In partnership with

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

Questions answered

Now that’s more like it!

Saturday’s 23-point win over San Diego State surely dispatched whatever lingering heartburn you had from WSU’s too-close-for-comfort win over Idaho in the opener, and, in the process, the Cougs answered a lot of questions about just how good they might be.

We said the game would be a bit of a measuring stick, given that (A) the Aztecs presented much more of a known quantity than Idaho, and (B) they’re a future conference opponent. The Cougs more than passed that test, setting aside a lot of fears about not just this final weird wilderness year, but also what our place might be in the new conference. 

If we had beaten SDSU by three-plus touchdowns in the “before times,” we’d almost certainly have considered that a satisfactory result for a Pac-12 team at home against a Mountain West opponent. That we did it in this transition season, with a mostly new roster stocked with a ton of FCS transfers under a first-year head coach, against a program with a second-year coach who returned a huge chunk of his roster – especially on defense – gives me a heck of a lot of confidence about not just this season, but beyond.

Because it’s not just the winning by a lot – it’s how we won by a lot.

The three-touchdown final margin can make it pretty easy to overlook the fact that this was just a three-point game until the final minute of the first half. The Cougs had found the end zone just once, failing to score on five of their seven drives, which wasn’t a great look on the heels of last week’s strugglefest against the Vandals.

Simultaneously, however, the defense was absolutely choking out the Aztecs: 

Literally the only significant blemish was a 35-yard touchdown on 4th-and-5 in which the pass rush was a bit slow to get home and the defender in coverage fell down, allowing SDSU’s Jayden Denegal time to find a wide-open crossing receiver. After that? Four consecutive three-and-outs and then a four-and-out in which SDSU picked up a solitary first down.

And then … safety.

Touchdown.

Halftime.

Touchdown.

The Cougars scored 16 points without SDSU even touching the ball, and with just about 11 minutes left in the third quarter, this game was over.

That’s not just hindsight; in the moment it felt like the Aztecs were toast. And it sure seems like they felt it, too. Scoring points is super fun, and I will be an Air Raid truther until the day I die. But watching a defense absolutely melt the will of an opponent brings its own kind of sadistic joy, and as the second half marched toward its inevitable conclusion, it became clear that the Aztecs had lost their desire to fight any longer.

A huge part of that, of course, was the offense piling up enough points to make coming back a seemingly insurmountable task. Offensive coordinator Danny Freund took the lessons from week 1 and applied them to week 2, electing to let Jaxon Potter cook rather than cling to a dogmatic run-first approach. 

“We used a little bit of the pass game to set up the run game. And if we have to do that, we have to do that,” head coach Jimmy Rogers said postgame. “I'm not one to, you know, 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.”

Potter was a little shaky out of the gate as the two teams felt each other out. But once again, he was at his best running tempo, which the Cougars did on their first touchdown drive, as well as on the second one (following the safety) just before half. There were long stretches of the second half where he was perfectly in rhythm, firing darts all over the field. It slowed down a bit as the Cougs looked to bleed out the clock in the final quarter, but Potter finished with an excellent final line: 28-of-42, 257 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions.

It’s still only just one game, just as the squeaker against the Vandals was only one game, so I’ll resist the urge to scream WE ARE SO BACK from the nearest rooftop. However, college football’s fleeting regular season is only 12 games, and two games is enough to conclude both the defense and Potter are for real – and that’s a big deal.

I won’t sit here and tell you that we know exactly how good this team is, or that it won’t have struggles in the future – after all, the toughest opponents still lie ahead – but a very good defense paired with a strong passing game and supported by an improving running game is a really good recipe for winning a bunch of games. 

What We Liked: Sacks!

The defense fixed the one blemish on its account from the first week by totaling three sacks and five other QB hurries against the Aztecs, including that massive safety from Isaac “Bobby”¹ Terrell that quite literally changed the game. Both he and fellow end Buddah Peleti practically lived in the backfield in the second half, pinning their ears back more and more as SDSU found itself backed further and further into passing situations. Defensive tackle Max Baloun also picked up a sack.

But it really was Terrell who was leading the way. He finished with 1.5 sacks, two QB hurries, another half a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. He earned that nickname on Saturday!

The best part about it is that the Cougs didn’t really need to bring creative blitzes in order to get after the quarterback. When you can generate pressure with your front four, that’s a big development; here’s to hoping this week is closer to who they really are.

Honorable mention: Offensive line play — 139 yards rushing and zero sacks allowed.

Who Impressed: Jack Stevens

Calling out kickers isn’t a thing we normally do in this space, but how can you not be impressed by what Stevens has done so far? He remains perfect on the season with four field goals and five extra points. His first field goal on Saturday, from 49 yards, looked like it had the leg to get in from 60+.

Stevens followed Rogers and the other South Dakota State staffers after redshirting last season, and boy oh boy does he look great. “College kickers” are a punchline as a group for good reason, so when you get one you can rely on, it can potentially be huge — especially when you’re a team that’s going to lean hard on its defense and play games that are close.

Honorable mentions: Leo Pulalasi (did you see that cut??), Josh Meredith (8 catches on 10 targets, 88 yards with 52 yards after catch), Danny Freund red zone play calling, Parker McKenna (7 tackles, 4 solo), Colby Humphrey (5 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup).

What Needs Work: Discipline

Man, still too many penalties. Eight for 55 yards doesn’t sound like that many, but the nature of them was maddening — a delay of game after a kickoff and a few holding calls, one of which wiped out a big run.

Up Next: at North Texas

The Cougars travel south to Denton, Texas, to take on a familiar coach: Eric Morris, who twice was an assistant at WSU — first as inside receivers coach under Mike Leach and most recently as the offensive coordinator under Jake Dickert most noted for bringing Cam Ward with him from Incarnate Word. He also was responsible for offering John Mateer.

Needless to say, Morris has a great eye for QB talent, and it looks like he’s got another good one in freshman Drew Mestemaker, who is off to a flying start in his first two games (both wins): 42-of-64, 553 yards, 5 TDs, zero interceptions.

The Mean Green stomped Lamar in their opener at home, then traveled north to take on Western Michigan, where they prevailed in overtime, 33-30, after coming back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit.

Interestingly, the game’s betting line opened at North Texas -3.5 and has since swelled to -5.5 in some places. I’m honestly not sure what the bettors think they’re seeing; The Prediction Tracker, which aggregates a load of predictive models, sees it as basically a coin flip.

Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. PT with ESPNU carrying the broadcast.

1  As mentioned on the broadcast, the nickname comes from the iconic Adam Sandler character Bobby Boucher in The Waterboy.