Pac-12

Eshelman looks sharp but Cougs still chasing the Pac-12 pack

Owen Eshelman looks the part. He stands in the pocket, looks downfield, and will take a hit to deliver a third-and-long throw. But after two starts against the best the Pac-12 has to offer, the Cougs are still stuck chasing the pack. Saturday's 31-10 loss to No. 21 Boise State was another game that got away, tied at 10 entering the fourth quarter, then undone by a costly interception. It would be easy to blame the quarterback. Eshelman threw no touchdowns, one pick, and took four sacks. But the issues run deeper. The offensive line is getting flat-out whipped. When your running backs combine for 20 yards on 10 carries, it doesn't matter how patient your QB is. Eshelman completed just 21 of 40 passes while under constant duress. Still, there was something there. A 10-yard scramble on third down. Four-of-five on fourth-down conversions. WSU actually held the ball longer than Boise State, the nation's No. 1 time-of-possession team. It was chaotic, not clean, but chaos at least creates the possibility of a big play. Head coach Kirby Moore says nobody's quitting. With four games left and no bowl to chase, the Cougs need to show improvement, not just spirit. For a deeper look at how one bad snap turned a close game into a lopsided loss, check out "One bad snap cost the Cougs a chance at an upset in Boise." Go Cougs.

The long run that broke the dam: WSU defense gasps after Boise's 72-yard dagger

That sound from the crowd, part scream, part gasp, part something else, was the sound of a dam breaking. Dylan Riley's 72-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter wasn't just a score. It was the final, brutal exclamation point on a 31-10 loss that dropped the Cougs to 1-7. And if you've watched this season, you saw it coming. This defense has played solid football. No, really. They've kept games close, even with the offense dragging anchor. But they keep getting torched by the big play. Riley's long run was the headliner, but Boise State also hit a 33-yard scoring run from Riley and a 33-yard strike from quarterback Maddux Madsen to Raesean Jones on a key third down. The killer came late in the third quarter, game tied 10-10. On third-and-6, Madsen scrambled 17 yards, linebacker Isaiah Hung missed, and the Broncos drove for the go-ahead score. That opened the floodgates for a 21-0 fourth quarter. The pattern is maddening. Bad pursuit angles. A cornerback taking the wrong path. Another coming in too hot. It's the same story from last week in Corvallis, where WSU gave up scoring plays of 90 and 88 yards. The defense can hold a great back like Riley to 23 yards on his other carries, but then one missed tackle turns the game. Hung said it best: he's gotta make that play. Next time.

Cougs wrap Pac-12 tennis qualifier with grit and no regrets

The Cougs walked off the court in the Pac-12 tennis qualifier with nothing left in the tank. That's the kind of finish you respect, whether you're in the stands or watching the score tick over from a bar in Seattle. They didn't get the result they wanted, but nobody hung their head. Grit isn't pretty. It's showing up for the next point when your legs are gone. That's what this team did. There's a certain honesty to a team that plays through the whistle and doesn't make excuses. The qualifier is a grind. It's early, it's tense, and every point matters. Our Cougs handled it like they've been here before, because they have. They lost some battles, but they didn't lose themselves. No drama. No letup. It reminded me of that exhibition win we covered, "No drama, no letup: Cougs handle business in exhibition win", where the approach was the same. Just play the next point. You don't need a trophy to be proud of the effort. This team showed up, competed, and walked away knowing they gave it everything. That's a Coug way to do it. Go Cougs.

One bad snap cost the Cougs a chance at an upset in Boise

One bad snap. That's all it took. Owen Eshelman and Kirby Vorhees got their wires crossed on a simple route, and the ball landed in a Boise State linebacker's hands. Just like that, a tied game turned into a 31-10 loss. It stings because the Cougs were right there. For three quarters, WSU's defense held firm against one of the best rushing teams in the country, bottling up Dylan Riley until the fourth quarter finally broke them. The offense, though? Stuck in the mud all day. Eshelman had some nice moments with his legs, but the downfield passing game was missing, and the running backs combined for 20 yards on 10 carries. That's not going to beat anyone, let alone a ranked team. Kirby Moore's first season is officially a lost one at 1-7, and the postseason is gone. But here's the thing: a month ago, a tied game in the fourth quarter against Boise State felt impossible. The Cougs aren't good, but they're less bad than they were. That's not a victory lap, but it's something. For more on how that pick unfolded, check out "Moore's sideline bench talks get real after WSU's bowl hopes vanish." Go Cougs.

