- Owen Eshelman and Branden Ganashamoorthy made the scoreboard hurt a little less
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Branden Ganashamoorthy insisted the sunlight was no problem. When he strode open toward the Oregon State end zone, he said, all he saw was the ball. He tracked it in the air, on its descent, into his hands as he fell onto the black turf for six.
“When you’re in those moments,” Ganashamoorthy said, “it’s almost like tunnel vision. Everything kinda slows down. The amount of tennis balls, the amount of footballs I’ve caught. I feel like I can catch those balls almost blind.”
In his Washington State group’s 48-30 loss to Oregon State, the Cougars’ fourth straight loss, Ganashamoorthy enjoyed the best outing of his career: He logged 11 catches for 147 yards and the one score, which came on a 40-yard pass in the second quarter, pulling the Cougs to within 27-10.
It amounted to a huge day for Ganashamoorthy, an indicator of what he’s capable of. It also went a long way in illustrating how he accomplished it, finding a sharp rapport with quarterback Owen Eshelman, who made his first start. By his number, you would never have known it: He completed 32 of 49 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one meaningless interception in garbage time. He also totaled 11 carries for 147 yards and another touchdown, racking up the second-most yards in one game by a WSU QB in program history.
A redshirt freshman from Oklahoma, Eshelman shattered expectations for his first real game action. He looked willing to air it out deep, which the Cougars didn’t get from Caden Pinnick, who started each of the first six games of the season. He made the right reads in the pocket, bailing at the right times to scramble for yards on the ground. And he made a fantastic decision on his rushing touchdown, pulling the ball and jetting straight into the end zone, cruising in for a 20-yard score.
“We just had a much better rhythm,” WSU coach Kirby Moore said of Eshelman’s outing and what it provided to the team. “That takes all 11 being on the same page, whether it’s communication, whether it’s in the run game, the RPOs, obviously the pass game. It’s about landmarks and alignments there with the receivers and guys winning versus man and the quarterback trusting them. Today it was much better on first and second down. Third down, obviously did a better job in the second half than the first half.”
“It was definitely excitement,” Eshelman said of his emotions headed into his first start. “Obviously Oregon State’s been playing really good football, and to have the opportunity to come here and showcase what our offense is capable of … There’s that Cougar mentality that we’re just gonna keep swinging, and I thought that showed up tonight, even with some missed opportunities. I was just really proud of all of our guys. We kept swinging, kept swinging, kept swinging, and making the most out of opportunities.”
In this one, Eshelman and the Cougars’ offense was hardly perfect. They converted just 7 of 17 third downs, and through three quarters, the number was 0-for-9. They still are getting almost nothing from the running back trio of Maxwell Woods, Kirby Vorhees and Leo Pulalasi, who combined for only 26 yards on 13 carries. Under a coach like Moore, who unlocked Missouri’s rushing game to incredible results in his three years as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, that will raise eyebrows for all the wrong reasons.
The Cougars also slogged through four three-and-outs, but their biggest problems didn’t center on things they did. They were about things they didn’t. On two spots in the first half, fourth-and-1 from the Beaver 48 and fourth-and-3 from the Cougar 49, Moore chose to punt. In both scenarios, Oregon State turned those into long touchdowns, both on the very next play. Chalk those up to misses for Moore and his game management.
“No, I’ve got a ton of confidence in our defense,” Moore said about whether he regretted punting on those plays. “Obviously, when you punt the ball and they have the ball inside their 15-yard line, you get a stop, you’ve got great field position. That didn’t happen. Give them credit. They’ve got good players. They executed and made plays.”
But overall, WSU’s offense looked far more capable than it ever has this season. The Cougars’ 30 points are their most against FBS competition all season. Outside of Eshelman’s late interception, a truly meaningless development, they avoided turnovers for the first time all season. It’s clear that Eshelman is the right quarterback for this team.
With Eshelman at the controls, and with Ganashamoorthy playing one of his favorite targets, a few more wins could be on the docket for this group.
“With the new change at quarterback, obviously, I would say just meshing together,” Ganashamoorthy said. “Now that we have that set, Owen at quarterback, I’d say meetings and everything can start to flow a little bit easier. Practices and everything, with his leadership, I think everything will come together when it does.”
- Eshelman and WSU need the offense to show up if they want to beat Oregon State
PORTLAND – When he thinks back, Keith Brown can still remember the first time he started a game at the college level. This was five years ago, Washington State’s veteran linebacker recalls, back when he was playing for Oregon and the Ducks walked into Columbus to take on a top-five Ohio State club.
A true freshman, Brown made two tackles in that game, helping his Ducks upset the third-ranked Buckeyes.
“You’re just kinda excited when it happens,” Brown said earlier this week. “At least for me, when it happened for me, I felt like I was so prepared for the game that I wasn’t nervous. Owen’s a true competitor. He’s very locked in, so I’m sure it’s the same for him.”
That would be redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman, who is taking over at quarterback for WSU, which is set to take on Oregon State at 3 p.m. Saturday on USA Network in Corvallis, where the Beavers opened as 17.5-point favorites. It’ll be the first start for Eshelman, who is taking over for signal-caller Caden Pinnick, whose struggles in the passing game contributed in a big way to the Cougars’ floundering offense.
To help WSU (1-5, 0-2 Pac-12) earn its first FBS win of the year and end a three-game slide, Eshelman and the Cougars’ offense will have to be much better than they have been all year. The Cougs are averaging just 12.6 points per game, which is just seven spots up from last in the country, and their minus-6 turnover margin ranks No. 129, meaning only four other teams in the nation have a worse mark.
