WSU to weather another long trek to take on No. 18 Virginia, which is soaring
As Washington State prepares for another test this weekend, with a road matchup across the country against No. 18 Virginia , the Cougars are switching up their travel habits.
On Friday night, coach Jimmy Rogers said the players will head to bed a bit later than usual. Because of the time difference, Rogers isn’t necessarily expecting them to hit the hay right away – “If they go to sleep early, they go to sleep early,” he said – but it does add up to another measure the team is taking into account for such an extraordinary travel schedule.
“I had done something very similar in 2021, where we flew all over the country to play everybody in games,” Rogers said. “And the world made it out to be a big deal. At the end of the day, it’s competitive sports. You gotta get ready to compete. Nobody’s gonna care how far you go, and we’re not gonna talk about it too much. I don’t think it’s worth talking about things that you can’t control.”
Controllable or not, the travel schedule is a compelling factor in the game, set for a 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. local time) kickoff on The CW. A week after hitting the road for Mississippi, the Cougars are headed even further east, marking a 2,500-mile trek for this game.
That does a pretty good job of illustrating the position WSU (3-3) is in at the moment. The Cougars are in their second and final year operating outside the confines of a regular conference set up. The rebuilt Pac-12 doesn’t launch until next year, so this fall, the Cougs cobbled together a schedule that looks like something out of a video game. They’re playing opponents from all over the country, just filling out their schedule with games until they return to a more structured conference lineup.
And for the second straight week, that arrangement has landed WSU a date with a ranked foe. The No. 18 Cavaliers are 5-1 on the season. Their best win is a double overtime win over then-No. 8 Florida State. Their quarterback is breakout senior Chandler Morris, who has tossed 11 touchdowns and completed nearly 70% of his passes, and their head coach is fourth-year man Tony Elliott, who has the Hoos off to their best start in a long time.
It adds up to another tall task for WSU, which must fend off the jet lag first and foremost, at least to the extent of playing in a time zone three hours ahead. The Cougs will also look to slow the Cavaliers’ rushing attack, which averages 217.5 yards per game, a top-20 mark nationally. On top of that, WSU’s offense will have to look similar to the unit that took the field in a close loss to Ole Miss last weekend: Balanced and consistent, and perhaps most importantly, turnover-averse.
Win or lose this one, though, and WSU’s schedule begins to lighten up from here. The Cougars will play two of three games at home, matchups against Toledo and Louisiana Tech. The exception is a road game against Oregon State, which recently fired coach Trent Bray amid an 0-7 start.
“They have weapons all over the field, really explosive on the perimeter, great running back, great quarterback, and this week will be a challenge, just as much as last week,” Rogers said of Virginia. “We gotta 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.”
The Cougars, 171/2-point underdogs in most sportsbooks as of Friday afternoon, are on the right track. After slogging through five games of a mostly underwhelming ground game, which hampered the team’s offense in big ways, WSU might have found a steady hand in running back Kirby Vorhees. Against Ole Miss last week, he totaled 88 rushing yards on 10 carries, including a go-ahead 46-yard scoring burst.
On that carry and others, Vorhees has illustrated what seems clear at this point: He’s the answer at running back. He has yet to start a game this fall – those honors have gone to senior Angel Johnson, who has totaled just 94 yards on 47 carries – but he’s logged more snaps than Johnson in five of six games. The more he plays, the more he shows elusiveness at the line of scrimmage and the more he shows an ability to find holes that don’t look obvious right away, the more he lifts the Cougs’ offense with him.
Rogers values snap counts over starting roles, which is why he doesn’t occupy himself much with who WSU runs out first at running back, but he did say this: “I view Kirby as a starter. He plays starter-type minutes. In no way is he in a backup role.”
If Vorhees can provide any juice, the Cougars will take every drop. They may have to play Saturday’s game without veteran right tackle Christian Hilborn, who was seen before last week’s game on crutches, his left knee in a giant brace. On Monday, Rogers didn’t provide much of an update on Hilborn’s status – “We’re hoping to see what he can do this week, but we’ll see,” Rogers said – so it’s unclear if he’ll be able to suit up.
But if he can’t, look for Division II transfer Jaylin Caldwell to step in, same as he did against Ole Miss. In 43 pass-blocking snaps, Caldwell allowed only two pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which handed him a pass-blocking grade of 63.5 – a shade above average. It was Caldwell’s first taste of FBS action, and it came on the road against the SEC’s best team this season. It’s likely reasonable to expect him to look even better this weekend.
A few other Cougars’ statuses are unclear. Receivers Devin Ellison and Carter Pabst didn’t play last weekend, with Ellison suited up but limited with an ankle roll and Pabst unavailable entirely. Defensive end Raam Stevenson left early with an injury, and defensive tackle Mike Sandjo also didn’t play.
Rogers didn’t provide much clarity on any of those players’ outlooks. It’s likely another way for him to protect competitive advantages. What if Virginia gets ahead by not needing to prepare for any of those guys? On top of trying to get a little extra sleep, Rogers and the Cougs are pulling out all the stops this weekend on the East Coast.