Washington State’s Josh Meredith against San Diego State. (Photo: Whittney Thornton/Cougfan.com)

NOW, ABOUT WEEK ONE… Was everyone pressing a panic button a little too early? Yes, it was against an FCS opponent that Washington State’s football team has traditionally dominated, but shall we remember what transpired a handful of months prior to the season-opener. New coach, transfers galore and a new quarterback all created questions that people wanted quick answers.

The reality is Jimmy Rogers is a proven winner and a national championship coach. The fact that the Cougs have a leader such as Rogers roaming the sideline should give the crowd of 24,000-plus at Martin Stadium and all the alums that returned to the Palouse for homecoming confidence. And Saturday night, WSU will hit the road brimming with confidence.

Exactly 400 yards of total offense and a running game that was replenished with energy allowed Wazzu to blow by future Pac-12 opponent San Diego State 36-13 to move to 2-0 for the second consecutive season. After three yards on the ground in Week 1, the ground game behind Kirby Vorhees, Angel Johnson and Leo Pulalasi leading the 139-yard effort. Vorhees ended as the bell cow with 13 carries on Saturday.

For the second straight game, Washington State’s defense “played together,” as Rogers said in the postgame field interview on The CW. The Cougs allowed under 150 passing yards and limited the Aztecs’ scoring opportunities after the first quarter. Parker McKenna led the defense with seven tackles, four of them solo. Wazzu ended the game with seven tackles for loss and three sacks.

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME: Isaac Terrell coming off the edge for a safety in the final 90 seconds of the first half was the turning point of homecoming and spurred the Cougs in the midst of 29 unanswered points. Terrell has been a consistent presence on the field for Wazzu, but putting two points on the board is perhaps his biggest play in crimson and white. He also finished with 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss.

CATCH OF THE GAME: On the ensuring drive after the safety, the WSU offense put their foot on the gas and went for a touchdown just before halftime. Potter found Josh Meredith for a 34-yard gain to open the drive that was capped by the second touchdown pass from Potter to Trey Leckner. While it wasn’t an outstanding catch, Potter’s trust in Meredith showed in a big way.

POTTER HONING IN ON WIZARDY: The right-hander was his best outside of the pocket, finding nine different receivers. His arm strength was on display in various ways to delivering to his weapons. Potter had his best connection with Meredith with eight grabs for 88 yards, but continued to establish a rhythm with Tony Freeman, who hauled in six catches for 43 yards. The first-year starter still hasn’t thrown an interception in two games.

ONE CONCERN HEADING INTO WEEK 3: In back-to-back weeks, the Cougs ability to convert on third down is starting to become worrisome. They went X-for-X against San Diego State after just a pair of conversions against the Vandals. It might be early, but the difficulty of opponents and still struggling to move the chains on a drive-by-drive basis isn’t effective. And with games coming up on the road, it could get get worse.

MEANINGLESS STORY: Head referee for Saturday’s game was Nolan Dumas, a former college football player for FCS Nicholls State. In 2006, his redshirt freshman season, Dumas was across the sideline against South Dakota State and Jimmy Rogers. The ’06 season was the first year Rogers earned a varsity letter with the Jackrabbits. Funny how things turned out.

UP NEXT: Washington State (2-0) will hit the road for the first time under Rogers and face Conference USA foe North Texas. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. and ESPNU will broadcast the contest.

(Photo: statbroadcast.com)