football
Wazzu keeps football in one place: 10 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Kirby Moore talks Utah State, and the quiet work that wins in Pullman”, “Kirby Moore and the Cougs Talk Fresno State After the Final Whistle”, and “Pac-12 power rankings leave little doubt about the gap ahead of WSU”. Kirby Moore doesn't raise his voice to explain what wins in Pullman. Kirby Moore didn't walk off the field in Fresno looking for style points. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every football story on Wazzu, newest first.
Kirby Moore talks Utah State, and the quiet work that wins in Pullman
Kirby Moore doesn't raise his voice to explain what wins in Pullman. He just points to the work that doesn't make the highlight reel. Talking Utah State this week, Moore broke down the kind of quiet, repetitive stuff that turns a good Cougar team into a tough one. That's the part of the season that doesn't get a headline, but it's the part that keeps you in games when the crowd gets loud and the road gets long. It's easy to forget, in the middle of baseball midweeks and volleyball preps, that football is still grinding through its own kind of spring. Moore's approach fits Pullman. No flash. Just film, fundamentals, and the kind of patience that only makes sense if you've spent a winter in that town. He knows what Utah State brings. More importantly, he knows what his guys have to bring back. If you're the type who tracks every pitch, we've got you covered with "Cougs Hit the Road for a Pair of Midweek Ballgames in Texas." Different sport, same kind of under-the-radar work that builds a season before anyone notices. Moore would probably approve of the overlap. Go Cougs.
Kirby Moore and the Cougs Talk Fresno State After the Final Whistle
Kirby Moore didn't walk off the field in Fresno looking for style points. He walked off with a win, and that's the part that matters most to a Coug. Moore and the team sat down after the final whistle to talk about what went right, what went wrong, and what nobody saw coming. The conversation was direct. No coach-speak. No dancing around the fact that Fresno State made them earn it. Moore pointed to the moments where the Cougs kept their heads when the noise got loud. That's not nothing. On the road, in a stadium that doesn't love you, staying steady is half the battle. If you want the full breakdown on how the Cougs cleaned up the little things and left with a W, we've got you covered there too. That piece digs into the details Moore touched on in the presser, the execution stuff that doesn't show up on a highlight reel but wins games in September. What sticks from this conversation is the tone. Moore sounds like a guy who knows his team is still cooking. Not done. Not perfect. But headed somewhere. That's the kind of coach you want on the bus home. Go Cougs.
Pac-12 power rankings leave little doubt about the gap ahead of WSU
The gap between the top three and the rest of the Pac-12 is a chasm, and the power rankings make it official. Boise State, Oregon State, and Fresno State are the class of the conference. Washington State? We're sitting at No. 7, and the takeaway from the rankings is brutal but fair: we don't have enough offense to secure a bowl berth, let alone sniff the championship game. It's one week into round-robin play, and the picture is already clear. The beauty of this eight-team league is everyone plays everyone, so there are no excuses. The defining dates are set: Boise State at Fresno State, Oregon State at Fresno State, and Oregon State at Boise State. The analytics favor the Broncos to sweep. Our hunch is they do. For the Cougs, the immediate concern is finding an offensive pulse. First-year coach Kirby Moore has no answers right now, and if that doesn't change in the next 19 games, Pullman will be in the market for a new coach. That's the hard truth. We've got deeper coverage on the situation, including a look at Moore taking over playcalls and what the Cougs need against Utah State this Friday. It's a short week, and the offense is MIA. Pullman is letting them hear it. Go Cougs.
The offense is MIA and Pullman is letting the Cougs hear it
The boo birds hit Gesa Field early Saturday night, and honestly? Fair. Three feeble drives to open the game. Three punts. A home crowd that drove hours, some from across the state, some from across the country, sat through it and let the Cougs hear it. That crowd is the hardiest bunch in college football. They don't deserve this. Here's the part that stings: this was supposed to be the payoff. When the Pac-12 collapsed and WSU got shoved into the wilderness, the silver lining was always the rebuild. A conference WSU and Oregon State built together. A level playing field. A chance to be a lead school instead of the smallest fish in the biggest pond. Saturday was the formal kickoff of that rebuilt Pac-12. The Cougars are now 0-1 in a conference they helped create. And they looked ready to settle into a familiar spot in the standings. Fresno State might be decent. They came in 3-1. But I can't sell that. This isn't Pat Hill's Fresno State. This is a team WSU was favored against, and the only offense the Cougars have is a kicker finally finding his range. Meanwhile, Oregon State looks great. Freshman receiver Jessee Legree has nine touchdowns, three times more than every WSU receiver combined. The Beavers are building something in Corvallis. What does Pullman have to offer? Playing time and fans who are almost hoarse from booing. There's no structural excuse for this. WSU made bowl games in both wilderness years.
Duquesne came to Pullman. The Cougs handled business. Go Cougs
Duquesne came to Pullman, and the Cougs took care of what was in front of them. That is the kind of weekend you want. No drama. No letting a non-conference opponent hang around long enough to get ideas. The Dukes left town with an L, and the Cougs left the weekend with a clean sheet and a little more belief in what they are building. It is early, sure. But there is something to be said for handling business the way you are supposed to. You do not get style points for beating a team you should beat, but you can lose a lot of ground by tripping over one. The Cougs did not trip. They showed up, did the work, and moved on. For a deeper look at how it all came together, go check out "Chris King called it and the Cougs made it happen twice." The kind of execution that turns a routine win into a statement is walked through in "Chris King called it and the Cougs made it happen twice." And if you want the finer details from the scout's notebook, "A few things stood out in the notes from Duquesne" is worth your time. The Barb Chandler Classic is in the books. The Cougs closed it out. Now you know what to tell your friend when they ask how the weekend went: the Cougs handled business. Go Cougs.
