Washington State Cougars
Washington State Cougars at Wazzu is a file of 109 stories. The newest of them: “Trey Leckner's foot healed. His impact on the Cougs didn't miss a beat”, “SDSU has the edge, but Leach's ghost still haunts the matchup”, and “Why Matyus McLain is all smiles with WSU at 1-7”. Trey Leckner's foot finally healed, and somehow the Cougs' offense didn't lose a step without him. The Hotline turned college coaches into Halloween candy, and we're still deciding if Kirby Moore as a Butterfinger is a compliment or a warning. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Washington State Cougars story on Wazzu, newest first.
Trey Leckner's foot healed. His impact on the Cougs didn't miss a beat
Trey Leckner's foot finally healed, and somehow the Cougs' offense didn't lose a step without him. That's not a compliment to the offense. Washington State still can't run the ball, still can't block for the quarterback, and ranks 135th out of 138 FBS teams in points per drive. But Leckner himself? He's been a bright spot in a dark season. He missed almost a full calendar year, spring ball, summer workouts, fall camp, the first month of games, with a broken foot that wouldn't stay fixed. When he finally returned in October, he picked up right where he left off. Twelve catches on 13 targets. Zero drops. A reliable pair of hands for a freshman quarterback who needed them. On a critical fourth-and-short against Boise State, Leckner sold the defense on a fake, caught a quick pass, and fell forward for the first down. The Cougs scored a few plays later. That's the kind of detail you have to latch onto when the big picture is this ugly. Leckner isn't a bruiser at 6-3, 243 pounds. He's a finesse tight end in a program that didn't even use them under Mike Leach. He's also a Swiss Army knife who blocks well in pass protection and runs routes like a receiver. He's not the reason the Cougs are losing. He might be one of the only reasons they're still competitive.
SDSU has the edge, but Leach's ghost still haunts the matchup
The Hotline turned college coaches into Halloween candy, and we're still deciding if Kirby Moore as a Butterfinger is a compliment or a warning. We aren't sure what to make of it either. But the real treat this week is Cougs at SDSU, and the betting line says the Aztecs have the edge by 2.5 points. The Hotline agrees, picking San Diego State. They note the Aztecs have been solid at home, while the Cougs have been awful everywhere. That stings. But it's honest. If you want a deeper look at how this team is shaping up on the road, check out our piece on Coach Schroeder breaking down the road ahead for Cougar volleyball. It's not the same roster, but the travel grind is real. The rest of the picks are a mixed bag. The Hotline is high on Arizona over Texas Tech, which feels right. They also picked Washington to cover against Nebraska, which feels like a prayer. And they have Oregon State as the five-star special, which is a nice nod to the old Pac-12 blood. The record is 50-46-3. That's not great, but it's honest. And honesty is better than a press release. Go Cougs.
Why Matyus McLain is all smiles with WSU at 1-7
Matyus McLain is sitting at 1-7 and grinning like he just sacked the quarterback. That's not normal. But McLain isn't normal, and his backstory explains why. The guy went 2-29 in four years at Priest River High School in Idaho. Two wins. Total. So when he says "I've lost before. It happens," he means it. He's been through worse. Here's the part that stings for Cougs: McLain is third in the Pac-12 in quarterback pressures. Third. He's beating his guy. He just can't finish. He has one sack. One. Across all of college football, 71 players have at least 20 pressures. Only five have one sack or fewer. McLain is one of them. That's not a knock on him. That's a team-wide problem. WSU has eight sacks as a squad. That's 130th out of 138 FBS teams. The defense is generating pressure but can't turn it into sacks or turnovers. The Cougs have dropped six interceptions, tied for most in the country. McLain's attitude is the story here. He's not faking it. He's been through 0-8 seasons. He knows what quitting looks like and he's not doing it. Neither is nickelback Jamarey Smith, who dropped three picks but says the same thing: keep taking your shot. If you want more on that mindset, our piece on Trey Leckner, "Why one Coug keeps catching passes through a 1-7 season," covers a similar thread. This season stinks.
Why one Coug keeps catching passes through a 1-7 season
Trey Leckner has 12 catches for 98 yards this season. That matters because he missed the first four games, and because the Cougs are 1-7. Most guys would check out. Leckner is not most guys. He redshirted in 2023, started climbing in 2024, and earned the starting tight end job in 2025. Then he got hurt. Now he's back, catching fourth-down conversions against Boise State, and talking about playing for the seniors. That's the part that hits. This team has 14 seniors. Keith Brown has played 482 snaps this season, 12th most among all linebackers in the country. He's playing his sixth year. Matyus McLain and Jamarey Smith both said the same thing Monday: they're playing for those guys. Not for a bowl game. Not for the noise outside the building. For each other. The Cougs have lost five straight since beating Duquesne. They've switched quarterbacks. They've switched play-callers. None of it has fixed the scoreboard. But Leckner says the will to win is still there, and that building momentum for next year matters. That's a hard thing to sell in a 1-7 season. But watching Leckner run routes like he's got something to prove, it's easier to believe. If you want the full picture of where this team's head is at, read our preview of the San Diego State trip: "Five-game skid meets the road: Cougs chase first FBS win at SDSU." It sets the table for what comes next. Go Cougs.
