Terrell says run his way and Boise State will find outWashington State vs. No. 21 Boise State
Saturday, 3 p.m.
Line: Boise State favored by 13½
TV: USA Network Radio: 920-AM
Key matchup
WSU secondary against Boise State running backs: Earlier this week, WSU cornerback Khamari Terrell made a fairly strong claim: “I’m gonna make it noticed that you’re not gonna be able to just run to my side and just think that you’re gonna get a big gain or anything,” he said. It bears examining because it indicates that Terrell understands that to pull an upset on the Broncos, the Cougars’ defensive backs will have to wrap up running backs Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines.
It’s a paramount theme for WSU, which missed 18 tackles last weekend in a loss to Oregon State. The Cougars can’t afford many whiffs against Riley, who has forced 28 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. WSU has done well this season to bottle up runs up the middle, and it’s fair to expect that trend to continue on Saturday. That shifts the spotlight to players like Terrell and other Cougar secondary players, including cornerback Jalil Tucker and safeties Jaylen Thomas and Jeremiah Bernard.
Thomas leads the team with 12 missed tackles, while Bernard is second with eight. Some of those are to be expected, as that duo has played some of the most snaps on their defense. But if Riley and Gaines have to bounce it to the outside, where they’re averaging a combined 4.9 yards per carry, watch how well the Cougars tackle. That may end up telling the story of Saturday’s game.
How the Cougs win…
Outside of limiting Boise State’s potent rushing attack, which no team besides Oregon has been able to do, WSU can win by generating more of its own offense. In quarterback Owen Eshelman’s second game at the controls, he’ll have to follow up on an encouraging performance, and he’ll have to avoid turnovers. Besides a late, meaningless interception last weekend, he did well in his first showing.
With receiver Darrius Clemons doubtful to play with an ankle injury, Eshelman will likely have to show a similarly sharp connection with wideout Branden Ganashamoorthy, who set career-highs last weekend with 11 catches for 147 yards and one touchdown. And because the Cougars’ rushing game from their tailbacks has been all but invisible this fall, they will also need Eshelman to produce more on the ground, which he did last weekend to the tune of 136 yards and one score.
Here’s another way WSU could pull the upset: Generate a turnover or two. The only problem is that the Broncos have only lost two offensive turnovers this fall.
How the Broncos win…
Boise State can win this game with the same recipe it has in five straight wins: Let tailbacks Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines run wild, avoid turnovers and grind out long drives that keep the opposing offense off the field, capitalizing on their average time of possession of 36 minutes – which ranks No. 1 in the country.
The Broncos will want to stay on the field for long stretches, which could wear out a Cougar defense that has already played heavy snaps due to their turnover issues, many caused by previous QB Caden Pinnick. WSU, which missed 18 tackles last weekend against Oregon State, will have to tackle well against BSU.
Key stat: 220
That’s how many minutes BSU QB Maddux Madsen and the Broncos’ offense has been on the field this season, which ranks tops in the entire country, highlighting their ability to stretch out long drives with Riley and Gaines’ steady contributions. That has also generated key rest for the Broncos’ defense, which has been active less than 40% of total snaps, keeping playmakers like edge rushers Max Stege and Jayden Virgin-Morgan fresh.
Quotable
“Definitely take pride in stopping the run,” WSU defensive tackle Jirah Leaupepetele said. “Someone of my size, my build, is not really a pass rusher build, but if I’m going to do anything, I’m going to stop the run as much as I can, and with my ability, I take pride in that. I think our defense takes pride in stopping the run. Our D-line takes pride in stopping the run because that’s what it starts with. Just being a defensive lineman, that mentality has to be there. I don’t think you can be a D-lineman without that mentality.”
Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yetPULLMAN – 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
Khamari Terrell tackles like he's the only one on the fieldPULLMAN – When Khamari Terrell makes a tackle in space, for a brief moment, he enters a world all by himself. Washington State’s veteran cornerback will usually lower his head, staring down into the turf, maybe closing his eyes, closing himself off to the chaos unfolding around him.
Then he usually takes his hands and slaps himself on the helmet. Once. Twice. Lets his energy seep off him like condensation off a glass of ice water.