Those are all key reasons why WSU coach Kirby Moore decided to bench Pinnick and pivot to Eshelman, who has played just two snaps in his college career, which came in garbage time against FCS Duquesne earlier this season. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, Eshelman’s best qualities center around his live arm and sharp accuracy, which could unlock a gear that WSU has yet to find in its offense.
A former three-star product of Norman North High in Oklahoma, Eshelman takes over at a tough spot for WSU. Off to their worst six-game start since 2010, the Cougars need a string of wins to save their bowl streak, which stands at 10 times in the last 11 full seasons. Moore has already made a couple changes to turn around this offense, including taking over playcalling duties ahead of his team’s previous game, a road loss to Utah State last weekend.
The only problem for the Cougars: They’re taking on a Beaver team that ranks among the hottest in the country. Thanks in large part to quarterback Braden Atkinson and freshman wideout Jesse Legree, Oregon State (4-2, 2-0) ranks fifth nationwide with 522 yards per game of total offense, coming off a 66-14 home dismantling of San Diego State. In short: The Beavs’ offense is electric, and the Cougs’ defense will get perhaps its tallest task of the season.
“He’s a really good player,” Moore said of Legree, who leads the country with 12 receiving touchdowns, including three apiece in his last two outings. “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 (Trent) Bray is doing a good job right now with our guys, making sure they’re all on the same page.”
It’s also a homecoming for Bray, an Oregon State alum who coached 11 years at his alma mater, including the full 2024 season and part of the 2025 campaign before being fired amid the Beavers’ 0-7 start to the season. In fact, the OSU connections on this WSU team number far more: Receiver Darrius Clemons and cornerback Jalil Tucker each transferred from Oregon State, true freshman Lance McGee was committed there before flipping to the Cougars and chief of staff Dan Van De Riet worked with the Beavers’ program in different capacities for 20 years.
Plus, this year, WSU and OSU won’t just be playing for bragging rights. The schools will also be playing for a new trophy, a new rivalry rock, which has yet to be named. The trophy isn’t official – it’s more of a fan and alumni-sponsored push than a school-sanctioned tradition – and the winner won’t hoist it at midfield like other trophies. But it does add a layer of intrigue to the WSU and OSU series, which will play installment No. 112 on Saturday afternoon.
“Hey,” Brown said earlier this week, “let’s go win the rock.”
To do that, the Cougars will have to find a way to slow down Atkinson and the Beavers’ offense, which nobody outside two Power 4 opponents have done so far. Atkinson, who ranks first nationwide with 376 passing yards per game, has tossed 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He’s thrown seven of his scores on deep passes, according to Pro Football Focus, highlighting the way he’s able to stretch the field.
It’s not exactly promising news for this WSU defense, which has played exceptionally well all season and kept the team in games, a remarkable feat in the face of the Cougs’ scuffling offense. But if the Cougars have shown one weakness on defense, it’s that they’re susceptible to allowing explosive plays, like a long touchdown pass against Utah State last weekend and a 75-yard touchdown rush against Kansas State last month.
Even if Bray and the Washington State defense can produce a few key stops, there’s also the matter of Eshelman and the WSU offense. Can the Cougs score enough to keep pace? In his first real college action, can Eshelman get it going through the air? Even if he throws an interception, though, his offense might be better for the bold approach. With Pinnick at the controls, WSU’s offense never looked capable of stretching the field.
Eshelman might have that capability. But it’s still a challenge for WSU, on both sides of the ball.
“There’s definitely some similarities in terms of playmaking ability,” Moore said, comparing Eshelman and Pinnick’s styles. “I think the big thing is we gotta continue to work on accuracy with the football, and when something’s there, we gotta take advantage of it and be more efficient on first and second down. Had opportunities there to drive in the red zone and didn’t take advantage of it, and then on third down, we gotta make sure we do a good job of taking care of the football. And sometimes it’s OK to punt. We’ve had some turnovers in those situations the last few games that have put our defense in bad positions.”
- Bray's defense brings the heat, and a little revenge, to Corvallis
PORTLAND – In his first season as Washington State’s defensive coordinator, Trent Bray has gotten just about as much as he can out of his group. The Cougars rank among the conference’s best defenses, and they’ve generated three interceptions, including two pick-sixes.
Plus, in WSU’s road game against Oregon State on Saturday afternoon, Bray will get a chance for a homecoming. An OSU alum and longtime coach, including head coach for roughly one and-a-half seasons, he’s quite familiar with the Beavers’ program.
But this WSU defense has never faced an offense quite like Oregon State’s, which is why we’re picking the Beavers to keep things rolling and hand the Cougars their fourth straight loss. OSU QB Braden Atkinson and star freshman wideout Jesse Legree still have not been slowed down, not even in their team’s two Power 4 losses to open the season, which is what makes this such a tall task for WSU.
Entering as 18.5-point underdogs, the Cougars might have a chance to pull an upset, thanks to head coach Kirby Moore’s decision to bench quarterback Caden Pinnick in favor of redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman, whose accuracy and big arm rank among his best traits. A lively offense might be what the Cougs have needed all along.
But that’s a lot to ask of a 20-year-old making his first career collegiate start, playing his first meaningful snaps at the college level. It’s hard to keep pace with this OSU offense, to match wits with the Beavers’ high-flying offense. There’s a reason why Atkinson leads the country with 376 passing yards per game.
WSU might not win Saturday’s game, but that doesn’t have to mean Moore’s decision to start Eshelman would be a mistake. The redshirt freshman could need some experience to settle into the role. Getting thrown into the fire in Corvallis would certainly help to that end. Final score: Oregon State 35, WSU 20
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