Five-game skid meets the road: Cougs chase first FBS win at SDSU
Five straight losses. That's the weight the Cougs are carrying into San Diego on Saturday. WSU hasn't beaten an FBS team all season, and after a 31-10 loss to Boise State where they tied the game through three quarters only to watch it fall apart in the fourth, the frustration is real. Owen Eshelman is still settling in as the starter, but the offense around him isn't helping. The running game is basically nonexistent, 53 yards on 33 carries against Boise, and the offensive line is getting beat on stunts and push. Kirby Moore didn't sugarcoat it: they weren't good enough up front. San Diego State isn't exactly rolling either. They've lost two of three, their defense ranks near the bottom of the entire FBS, and they're on their backup quarterback after an injury. Stone Saunders can throw, 369 yards in his first start, but he's not running anywhere. The Aztecs give up yards and points in bunches. That should be an opening for a Coug offense that desperately needs one. This is the third road game in four weeks for WSU, and the bye is next week. A win here changes the conversation. A loss makes that five-game skid feel a lot heavier. For more on who might be missing from the lineup, check out our update on Clemons and Bernard being day-to-day after the Boise loss. Go Cougs.
We Showed Up, They Showed Out: Cougs Top UW 84-80 in Exhibition
Seven thousand and eleven people showed up to watch a basketball game that doesn't count, and it counted for everything. The Cougs beat UW 84-80 in an exhibition at Alaska Airlines Arena, and if you think that doesn't mean something, you weren't there. This is the first time since 1917 these two teams won't play in the regular season, but the Cougars got their shot anyway and took it. They trailed by ten in the first half. Then they trailed by seven in the second. Then Ronnie Harrison, a senior transfer from East Texas A&M, went back-to-back on a tip-in and a dunk, broke a tie with five minutes left, and finished the night with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked LeJuan Watts' game-tying three-pointer with six seconds left. That's the kind of ending you don't script. This is a brand-new roster. Transfers from Central Missouri, Oregon, Providence, Eastern Washington, guys who had to learn each other's names a few months ago. After a 28-point loss at New Mexico last week, this win says something about the kind of fight this team has. The Apple Cup rivalry isn't what it used to be, and our story on that, "Hoop dreams are fading, and the Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight", digs into why that matters. But for one Sunday in Seattle, the Cougs showed up, and they showed out. Go Cougs.
Hoop dreams are fading, and the Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight
The Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight, and not even Isaiah Thomas hanging from the rafters could save them. Washington State went into Seattle and walked out with an 84-80 exhibition win, which is nice, but the whole thing felt a little hollow. This used to mean something. Three hundred and one games between these two schools, one of the oldest series in college hoops, and now it's an exhibition that might not even happen again. Thomas tried to explain the rivalry to a UW roster full of fresh faces from outside the state. His logic was simple: if they win, they get it. If they lose, they don't. They lost. The Cougars took control with a 13-2 run in the second half, capped by an alley-oop dunk from Ronnie Harrison. Wazzu's own LeJuan Watts, who has now lost to his former team twice, summed it up best: there's no little brother thing at Washington. The underdog drive lives on the other side. But here's the part that stings. WSU coach David Riley is begging for a real game next year, and UW coach Danny Sprinkle is politely saying his Big Ten schedule is too tough. The Cougars are hitting the road against High Point and Duquesne while the future of the Apple Cup sits in someone else's hands. That August Apple Cup in Pullman next year sounds great, but the bigger question is whether this series survives the conference realignment mess at all. Go Cougs.
August Apple Cup: Pullman Gets the Rivalry in Prime Palouse Heat
August Apple Cup. Say it a few times. It'll grow on you, or it won't, but it's happening. The 2027 Apple Cup is moving to Aug. 28 in Pullman. That's the first time in 118 years this rivalry gets played in August. Prime Palouse heat. The move pushes the game up from its traditional mid-September slot. WSU and UW agreed to it, and the press release landed Monday. The Cougs get a bye week out of it in Week 4 of the season, which is a nice little scheduling cushion. The 2027 game is the fourth of a five-year extension the sides hammered out in 2023, back when the Pac-12 was still smoldering. The 2028 game in Seattle is the last one under contract. After that? Who knows. The Huskies have the all-time edge, 78-34-6, and they took this year's game 24-10 in Seattle. That stings. But an August kickoff in Pullman changes the whole feel. It's hot, it's harvest season, and the Palouse is doing what it does best. If you're making the trip, pack sunscreen and a cooler. For more on where this team is headed, check out our look at the Cougs chasing their first FBS win at SDSU. The road doesn't get easier, but it gets earlier. Go Cougs.
