pass rush
pass rush at Wazzu is a file of 5 stories. The newest of them: “Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yet”, “WSU's secondary gets its biggest test of the season against OSU's Legree”, and “Cougs jump Arizona early, then watch a 14-point lead dissolve”. All season, Washington State's defense has been a little tricky to parse. Jesse Legree has not been held under 100 receiving yards once this fall. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every pass rush story on Wazzu, newest first.
Boise State's offense is the test WSU's D hasn't passed yet
All season, Washington State's defense has been a little tricky to parse. On one hand, the Cougars have excelled in tough spots, jumping into action after short fields thanks to offensive turnovers. The pass rush has been above average. So has the tackling. But when you're playing No. 21 Boise State, above average won't fly. That's why we're picking WSU to fall Saturday afternoon in Pullman. The Cougars are tasked with doing something only Oregon has done this season: slow down tailbacks Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines. Riley ranks second in the country with 139 rushing yards per game. Gaines has cleared the century mark in each of his last two. Complicating matters is Boise State's average time of possession: 36 minutes, which leads the entire country. That puts serious strain on the defense, especially if the offense commits a turnover. New quarterback Owen Eshelman did well to avoid that in meaningful settings last weekend in his first start. It's a lot to ask out of this WSU team, and there's no shame in losing to this Boise State squad. But the Cougars will have to look elsewhere for their first FBS win of the season. Final score: Boise State 30, WSU 20. If you need a break from the defensive math, go check out how Kamie Ethridge and the Cougs broke down 2026 WBB at Media Day. That squad is still the top of the West, and it's a better kind of stress. 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.
Cougs jump Arizona early, then watch a 14-point lead dissolve
That first drive was a thing of beauty. Ten plays, 71 yards, Caden Pinnick walking in from 11 yards out. Then Jackquintin Bal picks one off and takes it to the house. 14-0 against a former Pac-12 bully, and Gesa Field was rocking. Felt like the old days. Then the engine stalled. The Cougs' offense went quiet for three quarters. Twenty-two net yards on 20 plays in the second half before a prayer answered on fourth-and-10. Branden Ganashamoorthy hauled in a 46-yard touchdown to make it 31-24, and for a second, you thought maybe. Credit the defense. They held Noah Fifita to a season-low completion rate. They stuffed runs, blocked a field goal, kept the game close while the offense was in a coma. But you can only ask a defense to hold for so long. Arizona scored on its last four drives. The Cougs ran out of gas. It's frustrating because the potential is there. You saw it on that first drive. The question is whether this offense can sustain it. Kirby Moore has some work to do. For deeper thoughts on where the offense is at, check out *"Moore's offense showed some pulse, but the Cougs still left plays on the field."* But here's the thing: we need more of these games. Arizona coming to Pullman, a real fight, a crowd that cared. It felt like a game that mattered. The Cougs are still competing with the big boys. They just need to learn how to finish.
Moore puts it plain after Cougs let early lead slip in Pullman
Kirby Moore sat down at the podium Saturday night and didn't waste words. "This should hurt," he said. He was right. The Cougs took an early two-score lead against Arizona, then watched it disappear in the second half, losing 34-24. That's now 1-3 in Moore's debut season, and the problems are starting to stack up. Caden Pinnick played OK on short throws, 85% completion inside 9 yards, but he's up to five turnovers, and they keep coming when he tries to do too much. The running backs are averaging 3.38 yards per carry against FBS teams, which isn't going to scare anyone. Special teams gave up a 39-yard punt return and another missed field goal, even if that one wasn't the kicker's fault. And for the second straight week, the coaching staff botched an end-of-half situation, letting 40 seconds burn off the clock before calling a timeout. That's the kind of stuff that loses games you should win. There were bright spots. Linus Zunk finally got his first sack and is grading out well. Punter Max Dean is 14th in the country. But the Cougs need more than that. Next week Fresno State comes to town. That's the start of Pac-12 play, and it's where we start to find out what this team really is. If you want a deeper look at that matchup, check out our piece on Moore facing his old team as a new era begins. For now, this one should hurt. It did. Go Cougs.
Another Late Night Letdown as Cougs Can't Finish the Job at Gesa
That 14-0 lead felt like something, didn't it? Caden Pinnick punched one in on the ground, then Jackquintin Ball jumped a route and took it to the house. Gesa was loud. The old ghosts were stirring. Then Arizona remembered it had Noah Fifita and Tre Spivey, and the whole thing flipped. The Cougs hung around. Pinnick found Branden Ganashamoorthy for a 46-yard score late, cutting it to seven with seven minutes left. That's the part that stings. The defense got a stop, then couldn't push Arizona out of field goal range. Michael Salgado-Medina drilled a 51-yarder with two minutes left, and that was that. 34-24. This was the best effort of the year, which tells you where the bar is. Pinnick is now up to five turnovers in four games. The offensive line gave up three more sacks. The run game still isn't there. The secondary got torched for seven passes of 15-plus yards. All of that adds up to 1-3 and a lot of the same questions. The good news? Pac-12 play starts next week against Fresno State. First meeting in Pullman since 1994. The bad news is the same problems keep showing up. If you want to dig into how the offense left plays on the field, our story on Moore's unit has the details. Go Cougs.