UVA vs. Washington State: What UVA Football fans need to know about Wazzu

Washington State is a 17.5-point road ‘dog this weekend at #18 Virginia, which isn’t going to faze the folks from Wazzu.

The Cougars were 30-point ‘dogs going into last weekend’s game at #4 Ole Miss, and led for most of the game in a tight 24-21 loss.

“They just watched us play Ole Miss that way. They’ll be ready,” first-year Wazzu coach Jimmy Rogers said on Tuesday.

“We’re not sneaking up on anybody as far as how hard we play, because I think in all of our games, you’ll see our guys fly around. It’s been a mishap of mistakes or technique things here or there, but it hasn’t been just complete debacles, it’s just been guys at times not making a play. So yeah, I’m excited to go out there.”

Washington State gave up 59 points in back-to-back losses to North Texas and Washington, the issue in each blowout being, turnovers – five in the 59-10 loss at North Texas, three in the 59-24 loss to Washington.

They’ve gotten that fixed sense – with zero turnovers in a 20-3 win at Colorado State, and none in the loss at Ole Miss this past weekend.

“We played bad versus North Texas. We didn’t play to our potential in the UW game,” said Rogers, who was 27-3 with an FCS national title in his brief two-season run at South Dakota State.

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Washington State at #18 UVA | Saturday, 6:30 p.m. | The CW

Series: First Meeting
Line: UVA -17.5
Over/under: 56.5
Projected final score: UVA 37, Washington State 20

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Grad senior Zevi Eckhaus, who transferred to Wazzu ahead of the 2024 season after throwing for 8,470 yards and 75 TDs in three seasons at Bryant, an FCS program, has solidified himself as the QB1, passing for 686 yards and six TDs in three starts since taking over on Sept. 20.

The offense, generally speaking, isn’t what you’d call explosive – averaging 313.0 yards per game, which ranks 118th in FBS.

The ground game puts up an anemic 86.0 yards per game, which ranks 129th – of the 134 teams in FBS.

To stay in this one, the Wazzu defense – which is solid, allowing 348.3 yards per game, 56th nationally – will need to limit big plays from a Virginia offense that is 11th nationally in total offense (489.2 yards per game) and sixth in scoring (40.6 points per game).

“We got to kind of manage the quarterback,” Rogers said, referencing UVA QB Chandler Morris, who ranks 17th nationally in QBR, and has 1,428 yards passing and 15 total TDs in 2025.

“I think the quarterback’s a really good player on-time, in-rhythm, and he does a really good job of making the most of the plays when they break down, that he can still keep his eyes down the field when he scrambles, and then his legs – his legs will kill you. They played a bunch of quality opponents so far, and he’s running past them. So, we got to do a good job of being able to tackle him in space, but also not give him any explosive pass plays as well.”

The guy to watch on defense for Washington State is junior edge rusher Isaac Terrell, who has five sacks and 20 QB pressures on 106 pass-rush snaps in 2025, and an 86.0 grade from Pro Football Focus.

The secondary can be beaten – Jamorri Colson has a solid 71.6 NFL passer rating against, but the other two corners with 100-plus pass-coverage snaps this season, Kenny Worthy (142.6) and Colby Humphrey (115.2) have each been toasted for multiple TDs in coverage, and the unit as a whole has yet to record an INT this season.