Jimmy Rogers rode into town with guns blazing.

Wazzu’s new football coach promised that he’d get good players, that they’d play a physical game, and he guaranteed the REAL bottom line … they would win.

In fact, Rogers stated flat-out that Washington State should be in the national title picture.

Now that’s a thought that had only appeared in hallucinations.

But Rogers isn’t kidding.

“I believe in this, and we’re going to do everything that we can to get on top of college football,” Rogers said.

“It just happened last year with a conference opponent (Boise State) making the college playoff.

“As I told the team last night, don’t think it can’t be you. If you can’t envision yourself winning the national championship, it will never happen. And I do believe that. “I’ll catch grief, but I don’t care. I’ve been a winner. I’ve been a part of a winner my whole life, and I don’t plan to stop anytime now.”

Yowza!

For the record, Rogers HAS been a winner.

He went 27-3 and won an FCS national championship in his fairly short stint as head coach at South Dakota State.

I DON’T doubt that Rogers has the proper pedigree.

He’s been luring first-class athletes to Brookings (S.D.) as part of the Jackrabbits staff for nearly two decades — and then as head coach over the past two seasons.

What’s more, he’s off to a flying start in Pullman.

Rogers is no doubt the main reason that more than a dozen South Dakota State players are heading for Washington State via the transfer portal.

Then last week, junior college wide receiver Devin Ellison (Monterey Peninsula College) announced on social media that he would be transferring to Wazzu.

At almost the same time, Rogers landed two more transfers, Cal Poly cornerback Kai Rapolla and Southwestern Oklahoma State punter Dylan Mauro.

Rogers also convinced several Cougs, including quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, to leave the transfer portal and stay in Pullman.

Rogers and his staff obviously know a lot of people, and they’ve been out on the recruiting trail for years.

Bear in mind, too, that these guys aren’t coming to Washington State from some Mickey Mouse operation.

South Dakota State is an FCS powerhouse, and actually might be better known if it weren’t in the same conference (or on the same planet) as 10-time national champ North Dakota State.

These two programs have drawn bright lights to the Dakotas, to the point that College Game Day showed up for their rivalry game in 2019.

Things will be different now, though.

Rogers inherited a national title-winner when he accepted the South Dakota State head coaching job.

Meanwhile, the Cougs gig is a serious challenge.

Still, let’s assume that Wazzu straightens out its administrative mess, and that the regents, president’s office and the athletic department find a way to get on speaking terms with each other.

That will help.

However, if Rogers is going to succeed in the rebuilt Pac-12, never mind fighting for national recognition, he’s going to need money.

WANT AN idea of what it costs to bag a top-tier player these days?

Well, a group of people working to help the WSU program — headlined by the Cougar Collective — put together a handsome package for QB John Mateer.

In the end, the financial piece added up to $1 million, which seems like a staggering sum for a college kid.

Yet, Mateer turned it down.

He’s off to Oklahoma, where there’s more cash available.

There are rumors that Mateer was offered $3 million, which would get the attention of a hedge fund manager, never mind a college athlete.

We’re not making up these numbers.

Portland-based columnist John Canzano did some digging, and discovered that Oregon State — aided by the Dam Nation Collective — ponied up $1.5 million to land former Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy.

That’s cash money, kid, go buy a car.

Or a dealership.

Oregon State also found $500,000 in the cookie jar to spend on a pair of tight ends.

“The perception of us being the little brother who isn’t on the national, big-time stage has to stop,” said Beaver coach Trent Bray.

“The guys we’ve been able to pull in prove we’re a national player. We deserve to be at the table. We’re going to be at the table.”

Sound familiar, Cougs?

Over to you, Jimmy Rogers.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”