Keys to Victory for Washington State Football vs. Oregon State

Washington State's 2025 regular season comes to a close on Saturday and it will do so with the Cougars they've become very familiar with recently. Oregon State and WSU have seen plenty of each other lately; in fact the two met earlier this month with the Beavers winning 10-7. That was over in Corvallis, though, and the stakes weren't quite as high as they are this time around in Pullman. Sitting at 5-6, Jimmy Rogers' team needs a win if they want to go bowling this year. Here's what they'll have to do against OSU this time out if they want to extend their season.

Take Risks

Now in the last guranteed game on the slate, Rogers and his staff have to be more willing to take risks than they might normally be, especially against an Oregon State team they're favored against. Last week WSU nearly pulled off a major upset over James Madison and part of the reason why is because they weren't scared to roll the dice. For instance, the Cougs gambled on fourth down three times and converted twice, one of which ended up leading to points.

Going for it on fourth down might be the play again this week against an Oregon State team that has allowed its opponents to convert on fourth 43.8% of the time this year. But risk taking can take many forms beyond keeping the offense on the field. Drawing up a fake or even doing something as bold as trying an onside kick to steal a possession should all be somewhere in the playbook this weekend. It's do or die now and Washington State should be willing to try some unconventional things if the game calls for it.

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Improve the Run Game (on Both Sides) from Last Meeting

This one seems obvious but it's something the Cougars were unable to do against OSU last time and it was a big reason why they lost. In their November 1 meeting, WSU was only able to manage 125 total rush yards from their own offense while allowing more than that to Beavers running back Anthony Hankerson alone. Kirby Vorhees, Angel Johnson and quarterback Zevi Eckhaus all got stuffed against the Oregon State defense last time and that can't happen again.

Likewise, stopping Hankerson will be key. The Beavs will make him a big part of the game plan as they have most all season long and the defense needs to be ready. Linebacker Parker McKenna and defensive lineman Isaac Terrell both need to step up and hone in on Hankerson every time he has the ball in his hands. If he is able to find the same holes he did before, Oregon State might be able to walk out of Martin Stadium with a second upset win over Washington State.

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Win with Pass Defense

It's not secret that one of OSU's biggest bugaboos this season has been their collective inability to effectively pass the ball. The Cougs secondary is good enough to contend with either Gabarri Johnson or Maalik Murphy and they proved it last time. Both quarterbacks tried their hand against the WSU defense and neither threw for more than 35 yards or got a touchdown. If the defensive back end can play up to that level again, this time at home, there's no reason that the Cougars shouldn't win on Saturday.

Colby Humphrey, Tucker Large and the rest of the secondary need to shut down receivers Trent Walker and David Wells Jr. just like they did a few weeks ago. Humphrey and Large have been the feature players in that secondary this year with a combined five PBUs, one pick and 117 tackles between them. If they can duplicate what they've been doing over the last month or so then the Cougars should have no problem with that OSU passing attack.

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