- Oregon State looms as Cougs head south still searching for first win
PULLMAN – Here is a first look at Washington State’s road game against Oregon State on Saturday afternoon.
What is it? Still looking for its first FBS win of the season, WSU (1-5, 0-2 Pac-12) heads to Corvallis to take on Oregon State (4-2, 2-0) in a matchup of the two legacy Pac-12 schools. The teams find themselves on opposite ends of the conference standings – the Cougars at the bottom, the Beavers at the top, using one of the country’s most potent offenses to enter this matchup on a four-game winning streak.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Cougar defensive coordinator Trent Bray, who spent a large chunk of his coaching career with the Beavers, including as their head coach for the 2024 season and part of the 2025 campaign before being fired.
It will also be the first start for WSU QB Owen Eshelman, who is taking over the starting duties and replacing Caden Pinnick, Cougar coach Kirby Moore announced on Monday.
Where is it? Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
When is it? Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Where can I watch it? USA Network will broadcast the game.
Who is favored? WSU opened as a 171/2-point underdog.
How did the Cougars fare last week? A lot had to happen for WSU to lose its road game against Utah State last weekend, but the Cougars pulled it off, blowing a two-score halftime deficit in a 17-16 defeat. The Cougs lost two fumbles, one from quarterback Caden Pinnick and one from tight end Jack Pedersen, both of which turned into Aggie touchdowns in the second half.
WSU, which scored only its fourth touchdown in five FBS games in this game, could not generate any consistent offense in the second half. After getting two field goals from kicker Jack Stevens and a long touchdown rush from Leo Pulalasi in the first half, that production vanished in the second, and the Cougars totaled just 64 total yards of offense in the final two quarters.
All told, it was more of the same from WSU and Pinnick, who is now one of only three quarterbacks in the country to attempt at least 150 passes and total less than 1,000 yards. That highlights one of the biggest flaws in his game, which has hampered his offense: He can’t or won’t stretch the field vertically, forcing the Cougars to try and grind out long drives, which has not been a recipe for success in the long run.
Pinnick was sacked three times in that game, which makes 21 times on the season, one of the highest marks in the country. Only two other teams have given up more. Complicating things on that front for WSU was an ankle injury to left tackle Ashton Tripp, who exited the game in the first quarter. He was replaced by Washington transfer Maximus McCree, who was dinged for two false start penalties.
On the other side of the ball, WSU’s defense turned in another strong showing, getting one sack apiece from defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele and defensive end Linus Zunk, whose team held the Aggies to just two field goals in the first half. WSU held USU quarterback Grady Brosterhous to just 150 yards passing, including just one touchdown pass, but that score helped the hosts draw within one score. Late in the fourth quarter, after Pedersen coughed up a fumble, the Cougars were dealt a short field and couldn’t keep the Aggies from taking the lead on a short touchdown rush.
In head coach Kirby Moore’s first game calling plays, WSU did generate some offense in the first half, including grinding out a 15-play, 84-yard series. On those drives, Pinnick stayed within himself and trusted his playmakers. But the Cougars couldn’t translate that to the second half.
Scouting Oregon State … In head coach JaMarcus Shephard’s first season, the Beavers have been one of the top surprises in all of college football, bursting onto the scene with one of the best offenses nationwide. Quarterback Braden Atkinson leads the country in both passing yards per game (376) and passing touchdowns (21), finding a reliable target in true freshman Jesse Legree, who is emerging as one of the best receivers in the country.
Legree, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week all six weeks of the season, will pose serious problems for the Cougar secondary. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Legree has hauled in 38 catches for 932 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading the country in the latter two categories.
Fresh off a 66-14 dismantling of San Diego State, OSU can seemingly do no wrong. Running back AJ Newberry, a transfer from Vanderbilt, has tallied 326 rushing yards and three scores, while fellow tailback Cornell Hatcher Jr. has added 149 yards and three of his own touchdowns. Make no mistake: This is one of the country’s best offenses.
“He’s a really good player,” Moore said of Legree. “You see him with the ball in space, obviously taking the top off a number of times as well. I think it’s about playing team defense. Obviously, communication is gonna be really important: Where he’s at, whether he’s in the slot, whether he’s outside, left, right. The pass rush has to help out the coverage. The coverage has gotta help out the pass rush. I think Coach Bray is doing a good job right now with our guys, making sure they’re all on the same page.”
The Beavers have also done well to involve their tight ends: Utah Tech tight end Eric Olsen has racked up 27 catches for 280 yards and three touchdowns, while Central Michigan transfer DeCorion Temple has 20 receptions for 169 yards and two scores. Sprinkle in some production from receivers Aeyron Hampton and Aaron Butler, the latter a transfer from Texas, and you get the Beavers’ high-powered offense.
What happened last time? In a rare scheduling quirk, WSU and Oregon State played twice last season, once in Corvallis and once in Pullman. The Beavers won their home matchup, 10-7, while the Cougars returned the favor in Pullman, winning that one 32-8.
This will be WSU’s third time in the last three years playing in Corvallis.
- Keith Brown deleted social media to lock in on WSU's defense
PULLMAN — In his long college football journey, Keith Brown has learned the importance of tuning out the noise. During Washington State’s fall camp, he deleted all social media off his phone, understanding that if he wants he and his unit to reach their potential, they can’t get sucked into the distractions.
Heck, he doesn’t always look at the scoreboard. Last month, in his WSU team’s home setback against Arizona, he went into halftime not knowing the score. He had to ask a teammate to find out, he said.
