- Boise State comes to Pullman for the first time since 2017
Greg Woods
gregw@spokesman.com
PULLMAN — Here is a first look at Washington State’s home game against No. 21 Boise State on Saturday afternoon.
What is it?
Still looking for its first FBS win of the season, WSU (1-6, 0-3) returns home for the first time in three weeks to host No. 21 Boise State (5-1, 2-0), which was idle last week. It’s the Cougars’ and Broncos’ first time meeting in Pullman since 2017, when the late Tyler Hilinski came off the bench to lead WSU to a triple-overtime win.
It’s a full-circle moment for WSU coach Kirby Moore, who played for the Broncos from 2009-2013, which is also when he met quarterbacks coach Matt Miller and formed many of the connections that he uses today.
Where is it?
Gesa Field in Pullman.
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 14-point underdog.
How did the Cougars fare last week?
In a 48-30 loss to Oregon State, WSU redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman got his first start, completing 32 of 49 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one late interception in garbage time. He also racked up 136 rushing yards on 15 carries, sparking the Cougs’ offense to its most points against an FBS opponent all season, making coaches look wise for starting him and benching previous QB Caden Pinnick.
The Cougars’ offense looked much improved, at least in the passing game, but it wasn’t enough to upset the Beavers and their prolific offense. OSU QB Braden Atkinson piled up 347 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 90-yard strike to freshman Jesse Legree and an 88-yard completion to receiver AJ Newberry, both of which came after the Cougars elected to punt on fourth-and-short near midfield — making Moore pay for his conservative approach.
After those plays, WSU couldn’t climb out of an early hole, trailing 17-0 before the visitors got on the scoreboard with a short field goal from kicker Jack Stevens. The Cougars pulled to within three scores on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Eshelman to receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy, who finished with career-highs in both receptions and receiving yards, but it was too little too late for Washington State.
“I would just say we lost there,” WSU cornerback Khamari Terrell said. “It wasn’t really we got beaten there. Just a little technical, little details. The look that we got and that they scored on, we’ve got multiple times in practice, just doing the little details. And the technique part, just staying on top and just executing there.”
Eshelman may have looked sharp on the ground, but it was another slow day for the WSU running back trio of Maxwell Woods, Kirby Vorhees and Leo Pulalasi, who combined for just 26 rushing yards on 13 carries. Against FBS opponents this year, they are averaging only 52 yards per game, a far cry from the elite trio they were projected to be headed into the season.
“The tailbacks need to be able to run the ball better, but that starts up front,” Moore said on Monday. “We gotta block better, and we gotta have our hands inside. We gotta win our one-on-one matchups. We gotta put the ball in the corner in the safeties, and then from a running back standpoint, we gotta make people miss as well. So it’s a combination of things there, but we gotta do a much better job.”
Scouting Boise State…
Under head coach Spencer Danielson and veteran quarterback Maddux Madsen, the Broncos have followed a season-opening loss to Oregon with five straight wins, most recently a 38-31 win over Fresno State on Oct. 10. That has landed Boise State squarely in the discussion for the College Football Playoff.
The strength of the Broncos’ team is their rushing attack, which is averaging 235 yards per game, ninth nationally and second in the Pac-12. Running back Dylan Riley ranks second in the country with 139 yards per game, totaling six touchdowns on the ground, and fellow tailback Sire Gaines has provided an additional three scores and 354 yards. Those two have spearheaded the Broncos’ offense all season.
In his third season as BSU’s full-time starting QB, Madsen has taken phenomenal care of the ball, throwing zero interceptions and 13 touchdowns. He’s completed 110 of 166 passes (66%) for 1,296 yards. He’s also only taken five sacks, an impressive feat from the Broncos’ offensive line, which has only been responsible for three sacks according to Pro Football Focus.
The Broncos’ ground game has become so dangerous in part because their running backs are hard to bring down. Riley has forced 28 missed tackles, according to PFF, which is second in the Pac-12. Gaines isn’t far behind, with 18. Combined with Madsen’s ability to avoid turnovers — BSU has lost only three turnovers, tied for second-fewest nationally — and you get a machine of an offense.
“They’ve got a really good front,” Moore said. “They have a good scheme. They’ve got good backs. They put the ball in the corner, and a lot of times the back makes the corner miss, whether it’s a move or he breaks a tackle, and both those guys, Sire Gaines as well. They both do a really good job with the ball in their hand.”
What happened last time?
In a 2024 matchup in Boise, former Bronco running back Ashton Jeanty ran ragged over the Cougars, piling up 259 yards and four touchdowns, boosting his Heisman Trophy case. The Cougars were within one score early in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos ran away with three straight touchdowns.
- Kirby Moore knows how to pronounce Boise, and how to beat them
PULLMAN – When people look at the word Boise, the capital city of Idaho, most feel compelled to pronounce it with a Z. Boi-zee.
Not Washington State coach Kirby Moore. He knows better.
“We had quite a few guys on the team from Idaho,” Moore said earlier this week, “and they would correct you if you use the Z.”
That’s because Moore’s playing days came at Boise State, the very team his Washington State team is hosting this weekend for homecoming, set for a 3 p.m. Saturday kickoff on USA Network. It’s a full-circle moment of sorts for Moore, who didn’t just play for the Broncos. Many of the connections he used to build his WSU staff came courtesy of his days in Boise.
