Jimmy Rogers Notes Challenge of Virginia Cavaliers Ahead of Wazzu's Trip East

Oct 11, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Washington State Cougars Head Coach Jimmy Rogers looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Washington State faithful were heavily encouraged by the Cougars managing to push Ole Miss to the brink last weekend in a game that ended with a score of 24-21. The 3-3 Cougars will get right back on the plane this week for a showdown at No. 19 Virginia on Saturday.

Jimmy Rogers met with media in Pullman on Monday to discuss his team's preparations for that game.

"Obviously we have another challenge this week, a really good Virginia team that has weapons all over the field," Rogers stated. "Really explosive on the perimeter, great running back, great quarterback, and this week will be a challenge just as much as last week. And we got to come out and play hard and clean up some of the things that we didn't execute as well last week to have a shot in this game."

Watch the full media availability below.

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MORE: Next Steps: How Cougs Can Build Off of Near Upset At Ole Miss

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On defending Virginia's offense:

"I would say limit the big plays. We got to tackle better in space. We got to kind of manage the quarterback. I think the quarterback's a really good player on-time, in-rhythm and he does a really good job of making the most of the plays when they break down that he can still keep his eyes down the field when he scrambles and then his legs - his legs will kill you. They played a a bunch of quality opponents so far and he's running past them. So, we got to do a good job of being able to tackle him in space but also not give him any explosive pass plays as well."

On the atmosphere at Virginia:

"It's going to be a night game. They just watched us play Ole Miss that way. They'll be ready. We're not sneaking up on anybody as far as how hard we play because I think in all of our games, you'll see our guys fly around. It's been a mishap of mistakes or technique things here or there. But it hasn't been just complete debacles. It's just been guys at times not making a play. So yeah, I'm excited to go out there."

On if his confidence has changed after the Ole Miss result:

"No. No. My confidence has been my confidence the whole time through. I can't listen to the outside noise for the exact same reason you just said. We played bad versus North Texas. We didn't play to our potential in the UW game and we didn't play to our potential in this game because there's enough things inside of that to say 'what are you supposed to do?' And if they can replicate what they're supposed to do verbally, they should be able to execute it - especially throughout the game when they've shown that they can execute. It's just the consistency of how you go about things and I'm not going to live in the emotional state of like the fan base but I do appreciate them coming out and supporting you, which plays a huge factor in our players and the belief that they have that they play for a school and a fan base that's really passionate about winning and having success and being with you regardless of the score in the end."

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