Washington State QB Zevi Eckhaus Shouts Out Mike Leach Following Cougs First Road Win

Sep 20, 2025; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Zevi Eckhaus (4) throws a pass against the Washington Huskies in the first half of Apple Cup at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

In a road start at Colorado State, Washington State Cougars quarterback Zevi Eckhaus built upon his Apple Cup performance, getting the start and leading his ream to a 20-3 victory. Eckhaus completed 16 passes on 28 attempts for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

After the game, Eckhaus was quick to praise the efforts of the Cougar defense, who played a complete game despite a less explosive second half from the WSU offense. In doing so, he referenced a phrase made popular by a former Washington State head coach: the late Mike Leach.

"You're going to win a lot of football games if you give up three points. But I was just really proud of how the guys continue to fight, you know, regardless of how the game was going. We just continue to fight, continue to swing our sword. Shout out Mike Leach."

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A key area of improvement for Washington State in the win: performance in the rushing game. The Cougars had a season-high of 158 yards on the ground after just 25 in the loss to Washington.

"We ran the ball really well today, and that's awesome. That's important because if we're going to pass the ball successfully, we got to be able to run the ball, you know, and I thought the guys did a really good job today. Whether it was establishing the line of scrimmage, whether it was breaking tackles. They just did a really good job. So, obviously, a lot of good that we put on film and and we'll have some more things to grow on."

Washington State has traditionally relied on the passing game, sometimes to their detriment, but as Eckhaus noted, success in the running game can set up major opportunities in the passing game against a depleted defense.

"When you establish a run game, I mean it just really takes the life out of a defense. You know, you're just running the ball over and over. I think that last drive, I mean, we might have killed...I think it was like seven minutes left when we got the ball around around that area. There was one pass on that drive, you know, that was just continuously running the ball, running the ball, third down, converting, and that's huge. That's going to win football games. down the stretch."

Watch Eckhaus full postgame media availability below.

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