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# Monday Musings: Washington State Makes Ole Miss Sweat, But Comes Up Short
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/monday-musings-washington-state-makes-ole-miss-sweat-defeat/
- Published: 2025-10-13T18:05:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:47.000Z
- Author: Jacob Stevenson
- Tags: Analysis, Zevi Eckhaus, Isaac Terrell, Kirby Vorhees, Jimmy Rogers, Cougars

[Embed from Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2240449299?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)

Putting a top-five team under major duress, the Washington State Cougars almost pulled off massive upset against the Ole Miss Rebels, but came up on the short end in a 24-21 defeat. With a brand-new staff and 70 plus players, there have been growing pains for coach Jimmy Rogers in year one, but Saturday was an incredible effort and showed positive signs for the Cougars to build on.

After the game, Rogers stated,” I told them after the game, there are no moral victories, but nobody questions your effort.”

Regardless, this Cougars squad looked much improved from the team that got blown out 59-10 by North Texas only a month ago, a clear sign that Rogers and his staff have the program trending in the right direction.

Looking back at Saturday’s close call, here are three takeaways from Washington State’s battle in Oxford:

**The defense bent, but did not break**

Putting ugly outings against North Texas and Washington behind them, the Cougars posted another solid defensive performance against an explosive Rebels offense, giving up only 24 points. In the first half, the defense did a great job of bending, but not breaking, as they forced a turnover on downs on their own three-yard line and had another Ole Miss drive stall out due to a sack, fumble, and a missed field goal. Even though they gave up more yards than the offense produced, yards don’t always determine who wins football games and Washington State’s defense came through with big plays in their own territory to keep the game within striking distance for all four quarters.

Defensive end Issac Terrell played a great game. He was maybe the best player on the field for either team with five tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. His 4.5 tackles for loss were the most by a Cougar defender in nearly 10 seasons. Halfway through the season, Terrell has 9.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks to pace Wazzu’s defense.

When asked about Terrell’s performance, Rogers said, “He’s a really physical, always an explosive kid, so when you care like he cares, I think good things can happen.”

Even though missed tackles are still a significant concern moving forward, the Cougs have shown improvement over the last two weeks on the defensive end with giving up 27 total points in their last two contests. They will hope to keep that momentum going traveling to face a talented Virginia team next weekend.

**Another week with tangible run game improvement**

For the second game in a row, Washington State was able to run the ball effectively, a development that cannot be understated in value. The Cougs showed improvement in the Colorado State game, rushing 33 times with 158 yards and 4.8 yards per carry. They followed that performance up with 28 carries for 127 yards and 4.5 yards a carry against a typically stout Ole Miss fronts even. Led by Kirby Vorhees with 88 rushing yards on just 10 carries, the running backs excelled with 17 rushing attempts for 109 yards on Saturday afternoon, managing to do so without starting lineman Christian Hilborn.

The Cougs still had three linemen that had been recruited to play in a passing system in the lineup, so even against a good team like Ole Miss, you can see the familiarity with the system improving their play. They busted out the explosives as well with Vorhees ripping off a 46-yard touchdown run, another sign that things are trending in the right direction for a team that wants to be able to deploy a more balanced offense than the ones operated under previous coaching regimes.

You never want to lose, and moral victories aren’t something to hang your hat on. But the Cougs played with tremendous effort and seem to be getting better after being bullied by superior teams earlier in the schedule. Now, they’ll have to see if they can turn those improvements into a win as they prepare for another cross country trip to face the Cavaliers.