PULLMAN — To understand this Washington State team, to understand the transitional period the Cougars are in and where they’re trying to go, you have to understand something about their head coach.
Jimmy Rogers doesn’t smile during games.
Look over at him at any point during a game, in a blowout win or a lopsided loss, and Rogers is bound to be showing a few different emotions: irritated or poker-faced, arguing with an official or looking at his notes. After his group’s last home game, a runaway win, he said this: “most things bother me.”
Which is why the story of WSU’s regular-season finale, a 32-8 win over Oregon State on Saturday evening to earn bowl eligibility, unfolded on Rogers’ face in the third quarter. Up three scores, the Cougars’ pass rush was overwhelming the Beavers’ offense, which looked hapless. A loud rap song blared from the speakers. And Rogers did the unthinkable: he beamed.
That’s about how well things went for WSU, which cruised to its sixth win, reaching bowl eligibility in Rogers’ debut season. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus totaled two touchdowns, running back Kirby Vorhees added one on the ground and the rest of the game belonged to the Cougars’ defense, which held the Beavers’ offense to only 288 total yards, registered seven tackles for loss and piled up six sacks.
It was maybe the finest outing in a year full of them from the WSU defense, which got 1.5 sacks from defensive end Isaac Terrell and a half-sack from a handful of others, underscoring how easily Cougar defenders made their way into the Beaver backfield all night. WSU also registered two interceptions, one from cornerback Colby Humphrey and one from linebacker Caleb Francl, who might be playing the best football of anyone on the team in recent weeks — on either side of the ball.
The Cougars’ offense started slow, reaching Beaver territory on two occasions before settling for field goals from kicker Jack Stevens, who completed his first WSU regular season hitting 14 of 16 field goals. The Cougars were engineering promising drives, but they weren’t finishing them, leaving a little to be desired on offense.
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That began to change in the second quarter. Vorhees capped a short drive with a touchdown plunge. Later in the quarter, WSU offensive coordinator Danny Freund did well to move tight end Trey Leckner in motion and spring him open in the end zone, where Eckhaus found him for an easy touchdown pass near the goal line. That handed WSU a 19-0 lead shortly before halftime.
Except the Cougs weren’t done. Late in the third frame, Eckhaus dropped back and faked a pass, then darted through the line of scrimmage into the end zone, good for a five-yard touchdown rush. He unleashed a scream into the heavens, where crimson fireworks went off above the Cougar Football Complex. In his final game at Gesa Field, Eckhaus was going out in style.
But the Cougars didn’t have to work very hard on offense to score those touchdowns, in large part, because of one man: punt returner Tony Freeman. He returned one punt 43 yards, and three plays later, Vorhees scored. He returned another 24 yards, and four plays later, Leckner found himself open for his touchdown. And in the third quarter, Freeman surged through defenders for a 25-yard return, leading to Eckhaus’ rushing touchdown five plays later.
All told, Freeman returned six punts for 169 yards, setting a school record for single-game punt return yards. He looked fast as ever. He made Oregon State pay for continuing to punt in his direction.
With the game out of reach, the Cougs also found a way to get a rushing touchdown for running back Angel Johnson, whose one and only season at WSU didn’t pan out. He started each of the first six games, but unable to generate much on the ground, Johnson lost his starting spot to Vorhees. He went on to see only a few snaps as the regular season wound down, including nine against Toledo, eight against Oregon State in Corvallis and four against James Madison last weekend.
WSU’s defense came close to a shutout, but OSU got on the board in the fourth quarter with a 12-yard pass from quarterback Tristan Ti’a to receiver Trent Walker. Somewhere in the shuffle in the ensuing two-point conversion, which the Beavers converted, WSU safety Tucker Large got dinged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, his second of the game. That earned him an ejection, prompting him to go out at Gesa Field in poetic fashion: pairing a phenomenal game with relentless trash talk, the kind he’s used to his advantage his entire career.
WSU will learn its bowl assignment on Dec. 7. During the week, a few national bowl projections had the Cougars playing New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl, which is set for Dec. 27.
Earlier in the game, WSU linebacker Parker McKenna was helped to the locker room with a pair of trainers, nursing an injury. Defensive tackle Kaden Beatty was also seen with his foot in a boot, riding around on a scooter, in the final moments.
Washington State Cougars quarterback Zevi Eckhaus (4) pretends to bowl a strike to the WSU band after he ran into the end zone for a touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers during the second half of a college football game on Saturday, Nov 29, 2025, on Gesa Field in Pullman, Wash. WSU won the game 32-8. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
First quarter
9:26 - WSU 3, OSU 0: Jack Stevens drives in a 26-yard field goal after a 12-play, 70-yard opening drive.
The Cougars converted one fourth down on the drive but elected to kick a field goal when faced with a second.
7:25 - WSU 3, OSU 0: Caleb Francl and Matt Durrance combine on a tackle that forces a fumble by Trent Walker. The fumble was recovered by Parker McKenna and the Cougs will take over at OSU’s 40.
First big swing of this one: A combination of Matt Durrance/Caleb Francl force a fumble, and Parker McKenna recovers.
11:54 - WSU 13, OSU 0: The Cougars take advantage of the short field with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Kirby Vorhees.
A 22-yard reception by Meredith set up the short rush.
9:34 - WSU 13, OSU 0: Francl intercepts Tristan Ti’a to force the Cougars’ second turnover of the game.
Caleb Francl might be WSU’s best player across the last few weeks. Here, he snags a pick over the middle, his second straight game with an INT. Awesome athleticism + hands. pic.twitter.com/WUBCefav9E
0:45 - WSU 19, OSU 0: OSU recovers Freeman’s fumble on a punt return.
Halftime
The Cougars are halfway to a win and bowl eligibility after working their way to a 19-0 lead at halftime.
WSU’s defense have kept OSU freshman quarterback Ti’a in check. Ti’a has completed nine passes for 84 yards and no touchdowns.
Until a fumble just before halftime, punt returner Tony Freeman has given WSU multiple short fields. Freeman has 126 return yards in addition to a team-leading 74 receiving yards.
Eckhaus is 13 of 21 for 165 yards and one touchdown in his final regular-season college game.
Third quarter
4:51 - WSU 25, OSU 0: Eckhaus takes it in from five yards out for his second total touchdown of the game.
The 2-point conversion is broken up by Oregon State.
Zevi Eckhaus takes a QB keeper into the end zone for a 5-yard TD. The rout is on in Pullman
0:13 - WSU 25, OSU 0: Ti’a throws his second interception of the game, this time to senior cornerback Colby Humphrey. WSU will take over at its own 13.
WSU CB Colby Humphrey plays hot potato with himself before securing the INT — third in the last two games for the Cougs. They’re rolling pic.twitter.com/JQ96pKBXIe
WSU center Brock Dieu has his foot in a boot, riding around on a scooter during pregame warmups. Looks like he’ll miss what would have been his final game at Gesa Field. Look for Kyle Martin to get the start at center today.
WSU safety Cale Reeder is dressed and warming up for today’s game. He’s wearing a cast to protect his left hand, where an injury held him out of the past two games. Major lift for the Cougs’ defense.