Kirby Moore on Duquesne prep and what it means to be a Coug
Kirby Moore didn't just take a job. He took a role that comes with a handshake, a history, and a whole lot of expectations. The Cougs' offensive coordinator sat down this week to talk Duquesne prep, and he kept it real about what it means to wear the flag. No fluff. No coachspeak. Just a guy who knows Pullman isn't for everyone, and that's exactly the point. Moore gets it. Being a Coug means showing up when nobody else does. It means grinding through a Tuesday in November when the wind is howling and the stands are half-full. It means the work matters more than the spotlight. That's not a line from a brochure. That's the truth. Duquesne is next. A non-conference game that doesn't get the hype, but Moore made it clear: respect the opponent, respect the process. The Cougs can't look past anyone. Not if they want to be the team they think they are. If you liked that kind of straight talk, check out our piece on Korey Schroeder and the Cougar volleyball team. Same energy. Different sport. Same standard. Moore is building something. It won't happen overnight. But listening to him, you get the feeling he's in the right place. Pullman has a way of sorting that out. Go Cougs.
Arizona week starts with Kirby Moore on the mic, no need to overthink it
Arizona week is here, and Kirby Moore is the one talking into the mic. That is fine by us. No need to overthink it. Moore has been running the offense all season, and he has earned the chance to break down the tape and the game plan after a win. The Cougs just handled business on the road in Fresno, and if you want the full breakdown of how that looked, we have the *Fresno State couldn't slow the Cougs in a clean road win* piece waiting for you. That game was clean. This week should be, too. Arizona is a different animal. They have athletes, and they will try to make things messy. But Moore has been steady. He does not get cute. He calls what works and trusts the guys in front of him. That is the kind of offensive coordinator you want when the schedule starts to tighten up. Pullman will be loud. The weather will probably do something weird. And Kirby Moore will be up there, talking through the adjustments like he has been doing it for a decade. Because he has. We will have more on the game plan and the matchup as the week goes. For now, it is Cougs on the mic, Cougs on the field, and no reason to complicate it. Go Cougs.
Second-half avalanche buries Duquesne as Cougs roll 48-7
That first half felt like a team still shaking off the bus. The Cougs looked tight, a little sloppy, and Duquesne hung around long enough to make you wonder. Then the second half started and the avalanche buried them. 48-7 is the kind of score that looks routine on paper but was earned in a flood of explosive plays and defensive pressure that simply would not let up. The Dukes came to Pullman ready to scrap. The Cougs took their best shot, adjusted at the break, and then just steamrolled. This is the kind of win that tells you more about the second half than the first. When a team can flip a switch that cleanly, it means the coaching staff found the right words and the players locked in. If you want to hear how that adjustment happened straight from the guy calling the plays, our piece with Kirby Moore breaks down exactly what it took to get there. It pairs well with this one. The Cougs handled business. No drama, no excuses, just a second-half beatdown that left no doubt. That is the standard in Pullman. Go Cougs.
Kirby Moore breaks down the Cougar win and what it took to get there
Kirby Moore doesn't just call plays. He explains them. And after the Cougs handled Duquesne, he sat down and walked through exactly what it took to get that win. No coachspeak. No hiding behind "we just need to execute better." Moore got specific. He talked about the rhythm of the game, what the offense was seeing, and how they adjusted when things got sticky. That's the stuff you don't get from the box score. If you want the full breakdown, go read "Chris King called it and the Cougs made it happen twice", it pairs well with what Moore laid out here. Moore's takeaway is simple: this wasn't pretty, but it was real. The Cougs had to earn it. Duquesne came ready, and Washington State had to answer. They did. Moore credits the preparation during the week and the trust between the coaches and the players on game day. That's not fluff. That's how you build a team that can handle a trap game and keep moving. This is the kind of insight that makes you feel like you were in the room. No hype. Just football. Go Cougs.
Kirby Moore Breaks Down the Offense After Arizona
Kirby Moore sat down after the Arizona game and didn't sugarcoat anything. He broke down the offense the way you'd expect from a guy who spent his Saturday watching his unit grind through a Pac-12 road game. No excuses. Just film, mechanics, and what needs to click. That's the kind of talk Pullman actually respects. Moore walked through the adjustments, the reads, and the moments where the Cougs either hit or missed. It wasn't a victory lap. It was a coach who knows the margin between a good drive and a stalled one is smaller than a play call sheet. If you watched that game and wondered why certain routes looked open but the ball didn't go there, Moore answers that. He doesn't hide behind jargon. This is the stuff that doesn't make the highlight reel but makes the difference in November. If you want the full picture from Tucson, we already had a piece on the things that won't show up in a box score. Moore's breakdown fits right next to it. Read them together. That's where the real story lives. The offense is still finding its rhythm. Moore knows it. The players know it. But hearing him talk through it, you get the sense he trusts what he sees. That matters more than a clean stat line. Go Cougs.