Braden Atkinson
Wazzu keeps Braden Atkinson in one place: 7 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Two new coaches, two very different first halves in the new Pac-12”, “Eshelman gives Cougs hope, but D can't stop Oregon State”, and “Braden Atkinson keeps slinging it, now tops in the FBS”. The end of Week 7 is as good a midpoint as any in this weird, staggered Pac-12 schedule. Oregon State's offense did what everyone feared it would do. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Braden Atkinson story on Wazzu, newest first.
Two new coaches, two very different first halves in the new Pac-12
The end of Week 7 is as good a midpoint as any in this weird, staggered Pac-12 schedule. Half the teams have played seven games, half have played six. It's messy, but it's ours. The big headline: two teams, Boise State and Oregon State, are still alive for a College Football Playoff berth. That's more than anyone realistically expected from this rebuilt league. The Broncos have a quality loss at Oregon and wins over Memphis and Western Michigan. If they win out, they're in. The Beavers have a trickier path but stay in play if they finish with only two losses. Oregon State's JaMarcus Shephard is the midseason Coach of the Year. The rookie has made master-class moves with his staff and roster. Meanwhile, Washington State's Kirby Moore sits on the hottest seat. His decisions have been deeply flawed. We don't expect him fired after one season, but the trajectory is ugly. Best offensive player: Oregon State freshman receiver Jesse Legree. He leads the country in receiving yards and touchdowns. Best defensive player: San Diego State linebacker Sione Hala, who leads the Pac-12 in tackles and forced a fumble that won a game. Best game so far was San Diego State's 31-29 win over Texas State. Worst loss? Idaho State 29, Utah State 17. Double-digit home losses to FCS opponents are brutal. Add 11 penalties and four turnovers, and it's an all-systems failure. If you haven't yet, read about Owen Eshelman's first start giving Wazzu its best FBS offense yet.
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Eshelman gives Cougs hope, but D can't stop Oregon State
Oregon State's offense did what everyone feared it would do. The Beavers hung 48 points and 555 yards on WSU's defense, which had its worst game of the season. That's the headline, and it stinks. The Cougs are 1-6, winless against FBS teams, and next week brings No. 23 Boise State to Pullman. No rest for the weary. But there was a real bright spot, and it's worth talking about. Owen Eshelman should be the guy. The redshirt freshman threw for 289 yards and ran for 136 more, accounting for all six of WSU's runs of 10-plus yards. He made savvy decisions on the RPOs and gave the offense a pulse it's been missing. Branden Ganashamoorthy was open all day, catching 11 passes for 147 yards. If you want to feel a little better about what's happening, read "Owen Eshelman and Branden Ganashamoorthy made the scoreboard hurt a little less." The defense, though. Yikes. Tackling was an issue. Oregon State averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Running back AJ Newberry made a WSU defender look silly with a juke and a hurdle on an 88-yard screen pass. The Beavers scored on five of their first six possessions and led 27-3 late in the second quarter. WSU punted on its first four possessions. That's how you lose a game before halftime. It's painful to watch Oregon State become one of the best stories in the Group of Six while the Cougs search for an identity.
Braden Atkinson keeps slinging it, now tops in the FBS
Braden Atkinson threw a 90-yard touchdown in the first half and never looked back. The Oregon State quarterback, a sophomore transfer from Mercer, is now the FBS leader in passing yards and touchdown throws. He went 23 of 38 for 347 yards, three scores, and zero picks against Washington State. That brings his season totals to 2,604 yards and 24 touchdowns with just two interceptions. The guy won the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS freshman of the year last season. He looks like he belongs at this level. The Cougars could not stop him, and they could not stop AJ Newberry either. The Oregon State running back, a Vanderbilt transfer, put up 225 total yards and a touchdown. He ran for 105 yards on 11 carries, averaging 9.5 a pop, and caught five passes for 120 more. His 88-yard screen pass touchdown in the second quarter made it 27-3. That was more than WSU could climb back from. The Cougars found some offensive rhythm with a new quarterback, but consistency is still missing. If you want the full picture, check out "Kirby Moore finally had something to say, and it wasn't about a tie" for the head coach's take on this stretch. Go Cougs.
