Last week, WSU QB Jaxon Potter set a record under coach Jimmy Rogers. For the Cougs, it represented meaningful adaptability

PULLMAN – Jimmy Rogers may only be in his third year as a head coach, but he has enough games on his résumé to earn a reputation. His teams want to establish physicality, run the ball and control possessions, all of which he demonstrated in his first 31 games as a head man.

Which is why his 32nd stood out. In WSU’s win over San Diego State last weekend, Rogers’ second game with the Cougars, quarterback Jaxon Potter tossed 42 passes – the most by a quarterback under Rogers.

That development, which keyed the Cougars’ 36-13 win, flew in the face of the tendencies Rogers’ teams have demonstrated. WSU did run the ball, racking up 139 yards on the ground, an improvement that Rogers liked. But it was the Cougs’ passing offense that stuck out like a sore thumb.

It begged one question: Is Rogers OK with throwing 42 passes in a game?

“I’m OK with winning,” Rogers said on Monday. “So if that’s what we are right now, and we’re better at that, we’ll balance it out as we go. I do believe in running the football, because I believe in situational football.”

Above all, the move seemed to illustrate a few things: It showed Rogers and coaches are quick to make adjustments, and in Saturday’s game, that meant letting Potter air it out a tad. It also demonstrated that, a week after sticking with the run to minimal results, WSU coaches have placed more trust in their starting QB.

Potter made them look wise. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, including two to tight end Trey Leckner and one to fifth-year receiver Leon Neal Jr., who caught his first touchdown pass after being placed on scholarship in the spring. For the second straight game, Potter also avoided interceptions and sacks, showing off the keen decision-making that helped him win the starting role in fall camp.

To be sure: Potter and the Cougars’ offense was far from perfect. They opened the game with consecutive three-and-outs, then slogged through two more in the second half. Penalties torpedoed drives, which has been a theme across their first two games of the season. It’s clear some parts of their offense are still a work in progress.

But 36 points is a far cry from 13, which was WSU’s point total in its season opener. And 139 rushing yards is a giant improvement on 3, the Cougars’ rushing output in their first game. For a group that returns only three starters, two on the offensive line, sometimes it’s about gradual improvement.

“Definitely more comfortable,” Potter said after Saturday’s game. “It’s always a good thing when your bigs are blocking up front. You can run the ball. I thought we did a great job of that. My wideouts were getting open. And I think that the comfortability came from my teammates.”

For WSU, the encouraging part was that Rogers and coaches weren’t just open to making small tweaks inside of their win over SDSU. They nearly changed their whole offensive approach. Rogers’ South Dakota State teams found their identity in using the run to set up the pass. In his first two games at WSU, he’s done almost the opposite: He’s used the pass to set up the run.

That bore fruit for the Cougars, who got 67 rushing yards on 13 carries from running back Kirby Vorhees and 30 yards on six attempts from Leo Pulalasi, plus 28 yards on eight carries from Angel Johnson, whose long run of some 20 yards was wiped out by a holding penalty.

That may have represented a meaningful step forward for the Cougs – their offensive line, which looked shaky in Week 1, turned things around with their physicality in Week 2 – but it doesn’t add up to a long-term solution. At least not in the eyes of Rogers, who figures his team has to improve at running the ball “even when the world knows it’s coming. That’s what great teams do.”

But for now, as WSU prepares for a road test at North Texas, the Cougars are finding ways to operate their offense with the pass first.

“If we have to do that, we have to do that,” Rogers said after last week’s game. “I’m not one to ram a square peg down a round hole and wonder why it’s not working. So proud of the offensive staff putting together a game plan. I do think that we need to just continue to get better at running the football and wearing people out.”