Moore's sideline bench talks get real after WSU's bowl hopes vanish

Kirby Moore sat Owen Eshelman down on a sideline bench seconds after the interception. Not later. Not in the film room. Right there, while the game was still happening. That's the kind of moment that tells you where a season has gone. Washington State just lost 31-10 to Boise State. Bowl hopes are dead. First time since 2010 the Cougs have been eliminated before November. Moore's offense gave up four sacks. The running backs combined for 20 yards on 10 carries. That's not a bad night. That's a pattern. The offensive line was recruited for an Air Raid system. They're being asked to win third-and-1. It isn't working. Moore knows it. He said the miscommunication on that pick starts with him. Fair enough. But he's also the guy who waited too long to make the switch at quarterback, and those missed wins are gone. What's left is four games and 14 seniors. No bowl to sell. No national relevance. Just pride and a coaching staff that has to find a way to get something out of nothing. Eshelman talked after the game about standards and what gets revealed when things go wrong. That's the right thing to say. The question is whether Moore can coach him into a couple wins before it's over. For a deeper look at how Boise broke the dam, read "The long run that broke the dam: WSU defense gasps after Boise's 72-yard dagger." Go Cougs.

Cougs answer Boise State's punch with a Vorhees touchdown, 7-7 at the half

Kirby Vorhees punched it in from a yard out, and just like that, the Cougs were even with Boise State at the half. 7-7. Martin Stadium had something to yell about. Owen Eshelman found Daniel Blood for 13 yards to set it up, and Vorhees finished the job. That drive answered Boise State's opening punch, Sire Gaines up the middle for nine yards on a 33-yard Maddux Madsen setup. The Broncos answered back with a field goal as time expired, taking a 10-7 lead into the locker room. This is the spot. WSU came in needing its most complete game of the season. A 1-6 record. Bowl eligibility on the line. A 13½-point underdog at home. First-year head coach Kirby Moore facing his old team, the one he starred for alongside his brother Kellen. The Broncos are on a five-game win streak, the presumptive Pac-12 favorites, and their offense has spent more time on the field than anyone in the country. None of that matters in the second half. What matters is whether the Cougs can finish a drive and stop one. For more on how the team got here, check out our preview on Terrell saying run his way and Boise State will find out. It sets the table for what the second half has to deliver. Go Cougs.

Kirby Moore knows how to pronounce Boise, and how to beat them

Kirby Moore knows how to pronounce Boise. The Washington State coach spent his playing days at Boise State, so he's heard plenty of Idahoans correct the Z-sound newcomers reach for. Now he's bringing his Cougs, 1-6 and still searching for their first FBS win under him, against the No. 21 Broncos for homecoming. That's a full-circle moment that probably stings a little if you're competitive. The good news: Owen Eshelman looked like a different offense last week against Oregon State. Nearly 300 yards passing, two touchdowns through the air, one on the ground. The bad news: Boise State's rushing attack ranks eighth in the country, and the Broncos have a running back averaging 139 yards per game. WSU's defense is going to have to tackle, and tackle well, to give Eshelman a chance. The receiver room is thin. Tony Freeman is out for the year. Darrius Clemons is doubtful. That leaves Branden Ganashamoorthy, Daniel Blood, and Tank Hawkins carrying the load, with two guys who've barely played all season ready to spell them. It's not ideal against a ranked team. Mathematically, bowl eligibility is still possible. Realistically, it would take five straight wins. That's asking a lot from a team that hasn't shown it can string one together yet. But the quarterback change gave fans something to text about. If Eshelman repeats that performance, maybe the Cougs make it interesting.

The Pac-12 chaos bowl math for Cougs to sort

The math for the Cougs right now is quantum physics, and not the fun kind. Jon Wilner's latest bowl projections lay it out cold: Washington State needs five wins in five games just to get to six and be bowl-eligible. That's not a stretch run. That's a Hail Mary from your own end zone with no time left. The rest of the Pac-12 legacy schools are sorting through their own chaos. UCLA and Utah are undefeated, Oregon has two losses, and somehow Oregon State is a juggernaut with a path to the College Football Playoff. Five legacy schools are one win away from locking in a bowl. The other seven, including the Cougs, are doing calculus, trigonometry, and long division just to see if they can get to six wins. For Wazzu, the answer is probably no. Wilner suggests the Cougars should turn their attention to 2027, and he's not wrong. They've already flipped play-callers and quarterbacks. There aren't many cords left to pull. You can read more about one of those tough tests ahead in "Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yet." But here's the thing: even if the bowl math doesn't add up, you still show up on Saturday. You still yell. You still wear the flag. Because being a Coug was never about the math. Go Cougs.