Turns out, that’s part of the reason how Brown and the Cougars have done their part on defense, using herculean efforts to keep their team in games when their floundering offense has left a lot out there. At least for Brown’s part, he’s done his best to ignore the problems his team’s offense is having, even if it means jogging out there for extra series thanks to turnovers.
“Just continue to compete,” Brown likes to tell his teammates.
As WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray makes his return to Corvallis, where he worked as Oregon State’s head coach for the 2024 season and part of the 2025 campaign, the Cougars will have to do a lot of competing to pull an upset. The Beavers, who opened as 17.5-point favorites, own one of the country’s most prolific offenses, engineered in large part by quarterback Brayden Atkinson and true freshman wideout Jesse Legree.
Which leads to this question: How does WSU’s competitiveness on defense factor into a matchup with such a productive OSU offense?
“I don’t think it affects it at all. It’s just another opportunity to go out there and compete,” Brown said. “I’m sure our entire back end is just excited for the challenge, ready to do what they’re supposed to do. No matter who we’re playing, no matter what the rankings are and stuff like that, we always wanna go and play our best.”
As WSU’s offense earns all the headlines, turning things over to redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman over the struggling Caden Pinnick, perhaps a look at the Cougars’ defense is in order. Bray’s group has consistently held its own in the face of daunting circumstances, many of which have been caused by WSU’s offense, which has lost nine turnovers — seven from Pinnick.
First, consider this statistic, which paints the picture of what the Cougars’ defense is going through: In BCF Toys’ field position value rankings, WSU ranks dead last in the country, No. 138 of 138 FBS teams. In simplest terms, this means the Cougars are averaging the worst starting field position in the country, when averaging the drives their offense starts at the drives their defense starts at.
Whittle that down to just the starting field position WSU’s defense has averaged, though, and the problem becomes even clearer. The Cougars rank second-to-last nationally in that category, checking in with a mark of 65.2 — which means on average, opponents are starting drives at about their own 35-yard line. Only one other team, Rice, gives opponents better starting field position.
To be sure, though, this is not an indictment on WSU’s defense. It’s the opposite, an explanation behind some of the scores the Cougars have given up. In Washington State’s 17-16 loss to Utah State over the weekend, the visitors lost the lead in the fourth quarter, when a fumble from tight end Jack Pedersen set the Aggies up at the Cougar 19. Three plays later, they jogged into the end zone to take the lead for good.
That reality is best illustrated by BCF Toys’ defensive short field rankings, which measure how often a defense has to jog out with the opponent starting at its own 40 yard line or further. The Cougars’ defense has been handed those situations 25% of the time. Only 15 other defenses have met that fate more often.
All of that, though, only serves to make this WSU defense’s accomplishments even more impressive. In Friday’s game, defensive end Linus Zunk and defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele each earned sacks. The Cougs forced seven punts. On the season, they’ve forced five turnovers, about middle of the pack nationwide.
In six games, WSU is allowing 23.7 points per game, which is fifth in the Pac-12. Maybe that doesn’t sound very impressive — but then you consider what this group has been up against. That’s when their outings click, the genius behind Bray’s operation zooms into focus.
“We’re a very connected team,” Brown said. “We have our captains group chats, leadership meetings and stuff like that, and we just continue to reiterate that we’re a team at the end of the day. The last thing you wanna do is divide the team. There is no division. We’re one team. I think honestly, we’re just as close as we were going into week one. So I’m still excited for rest of the season.”
- Eshelman finds the end zone, but Beavers build a big lead
Key moments
Eshelman throws first career touchdown
2nd, 1:53 - OSU 27, WSU 10: Owen Eshelman finds Branden Ganashamoorthy open for a 40-yard touchdown.
Beavs score long TD
2nd, 3:59 - OSU 27, WSU 3: AJ Newberry takes a screen 88 yards for a touchdown.
Newberry is up to 159 scrimmage yards.
Beavers tack on another field goal
2nd, 7:38 - OSU 20, WSU 3: Ojeda adds a 46-yard field goal for Oregon State.
Cougars settle for field goal
2nd, 11:12 - OSU 17, WSU 3: Jack Stevens makes a 19-yard field goal after Washington State’s offense stalls near the goal line.
Beavers add on
1st, 1:23 - OSU 17, WSU 0: Caleb Ojeda makes a 48-yard field goal to extend Oregon State’s lead.
Legree makes his presence felt
1st, 4:46 - OSU 14, WSU 0: Star freshman receiver Jesse Legree explodes for a 90-yard touchdown reception.
Oregon State on the board first
1st, 7:13 - OSU 7, WSU 0: Jake Reichle dives into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. After a three-and-out on its first possession, Oregon State marches down the field for an 11-play scoring drive.
Pregame
With its season spiraling, Washington State football turns to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman to replace Caden Pinnick at quarterback.
Eshelman and the Cougars (1-5) travel to face fellow Pac-12 Conference holdover Oregon State (4-2) on the road.
Both teams are on opposite trajectories.
Washington State is still in search of its first FBS and conference win of the season. Meanwhile, after putting a scare into Houston and Texas Tech, Oregon State has won four games in a row and is tied with Boise State for first in the conference.
The Cougars’ defense, though stout, will have its work cut out for it against star freshman receiver Jesse Legree.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. on USA Network.
Series history
Washington State holds a 58-49-3 advantage against Oregon State. The Pac-12 holdovers played twice last season, with the home team winning both matchups. The Beavers held on 10-7 at Reser Stadium on Nov. 1, 2025, before the Cougars won 32-8 four weeks later.
Notable stat
Oregon State freshman Jesse Legree has been held under 100 receiving yards zero times this season.
Game preview
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