interceptions
3 stories filed under interceptions on Wazzu. The newest of them: “Moore takes over WSU playcalls, promises QB competition this week”, “Pinnick's five turnovers make Saturday a test of Cougar ball security”, and “Wazzu's Saturday math problem: Fresno takes the ball, Cougs give it back”. Kirby Moore is taking the play sheet back. Caden Pinnick has given the ball away five times this season. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every interceptions story on Wazzu, newest first.
Moore takes over WSU playcalls, promises QB competition this week
Kirby Moore is taking the play sheet back. After Washington State's offense went without a touchdown for the second time this season, this past Saturday's 26-6 loss to Fresno State, Moore announced Monday he's taking over playcalling from offensive coordinator Matt Miller. The numbers are ugly. The Cougs rank 133rd out of 138 FBS teams in total yards per game. They've scored three offensive touchdowns in four games against FBS opponents. That's not a slump. That's a fire drill. Moore called plays at Missouri from 2023-25. He knows what he's doing. But knowing and fixing are two different things when your quarterback has thrown five interceptions and your running backs combined for 13 yards on five carries in the second half. Moore says everyone gets reps this week. Caden Pinnick, Julian Dugger, Owen Eshelman, it's an open competition. He didn't rule out playing multiple guys Friday at Utah State. Miller is still on staff and still involved. That's fine. But the buck stops with Moore now. He's not panicking. He said he can't wait to get to practice. That's the right attitude for a guy who just admitted his offense needs a jump start. If you want the full look at what's at stake this week, check out "Utah State on a short week? Cougs need an offensive pulse." It's a mess right now. But Pullman has seen messes before. Go Cougs.
Pinnick's five turnovers make Saturday a test of Cougar ball security
Caden Pinnick has given the ball away five times this season. Washington State as a team has turned it over seven times. That's a minus-4 turnover margin, good for No. 119 nationally. Fresno State, meanwhile, sits at plus-7, ranked No. 6. Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on USA, that math is the whole game. Pinnick is sharp when he keeps it short. He's completed 71 percent of his throws from zero to 19 yards. But on passes of 20-plus yards, he's hit just 2 of 13 with two picks. Fresno State corner Simeon Harris already has three interceptions. Pinnick does not need to test him deep. The Cougs can help their quarterback by running the ball. Kirby Vorhees is a game-time decision with an upper-body injury. If he can't go, Maxwell Woods gets the carries. Fresno State's defense is a better matchup for this WSU offense than some others have been. A credible ground game early would let Pinnick settle in instead of pressing. That pressing is where the trouble starts. The flip side: Fresno State knows what WSU gives up. The Cougar defense allows just 4.3 points per game in the first quarter. By the fourth, that number jumps to 11.3, ranking No. 123 nationally. That's a tired unit. Fresno can lean on long drives and let WSU's own mistakes do the rest. For a deeper look at how this math problem has been building, check out "Wazzu's Saturday math problem: Fresno takes the ball, Cougs give it back.
Wazzu's Saturday math problem: Fresno takes the ball, Cougs give it back
Here's the math problem for Saturday, and it's not the kind you can solve with a calculator. Fresno State comes to Pullman ranked sixth in the country in turnover margin at plus-seven. Washington State is 119th at minus-four. That gap is the whole ballgame before kickoff even happens. The Cougars have given it away seven times this season. Five of those are Caden Pinnick's doing. The quarterback has been fine when he keeps it short, completing 71% of his throws inside 19 yards. But the moment he tries to push the ball downfield, the wheels come off. He's hit just 2 of 13 passes of 20-plus yards and thrown two picks on those attempts. That's not a matchup problem. That's a decision problem, and it's shown up against Washington and even Duquesne. So what's the counter? Run the ball. Keep the pressure off Pinnick and make Fresno's defense respect something underneath. That gets harder if Kirby Vorhees can't go with that upper-body injury. He's the best weapon Matt Miller has in the backfield, and without him, the offense loses its teeth. We're not going to overthink this one. The Cougars have a chance because the game is at home and the matchup is more even than the records suggest. But turnovers travel, and Fresno's defense feeds on them. Give us the Bulldogs, 24-20. If you need a break from the math, check out "Three Cougs who made the Boeing Apple Cup one to remember.