Coming off of a historic win where the Cougs beat Wisconsin, they hope to keep building their program up. Currently, expectations are as high as they have been since they were ranked No. 7 during the 2018 season.

WSU gears up to play Colorado State at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium.

This will only be the Cougars’ second time facing Colorado State, the first time they faced them, they lost 48-45 in the New Mexico Bowl during the 2013 season.

During this game both these teams looked extremely different, with different head coaches, this was the beginning of the Mike Leach-era, only being his second year as head coach for WSU.

Colorado State has lost seven straight games. One of the worst active loss streaks in the NCAA.

Colorado State is currently 0-2 and ranks as one of the worst teams in the Mountain West Conference.

The Dickert-effect is having a massive impact on WSU this season. They are currently 2-0 and coming off of a 17-14 win against the No. 19 ranked Wisconsin team. Possibly the biggest win of head coach Jake Dickert’s young career.

The defense has stepped into a role we have not seen for WSU in years, leading the team rather than the offense.

In total, the defense has allowed 15.5 points per game. They have been able to force two interceptions and recover two fumbles along with five sacks.

The defense has subscribed to the mantra of “Bend don’t break.”

Daiyan Henley, the linebacker transfer from Nevada has been leading the Cougs *Cougs’ -TD defense. He has 17 total tackles with one sack and one interception. Henley has been effective in leading the defense on the field roaming sideline-to-sideline and off the field being vocal.

Jay Norvell, the head coach of Colorado State is the former head coach of Nevada, where WSU defensive coordinator Brian Ward was for the past two years. There is familiarity with both these coaches and their systems. Along with some transfers from Nevada that played under coach Norvell in linebacker Henley and safety Jordan Lee.

Dickert discussed the familiarity between the two teams.

“We have a couple of our quality control assistants that have been there too. I’ve played against coach Norvell twice at Wyoming. Very familiar with each other,” Dickert said. “You try to get every advantage you can, but they’re a great coaching staff. They’re building a program over there just like we are. We expect them to be ready to go and they will be pulling out every punches trying to get a win.”

ESPN gives WSU around an 89% chance to win this game over the Rams. WSU is favored by 17 points.

Kickoff is at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium and will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network.