Wazzu's hoop squad loads the bus for a Pac-12 road trip north

The Coug women's basketball team is loading the bus for a Pac-12 trip north. That means a cold bus, a colder gym in somebody else's town, and the kind of road test that tells you what a squad is really made of. This group has been steady all season. The rankings have noticed. If you missed it, we just checked in on where they sit nationally in "Coug Women Hold Steady at No. 13, Still Top of the West", worth a read if you like seeing Pullman on a map that people actually look at. That kind of respect doesn't come from beating up on the easy teams. It comes from showing up on the road, in the cold, and winning the kind of game that doesn't make SportsCenter but does make the other side of the Palouse feel a little smaller. Headed north is its own kind of test. The altitude changes. The crowd is hostile. The bus coffee is terrible. But this team has been locked in since fall, and they have the mid-pack finishes and the Hawai'i trip behind them as proof they can handle the miles. Go Cougs. Bring back a win from the north country.

Coug Women Hold Steady at No. 13, Still Top of the West

No. 13 in the country, and still the top-ranked program west of the Mississippi. That is where the Cougar women sit in the latest national poll, and it is a spot that feels earned. Not flashy, not lucky. Just steady. While other programs wobble and reshuffle, WSU's women's team keeps proving that consistency is its own kind of flex. There is no drama here, just results. Being the best in the West means something when the West includes Stanford, Oregon, and UCLA. It means Pullman is on the map for more than just football talk. If you want to dig into how the rest of Cougar sports is shaping up, Kirby Moore broke down Boise State week on the Cougar Football Hour. That is worth a listen. But for now, the women have given us a reason to hold the phone and just be proud. No asterisks. No caveats. Just a ranking that says what we already knew: this program is built right. Go Cougs.

Khamari Terrell tackles like he's the only one on the field

Khamari Terrell slaps himself on the helmet after a tackle. Once. Twice. Then he gets back up and does it again. That's the kind of focus a cornerback needs when Boise State rolls into town with the nation's second-best rusher, Dylan Riley, averaging 139 yards per game. The Broncos rank ninth in the country as a team on the ground. That's a problem for a WSU defense that just gave up 48 points to Oregon State and missed 18 tackles in the process. But here's the thing: the Cougars have actually tackled pretty well this season overall. PFF gives them a 61.4 grade, which is 93rd nationally and fifth in the Pac-12. Not elite, but a real step up from where this program has been. Jake Dickert's 2024 team finished fifth-to-last in tackling grades. Jimmy Rogers' 2025 squad finished dead last. So credit to defensive coordinator Trent Bray, cornerbacks coach Brandyn Thompson, and the rest of the staff for getting this group to wrap up. Terrell himself has only missed three tackles on 339 snaps. Keith Brown, the veteran linebacker, has missed six on 418 snaps. Redshirt freshman nickel Jamarey Smith has missed exactly one. The Cougs have been solid up the middle, too, with guys like Leaupepetele and Kaden Beatty stacking runs. The problem is on the edges, where Oregon State gashed them.

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.

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.

Boise State comes to Pullman for the first time since 2017

The last time Boise State came to Pullman, Tyler Hilinski came off the bench and won it in triple overtime. That was 2017. This Saturday, the Broncos are back at Gesa Field, ranked No. 21, and WSU is still looking for its first FBS win of the season. The Cougs are 14-point underdogs. That feels about right. Boise State has won five straight since losing to Oregon, and running back Dylan Riley is averaging 139 yards per game. Quarterback Maddux Madsen has thrown 13 touchdowns and zero picks. Zero. That offense is a machine, and WSU's defense just gave up 347 passing yards to Oregon State. But there was something to like last week. Owen Eshelman got his first start and looked like a different offense. 32 of 49, 289 yards, two touchdowns, and 136 rushing yards. The running backs? Still stuck in neutral, 26 yards on 13 carries. Moore said it starts up front, and he's right. This is also a full-circle game for Kirby Moore, who played at Boise State and built the coaching connections he uses now. You can read more about what worked for him after the Oregon State win in our piece "Kirby Moore breaks down what worked after the win over Oregon State." It's a long shot. But it's Pullman, and it's Boise State, and that 2017 game still echoes. Go Cougs.

Kirby Moore finally had something to say, and it wasn't about a tie

Kirby Moore finally looked like he had something to say, and it wasn't about a tie. After WSU's 48-30 loss to Oregon State, the head coach showed up to the postgame microphone visibly frustrated, animated, and far more fired up than we've seen all season. For a guy who usually sounds like he just finished a scrimmage, this was a real shift. He benched Pinnick, started Owen Eshelman, and the offense finally looked alive. Eshelman completed 32 of 49 passes for 289 yards and ran for 136 more, the second-most rushing yards by a WSU quarterback in program history. If you didn't know it was his first start, you'd have called your buddy a liar. Moore also punted on fourth-and-short from midfield twice, both times leading to long OSU touchdowns. He defended the calls after the game, saying he has confidence in the defense. That's the right thing to say to the room. But you can tell he's learning. The Cougs are 1-6 and this season is basically a lost cause. But Eshelman changes the look of the rest of the schedule. They might not beat Boise State next weekend, but San Diego State and Colorado State suddenly feel different. Moore took too long to make this call. That's fair to say. But he made it, and that matters. For more on the bright spots from that game, check out our piece on Eshelman and Branden Ganashamoorthy making the scoreboard hurt a little less. Go Cougs.

