saturday night to improve to 2-0 in the Jimmy Rogers era! The Cougs looked like a much improved team this week after squeaking past Idaho in week 1. Below are some of my key takeaways from last night's game. 


The Run Game Was Much Improved 


After WSU rushed for just 3 yards against FCS opponent Idaho last week there were rightfully a lot of concerns about the O-line and the run game. WSU put a lot of those fears to rest against SDSU rushing for 139 yards this week. The O-line is also yet to allow a sack this year! Kirby Vorhees and Angel Johnson also looked a lot more patient in the run game waiting for holes to open up. Leo Pulalasi also got more touches than he did in week 1 and he rushed for 30 yards on just 5 carries. 


Coming into the game the SDSU D-line was seen as a big test for the Cougs O-line. I would say the Cougs passed the test with flying colors, and you have to be feeling more confident about the next 10 games after watching a much improved WSU O-line last night.


Jaxon Potter Looked More Comfortable 


It is not a huge surprise that Jaxon Potter looked a lot more comfortable in his second collegiate start. Potter threw for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns, completed 28 out of 42 pass attempts and probably most importantly to the coaching staff, took no sacks and had no turnovers. Potter also completed passes to 9 (!) different receivers on the night. 


If these types of performances can become the norm for Potter the WSU offense should continue to improve. There are still some RPO reads that I think Potter could improve on but that will come with time. He is still just a redshirt sophomore starting in his second career game. One other thing I would like to see from Potter going forward is taking more shots down field. If we want to be a run heavy team you have to be able to stretch the defense vertically as well. 


Palouse Posse 2.0? 


While it is certainly way too early in the season to compare this defense to some of the historically great WSU defenses, the defense continues to be extremely impressive. The defense allowed just 2.7 yards per rushing attempt and just 4.4 yards per passing attempt, truly dominant numbers. The defense also had 3 sacks after having none last week. 


The defense also did an incredible job of getting off of the field on third and fourth down. SDSU completed just 2 out 13 third down attempts and completed just 1 out of 4 fourth down attempts. Being able to consistently get off the field is typically a sign of a great defense, and so far this defense certainly seems to make big plays to get off of the field. 


Special Teams Improves 


Special teams as a whole were better in week 2 than they were in week 1 but there continues to be room for improvement. Redshirt freshman kicker Jack Stevens continues to be extremely impressive. He went 2 for 2 on his FG attempts and nailed all of the extra point kicks. Punting was improved this week, averaging around 40 yards per punt but there were still some dumb penalties on special teams that can't happen.


Looking Ahead 


WSU will play their first away game of the season next week against North Texas. WSU will face off against former WSU OC Eric Morris who is now the head coach at North Texas. This game will be a good test for the Cougs especially with it being the first away game of the year. The game is set to kick off at 2:30 local time and the temperature projects to be 90 degrees. Let’s hope the players and staff come out prepared to play in the heat next week!


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