Bray's defense brings the heat, and a little revenge, to Corvallis
Trent Bray is going back to Corvallis, and he's bringing a defense that has earned the right to be a little salty. Three interceptions, two of them pick-sixes, and a unit that ranks among the best in the conference. That's the kind of stat line that makes you believe in a homecoming upset. But then you look at the other side. Oregon State's offense is a different animal. Braden Atkinson leads the country in passing yards per game, and Jesse Legree is a freshman who has yet to be slowed down. Even in losses. That's the wall Bray has to run through. Kirby Moore made a call. He benched Caden Pinnick and is handing the ball to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman. Big arm, good accuracy, zero meaningful college snaps. It's a lot to ask a 20-year-old to match wits with the Beavers' high-flying attack. We're picking Oregon State 35-20, and the Cougs are 18.5-point dogs for a reason. But here's the thing: starting Eshelman might not be about winning Saturday. It might be about getting him the reps he needs to settle in. Throwing him into the fire in Corvallis is a trial by combat. If he can keep pace, even in a loss, that's a win for the future. For a deeper look at how that decision played out in real time, check out our coverage in "Eshelman finds the end zone, but Beavers build a big lead." Go Cougs.
Eshelman and WSU need the offense to show up if they want to beat Oregon State
The rock is on the line, but that's the least of Wazzu's worries right now. Owen Eshelman gets his first college start Saturday in Corvallis, and the kid has barely played. Two snaps. Garbage time against Duquesne. Now he's supposed to fix an offense averaging 12.6 points a game, with a turnover margin that's dead last in the country. That's not a soft landing. Keith Brown, the veteran linebacker who started his career at Oregon, says he wasn't nervous when he faced Ohio State as a true freshman. He felt prepared. Eshelman might feel the same way. He's got the arm and the accuracy. But the Cougs need more than a live arm. They need the whole offense to show up for the first time all year. Oregon State, meanwhile, is rolling. Braden Atkinson is throwing for 376 yards a game. Jesse Legree has 12 receiving touchdowns. The Beavs' offense is ranked fifth in the country, and they just hung 66 on San Diego State. The WSU defense has been the one bright spot this season, but slowing that down is a tall order. Kirby Moore made the switch at QB. He took over playcalling last week. He's trying everything. Now it's on Eshelman to prove the change matters. If the Cougs can't score, it won't matter how well the defense plays. For more on the challenge facing WSU's secondary, check out "WSU's secondary gets its biggest test of the season against OSU's Legree." Go Cougs.
WSU's secondary gets its biggest test of the season against OSU's Legree
Jesse Legree has not been held under 100 receiving yards once this fall. Not once. That stat alone should make any Coug nervous heading into Corvallis. The freshman leads the country with 12 receiving touchdowns and has won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors all six weeks of the season. Zero drops on 54 targets. He's the kind of problem that keeps defensive coordinators up late. WSU's secondary gets its biggest test Saturday. Cornerbacks Jalil Tucker and Khamari Terrell will likely draw the Legree assignment, and they'll need help from the pass rush. Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk will have to generate pressure on QB Braden Atkinson, but OSU's line has only given up two sacks all season. The weak spots are there: right tackle Teko Shoats has been dinged for 10 pressures, and right guard Tyler Voltin has given up two sacks. The Cougs need to find them. On offense, Owen Eshelman gets the start after Caden Pinnick's turnovers and inability to stretch the field. If Eshelman can connect early, tailbacks Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees might finally get room to run. That's a big if. This is a longshot, but it's not impossible. For deeper context on how Trent Bray's defense has been building toward this, check out "Bray's defense brings the heat, and a little revenge, to Corvallis." Go Cougs.
It hurts: Beavers rising while Cougs slide in the new Pac-12
It hurts to read this, and it should. Six weeks ago, we were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Oregon State, the last two Cougs and Beavers holding the damn thing together. We were partners in the salvage operation, the rebirth of the Pac-12. Now? One of us is ascending, and it isn't us. The Beavers are the story of the season. JaMarcus Shephard, their third-choice head coach, has them at 4-2 with a path to the College Football Playoff. They hit on a quarterback nobody wanted and a defensive coordinator who used to be a national Coach of the Year. They got lucky. We got Kirby Moore, who just changed quarterbacks and stripped his offensive coordinator of playcalling duties in the same week. We're 1-5 and winless against FBS competition. It's easy to sit in Pullman and wonder what if. But the difference isn't luck. It's a series of decisions made last fall. OSU fired Trent Bray and swung for energy. We chased stability. Stability got us an inept offense and an overburdened defense. On the margins of this sport, success is fleeting, and right now, we're the ones who caught the wrong end of it. For a deeper look at how we handle pressure, check out our study on sensitivity and social threat, "Wazzu Study: Sensitivity Is About Social Threat, Not Just Loud Noises." It might explain a thing or two about how this team is reacting. Go Cougs.