Apple Cup
Apple Cup at Wazzu is a file of 5 stories. The newest of them: “Owen Eshelman's first start gave Wazzu its best FBS offense yet”, “We Got Picks, You Got Questions, and the Ducks Still Have Problems”, and “Kirby Moore Breaks Down the Boeing Apple Cup Loss Straight From the Locker Room”. Owen Eshelman's first start gave Wazzu its best FBS offense yet, and that's the kind of sentence that makes you wonder what took so long. The Hotline went 6-5-1 last week and sits at 15-20-1 for the season, which means the picks are for entertainment purposes only. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Apple Cup story on Wazzu, newest first.
Owen Eshelman's first start gave Wazzu its best FBS offense yet
Owen Eshelman's first start gave Wazzu its best FBS offense yet, and that's the kind of sentence that makes you wonder what took so long. The Cougs lost 48-30 to Oregon State, which makes it four straight losses, but the offense finally looked like it had a pulse. Eshelman threw for two touchdowns, ran for another, and unlocked Branden Ganashamoorthy for career highs in catches and yards. The running game from the tailbacks? Still stuck in neutral. Maxwell Woods, Kirby Vorhees, and Leo Pulalasi combined for 26 yards on 13 carries. That's not going to cut it. Kirby Moore benched Caden Pinnick after six starts, and the question hanging over Pullman is whether he waited too long. Probably yes. With Eshelman, the Cougs likely beat Utah State, maybe Fresno State, maybe even Washington. Moore defended punting on fourth-and-short from midfield, saying he trusted the defense. The defense gave up 48 points. That math doesn't add up. The good news is Eshelman looked legit. The bad news is Boise State comes to town next weekend, and the Cougs still can't run the ball against FBS teams. For deeper coverage on that Boise State matchup, check out Greg Woods' piece on the first visit from the Broncos since 2017. For now, the take to text a friend: Eshelman might be the real deal, but Moore's clock management and a dead running game are going to make the rest of this season a grind. Go Cougs.
We Got Picks, You Got Questions, and the Ducks Still Have Problems
The Hotline went 6-5-1 last week and sits at 15-20-1 for the season, which means the picks are for entertainment purposes only. Unless they aren't. This week's slate features two former Pac-12 matchups in the late-afternoon window: Oregon at USC, and Arizona visiting Washington State on the Palouse. That feline affair serves multiple purposes. It gives the Cougars a home game against a power conference opponent their fans know, and it helps Arizona satisfy a Big 12 scheduling requirement. Because the series was agreed to before the Wildcats left the Pac-12, WSU still counts as a Power Four opponent. The line opened at Arizona -10, which initially felt high. But after looking at WSU's offense against Power Four teams like Washington and Kansas State, 17 total points, the spread makes sense. The Hotline picks Arizona. The bigger picture here is unsettling. Outside of UCLA-Cal, a future Arizona State-Stanford series, and the surviving Apple Cup and Civil War, former Pac-12 schools are not scheduling each other. The CFP could fix that by incentivizing quality nonconference games. Or NIL-driven neutral-site double-headers in Las Vegas could emerge. We aren't confident. Check out "Are blowouts getting worse? The Pac-12 mailbag crunches the numbers" for more on the state of the sport. Go Cougs.
Kirby Moore Breaks Down the Boeing Apple Cup Loss Straight From the Locker Room
Kirby Moore didn't hide after the Boeing Apple Cup loss. He stood in the locker room and broke it down like a coach who knows his guys deserve the truth, not a spin. That's what you want to hear. Moore talked about what the Coug offense is building. Not excuses. Not moral victories. Just the work. You can feel the frustration in his voice, but also the belief. That matters more than any one scoreboard. This is the same offense we've been watching take shape all season. If you haven't read "Kirby Moore on the mic: what the Coug offense is building," go back and grab that one. It puts this locker room moment in context. Moore isn't starting from scratch. He's stacking blocks. Some days the wall holds. Some days it doesn't. The Apple Cup stings. It always does. But listening to Moore, you get the sense this group isn't going to fold. They'll watch the film, take the hits, and line up again. That's the Pullman way. Go Cougs.
Moore puts it plain after Cougs let early lead slip in Pullman
Kirby Moore sat down at the podium Saturday night and didn't waste words. "This should hurt," he said. He was right. The Cougs took an early two-score lead against Arizona, then watched it disappear in the second half, losing 34-24. That's now 1-3 in Moore's debut season, and the problems are starting to stack up. Caden Pinnick played OK on short throws, 85% completion inside 9 yards, but he's up to five turnovers, and they keep coming when he tries to do too much. The running backs are averaging 3.38 yards per carry against FBS teams, which isn't going to scare anyone. Special teams gave up a 39-yard punt return and another missed field goal, even if that one wasn't the kicker's fault. And for the second straight week, the coaching staff botched an end-of-half situation, letting 40 seconds burn off the clock before calling a timeout. That's the kind of stuff that loses games you should win. There were bright spots. Linus Zunk finally got his first sack and is grading out well. Punter Max Dean is 14th in the country. But the Cougs need more than that. Next week Fresno State comes to town. That's the start of Pac-12 play, and it's where we start to find out what this team really is. If you want a deeper look at that matchup, check out our piece on Moore facing his old team as a new era begins. For now, this one should hurt. It did. Go Cougs.
Jim Walden brought the Cougs to a bowl after 50 years: gone at 88
Jim Walden walked into Pullman in 1978 and told a program that hadn't seen a bowl game since 1931 to get ready. He delivered. The 1981 Holiday Bowl ended a 50-year drought, and he did it with a style that made him unforgettable long after the final whistle. Walden died Thursday in Coeur d'Alene at 88, and if you're a Coug of a certain age, you can probably still hear his voice, first from the sideline, then from the broadcast booth next to Bob Robertson for 11 seasons. He went 44-52-4 at WSU, which doesn't sound like much until you remember what he was working with. Two Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards. Apple Cup wins in 1982, 1983, and 1985, including a 21-20 snow game in Seattle where the Huskies were heavy favorites and Don James called himself a "2,000-word underdog" just to get a jab in. Walden coached Jack Thompson and Mark Rypien, Rueben Mayes and Keith Millard. He coached the kind of players who made Pullman matter. He left for Iowa State, came back to the Palouse to call games, and never stopped being a Coug. The athletic department called him a "great Coug who deeply loved Washington State." That's the truth. If you want to know what one coach can mean to a place that doesn't get many second chances, start with Jim Walden. Go Cougs.