It’s an intriguing matchup for WSU, which is hosting Boise State for the first time since 2017, when the late Tyler Hilinski came off the bench to lead a wild triple-overtime comeback. It’s also the first Pac-12 matchup between the Cougars and No. 21 Broncos, who find themselves on opposite ends of the conference standings headed into this one.
WSU (1-6, 0-3 Pac-12), which last week pivoted from Caden Pinnick to Owen Eshelman at quarterback to try and snap out of an offensive lull, is looking to end a four-game losing streak. Boise State (5-1, 2-0), which was idle last weekend, has followed a season-opening loss to Oregon with five straight victories.
Still looking for their first FBS win of Moore’s tenure, the Cougars’ offense looked far sharper in a loss to Oregon State last weekend than it ever did in Pinnick’s six games at the helm. Meanwhile, the Broncos’ offense ranks among the best in the country, much of it generated by their rushing attack, No. 8 nationally with 235 yards per game.
What’s on the line for WSU in this one? Mathematically, the Cougars can still earn bowl eligibility, which they have done in 10 of the past 11 full seasons. But to get there, they will have to end the regular season with five straight wins, and that would require them to buck just about every pattern they’ve shown in their first seven games. WSU is about a 13-point underdog in Saturday’s game, according to most sportsbooks.
“At the end of the day, ultimately, it’s about winning, though,” Moore said, “and we gotta do a better job on what it takes to win. This week, we’ll challenge our guys with (their) attitude when they hit the building. What’s their attitude? That’s their choice on a daily basis, and to make sure we’re being as prepared and detailed as we can for the Boise State game.”
Can the Cougars turn things around in such a big way? If there’s a glimmer of possibility, it stems from the change they made at quarterback, which paid off to the tune of nearly 300 passing yards from Eshelman last week. He passed for two touchdowns and added one more on the ground, where he tallied 136 yards against OSU, turning heads and making people wonder: Where was this guy all along?
If Eshelman can turn in similar results Saturday afternoon, his team might have a chance to pull the upset on Boise State, whose defense ranks No. 130 of 138 FBS teams in Pro Football Focus’ tackling grades. The Broncos have only missed a combined 17 tackles in their past two games, though, indicating that coach Spencer Danielson’s team may have cleaned up that issue.
The other issue facing Eshelman and WSU’s offense this weekend: Who will step up at receiver? The Cougars have spent all but 10 snaps this season without star wideout Tony Freeman, who has a torn ACL. Then last weekend in Corvallis, fellow receiver Darrius Clemons went down with an ankle injury, and he’s listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game. That is putting a serious strain on the Cougars’ wide receiver corps, which was already thin to begin with.
That puts three WSU wideouts in the spotlight: Branden Ganashamoorthy, who set career-highs last weekend with 11 catches for 147 yards and one touchdowns, plus Daniel Blood and Tank Hawkins. Those are just about the only receivers WSU has left who have generated any production this season. Depth is a serious concern for the Cougars.
Can the Cougs survive with only those three? Last week, Blood hauled in his first career touchdown pass, finishing with six receptions for 59 yards. He’s been fairly consistent this season. Then there’s Hawkins, whose playing time has come and gone this fall. He played 50 snaps of offense against Oregon State, though, and he will likely be in line for even more against Boise State.
But there could be two other candidates to get more snaps at wide receiver, Moore indicated: West Georgia transfer Jordan Dees and walk-on Caleb Northcroft, who have combined for just 17 snaps of offense. Those two have been low on the depth chart all season. It might be asking a lot for them to jump into action and produce against a ranked team, but that’s the kind of spot the Cougars are in at the moment. At the very least, those two wideouts could give their top three counterparts a breather.
“They’ll get a bunch of reps this week, and then we’ll evaluate where they’re at,” Moore said, “whether that’s 11 personnel, 12 personnel. What gives us the best opportunity to win? And then we’ll play that way.”
Still, perhaps a bigger theme in this one involves Boise State’s running back tandem of Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines, who have carved up just about every defense they’ve faced. Riley is averaging 139 yards per game, which ranks second in the country, while Gaines is going for about 89 yards per game in four outings. Those two have made things easy on quarterback Maddux Madsen, who has 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, taking care of the ball exceptionally well.
The Cougs, whose defense ranks fifth in the Pac-12, will have to tackle those two to give themselves a chance to spring the upset. Their coach may know how to pronounce Boise, but he’ll hope that the next time he says the city’s name in a public setting, he’ll be talking about a win.
- Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yet
PULLMAN – All season, Washington State’s defense has been a little tricky to parse.
On one hand, the Cougars have excelled in tough spots, given short field after short field, jumping into action in pinch after pinch thanks to offensive turnovers. Their pass rush has been above average. So has their tackling.
But when you’re playing No. 21 Boise State, above average won’t fly, which is why we’re picking WSU to fall to the Broncos Saturday afternoon in Pullman.
The Cougars are tasked with doing something that only Oregon has done this season, which is slow down BSU tailbacks Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines, one of the country’s best running back tandems. Riley ranks second in the country with 139 rushing yards per game, and Gaines has cleared the century mark in each of his last two games.
Complicating matters for WSU is Boise State’s average time of possession: 36 minutes. That leads the entire country. That will put some serious strain on the Cougars’ defense, especially if their offense commits a turnover, which new quarterback Owen Eshelman did well to avoid in meaningful settings last weekend in his first start.
Overall, it’s a lot to ask out of this WSU team, and there’s no shame in losing to this Boise State team. But the Cougars will have to look elsewhere for their first FBS win of the season.
Final score: No. 21 Boise State 30, WSU 20
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