Oregon State Beavers
Wazzu keeps Oregon State Beavers in one place: 2 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Oregon State looms as Cougs head south still searching for first win” and “The offense is MIA and Pullman is letting the Cougs hear it”. Owen Eshelman gets the keys. The boo birds hit Gesa Field early Saturday night, and honestly? The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Oregon State Beavers story on Wazzu, newest first.
Oregon State looms as Cougs head south still searching for first win
Owen Eshelman gets the keys. First start of his college career, and he's walking into Corvallis against an Oregon State team that looks like it's been shot out of a cannon. The Beavers are on a four-game win streak, leading the country in passing yards per game, and just hung 66 points on San Diego State. Meanwhile, the Cougs are still hunting for their first FBS win, sitting at 1-5, and just watched a halftime lead evaporate into a 17-16 loss to Utah State. That Utah State game stung. Two fumbles turned into touchdowns. The offense put up 64 yards in the second half. Caden Pinnick took the brunt of it, and Moore made the call this week. For more on how Moore handled the aftermath, check out our piece, "Moore won't throw his QB under the bus after Utah State loss." Eshelman has a tough task. He's facing a Beaver defense that's rolling, and he's doing it with an offensive line that just lost left tackle Ashton Tripp to an ankle injury. The good news? WSU's defense is still showing up. They held Utah State's quarterback to 150 yards and one touchdown pass. They'll need that same effort, and then some, against Jesse Legree and that OSU passing attack. This is a gut-check game. The Cougs are 17.5-point underdogs for a reason. But it's also a chance to see what the offense looks like with a new hand on the wheel. 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.