Then he rejoins the action, ready to make another play for the Cougars, for whom he’s playing his fifth and final season of college football.
“I think it’s big, especially in college, just knowing that the corners have to tackle every game,” Terrell said earlier this week. “Especially this week, I’m gonna make it noticed that you’re not gonna be able to just run to my side and just think that you’re gonna get a big gain or anything.”
Terrell and the WSU defense will get a chance to prove it this weekend, when No. 21 Boise State comes to town for a showdown, the teams’ first clash in Pullman since 2017, the night the late Tyler Hilinski came off the bench to lead the Cougars to a triple-overtime comeback.
Here’s the short version of why Terrell and his fellow defensive backs, like cornerback Jalil Tucker and safety Jaylen Thomas, will have to come up big for their team: The Broncos own one of the country’s best rushing attacks, spearheaded by junior tailback Dylan Riley, who ranks second nationwide with 139 rushing yards per game. As a team, the Broncos’ 234 rushing yards per contest ranks ninth in the country.
That figures to put quite the strain on this WSU defense, which was gashed last weekend, giving up 48 points to Oregon State’s prolific offense in a three-score loss. But for the Cougars, as they prepare for their next outing, it’s not all about preventing scoring. It’s about one of Terrell’s favorite parts of the game: tackling.
All things considered, WSU (1-6, 0-3 Pac-12) has done a fine job of that this season. The Cougars have earned a Pro Football Focus tackling grade of 61.4, which ranks No. 93 nationwide, fifth in the Pac-12. They’ve turned in some gems of tackling outings, including in their loss to Fresno State earlier this season, when they missed just three total tackles.
In fact, some of the WSU defenders who have logged the most snaps are also the ones who have tackled the best. Veteran linebacker Keith Brown, who leads the team with 418 snaps, has missed only six tackles. Terrell, who has played 339 snaps, has whiffed only three times. And redshirt freshman nickelback Jamarey Smith, who has 313 snaps, has missed only one tackle all season.
So from a 30,000-foot view, the Cougars have done well to tackle, and their coaches deserve credit for that: Defensive coordinator Trent Bray, cornerbacks coach Brandyn Thompson and defensive line coach Eti Ena, among others. Past Cougar teams have not tackled particularly well – Jake Dickert’s 2024 team finished the season ranked fifth-to-last in PFF’s tackling grades, while Jimmy Rogers’ 2025 club finished dead last – so for the program, this represents a key step in the right direction.
“Game to game, you gotta be prepared to tackle,” Terrell said, “especially going against a team that runs a lot. So just be physical and just shut down the side of the field and just stop the run, so they won’t try to keep running to that side.”
The only problem at hand: Boise State’s playmakers have excelled at forcing missed tackles. In six games, Riley has forced 28 whiffs, which ranks second in the Pac-12. Riley has forced 18. They have excelled in space, and while the Cougars have usually done well to tackle in those types of settings, they aren’t coming off a particularly encouraging outing on that front.
In WSU’s loss to Oregon State last weekend, the Cougs missed 18 tackles, one off their most of the season, which came in a season-opening loss to Washington back in early September. In Corvallis, safety Jeremiah Bernard led the way with five whiffs, while fellow safety Jaylen Thomas followed with three and two players missed two tackles apiece: Linebacker Isaiah Hung and cornerback Kai Rapolla.
How will those two realities clash on Saturday afternoon on the Palouse? If the Cougars can’t make tackles in space, they might be in for a long day, and as 14-point underdogs, they’re expected to meet that fate anyway. But it’s an interesting conversation because of one key development: Bray’s unit has done a stellar job of stacking up runs up the middle.
That’s where some of the Cougars’ best defenders play, from defensive tackles like Leaupepetele and Kaden Beatty to defensive ends Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk, which is why opponents haven’t enjoyed much success running up the middle this season. Even Brown, a linebacker, has graded out as the Cougars’ best run defender, with a mark of 79.9.
It’s on the outsides where the Cougs have had less luck, at least in their most recent showing. To turn that fortune around – to reverse the fortune of this entire season – WSU defenders will have to clean that up. Maybe that’s where Terrell, a veteran cornerback, could come in handy.