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.

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.

Eshelman walked in asking why, and WSU coaches took notice

Cougs get their tip times for Pac-12 women's hoops slate

Tip times are out. That means we can finally start planning our February weekends around the Beasley Coliseum instead of pretending we'll get anything done on a Saturday afternoon. The Pac-12 women's hoops slate is here, and the Cougs have actual times to circle. No more guessing. No more refreshing the conference site like it's a job. We know when to show up. The schedule itself is what it is. Conference play is always a grind, and the Pac-12 is not going to hand anyone an easy path. But there's something about having the tip times locked in that makes it real. You can look at a Tuesday night in January and know exactly where you'll be. That's the stuff. That's the rhythm of a season. And sure, we've been through a lot lately. The Beavers and Cougs made their rivalry official, which still feels like the right kind of weird. There's also been plenty of talk about the new Pac-12 and who's rising while others slide. That's all fair. But for now, this is about the women's team and the road ahead. They've got a slate. We've got a calendar. The rest will sort itself out on the court. So mark the dates. Set the reminders. Grab the crew. Cougar basketball is coming back, and we know exactly when to be there. Go Cougs.

The Rock Is Real WSU and OSU Make Their Rivalry Official

Noah Dunham looked confused when a reporter asked about the rivalry rock. That's fair. A 50-pound, two-part rock formation, half basalt and half granite, isn't the first thing you expect to play for on Saturday. But it's real. It's here. And it might be the most fitting trophy two schools could have. The rock comes from Biggs Junction, a spot halfway between Corvallis and Pullman. It's made from Missoula flood erratics, boulders carried by the same ancient floods that shaped the land under both campuses. A WSU grad named Jesse Lyon came up with the idea while sitting on his porch, thinking about what ties the Cougs and Beavs together. He landed on the floods. Then he landed on the rock. There's something right about this. The trophy isn't official yet. It won't get hoisted at midfield. It'll live in the winner's alumni association building. But it was made by an OSU geologist who isn't even a football fan, using rocks from the ground both schools share. That's not forced. That's earned. Keith Brown hadn't heard about it either. Once he did, he smiled and said what every Coug is thinking: "Let's go win the rock." For a deeper look at where these two schools stand now, read *"It hurts: Beavers rising while Cougs slide in the new Pac-12."* 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.

TV tip times locked in for Pac-12 men's hoops slate

TV tip times are locked in for Pac-12 men's hoops, and that means you can finally plan your winter Saturdays around something other than shoveling the walk. The conference released the full broadcast schedule, so now we know exactly when the Cougs will tip off against the league. No more guessing. No more refreshing your phone at the bar. You can set your DVR or, if you're old school, write it on the calendar magnet you still have from that Pullman insurance agency. Look, the Pac-12 isn't what it used to be. We know. But this is still the league we grew up on, and these are still the games that matter when you're checking scores from a coffee shop in Seattle or a living room in Spokane. The Cougs will get their share of windows. Some early. Some late. All of them worth staying up for, even if you have to explain to your coworkers why you're dragging on Monday. If you're hungry for more than tip times, we've got you. Read "Pinnick, Pulalasi, Leaupepetele: Three Cougs, One Postgame Story" for a look at what happens after the final buzzer. It's the kind of thing you won't find anywhere else. So mark the dates. Get your snacks ready. And remember, when the ball goes up, we're all still in Pullman, even if the wheat fields are a thousand miles away. Go Cougs.

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.

Oh look, WSU football found the cellar and the lights are off

The Pac-12 power rankings are out, and WSU football is sitting at the bottom. Dead last. Number eight. The Cougs lost to Utah State 17-16, dropping to 1-5 on the season, and the Hotline's take is brutal: "destined for a 2-10 season." Readers asked where the second win comes from, and the answer was basically, maybe they stumble into another one. Ouch. That's the kind of week it was. Meanwhile, Boise State handled Fresno State 38-31 with a 13-play, all-run drive that was pure Boise grit. Oregon State wiped San Diego State 66-14. The conference is moving on without us. The real story in this week's rankings isn't just the order, it's the math. The Pac-12's path to the College Football Playoff runs through the Group of Six. Boise State is the only team in the conference that can clear the 12-1 bar. The rest of us are just trying to figure out if two losses becomes the threshold by December. For WSU, that's a long way off. First, they've got to find a second win. Kirby Moore is making a change at quarterback, with Owen Eshelman getting the start against Oregon State. If you want the full breakdown on that, check our piece on the QB switch. The Cougs head to Corvallis still searching for their first win of the season. It's not pretty, but it's where we are. Go Cougs.