Clemons and Bernard day-to-day after Boise loss, SDSU ahead
Two starters are day-to-day, and that's about the best news the Cougs got this week. Darrius Clemons (ankle) and Jeremiah Bernard (shoulder) will both try to practice ahead of San Diego State, but after a 31-10 loss to Boise State where WSU missed 16 tackles and ran the ball 10 times for 20 yards, "day-to-day" feels like a coin flip. Kirby Moore is talking about exploring changes on the offensive line, which let Boise State's Dylan Riley run for 33 and 72 yards in the fourth quarter alone. That's the kind of fourth quarter that ends a game and a hope of bowl eligibility. The math is ugly: 1-7 overall, 0-4 in Pac-12 play, and the program's streak of bowl eligibility in nine of the last 10 full seasons is almost certainly over unless they win out *and* hit a 930 Academic Progress Rate. That's a lot of ifs. What stings is how thin the roster is. Branden Ganashamoorthy, Daniel Blood, and Tank Hawkins played every offensive snap against Boise. No rotation. No relief. Moore wants "deliberate practice" and fewer assignment errors, but at some point, guys just need a break. The Cougs have four players with 500-plus snaps this season, one of only two Pac-12 teams that can say that. That's not a badge of honor; it's a warning light. For a deeper look at how this team is holding up, read our piece on the kratom study. Different kind of pain, same Pullman fight. Go Cougs.
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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.
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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.
Eshelman's arm was fine, but the O-line left a hole WSU couldn't fill
You can point fingers a lot of directions after a loss like Saturday's. Eshelman's arm was fine. The pick wasn't great, but it wasn't the problem. The problem was in front of him. Boise State ran the same stunt three times, and the O-line couldn't stop it. Three times. That's not bad luck. That's a pattern. The numbers are ugly. Eshelman was pressured on 22 of his dropbacks. The running backs combined for 20 yards on 10 carries. Nationally, the run-blocking grade sits at 129 out of 138. Three of the five linemen were recruited for an Air Raid system that doesn't ask for this kind of work. It shows. Kirby Moore is calling plays now. Eshelman is in at QB. The results haven't changed. The common denominator is the guys up front, and it has been all season. The margin was already thin. This game, it was gone before halftime. If you want a moment of good news from the weekend, go check out the story on John Olerud getting his bronze spot outside the stadium. That one's worth your time. This one just hurts. Go Cougs.
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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.
Terrell says run his way and Boise State will find out
Khamari Terrell said something this week that every Coug with a working set of ears should have sat up straight to hear. He basically told Boise State they can run his way if they want, but they're not going to like what they find. That's the kind of talk we like around here, because it means he gets the assignment. And the assignment is simple: wrap up Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines, or this Saturday gets long fast. The Cougs missed 18 tackles last weekend against Oregon State. You don't do that against a team that leads the country in time of possession and expect to win. Boise State's offense has been on the field 220 minutes this season, which is tops in the nation. That's not an accident. That's a plan. They want to wear you out, and then let Riley and Gaines bounce it outside where they're averaging nearly five yards a carry. Here's what I'm watching: the secondary. Jalil Tucker, Jaylen Thomas, Jeremiah Bernard, those are the names that matter. Thomas leads the team in missed tackles. Bernard is right behind him. Some of that is just volume, but against this backfield, volume is no excuse. The Cougs have been good up the middle all year. If that holds, the Broncos will have to test the edges. That's where Terrell and company get their chance to prove him right.
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.
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.
The History Before the Hype: Seven Meetings Set for a New Era
Seven meetings. That's all the history we've got between Wazzu and Boise State before Saturday. And what a weird, wonderful history it is. The Cougs own a 5-2 record in the series, but the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story. There's the 58-0 beatdown in 1997, when Ryan Leaf was still a Rose Bowl-bound legend and Rian Lindell drilled a 57-yard field goal just because he could. There's the 2017 triple-overtime thriller, where Tyler Hilinski came off the bench and gave us one of the most electric nights in Martin Stadium history. That win means more now than it did then. But this weekend isn't just about the past. It's Kirby Moore's first time coaching against the program he played for. It's Owen Eshelman's first home start. It's the first time these two meet as conference foes, which still sounds weird to type. The Broncos are ranked, and Ashton Jeanty isn't walking through that door again, but their program doesn't rebuild, it reloads. This is the kind of week that reminds you why you stayed a Coug. The history is real. The stakes are real. And if you want to dig deeper into where this program is headed, our piece on Kamie Ethridge and the Cougs breaking down 2026 WBB at Media Day is a good reminder that the future isn't just about football. 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.
Owen Eshelman Puts Up 30 Points in a Loss and the Cougs Finally Have a QB
Owen Eshelman threw for 30 points in a loss, and for the first time this season, the Cougs looked like they actually had a quarterback. That's the headline. The box score says 48-30, another L, another week without a win. But anyone who watched saw something different. Eshelman pushed the ball downfield. He threw 16 passes at least 10 yards, hit six of them, and one went for a 40-yard touchdown to Branden Ganashamoorthy. That's the kind of throw Caden Pinnick simply wasn't making. Pinnick, for context, attempted fewer than 20 passes of 20-plus yards all season. Eshelman tried that in one game. He also moved in the pocket like he belonged there. Pinnick leads the nation in QB-fault sacks. Eshelman took one. He scrambled for 22, 41, and 20 yards, including a touchdown run. He started 0-for-3, which would have buried Pinnick for the rest of the afternoon. Eshelman went 8-for-10 on his next passes. He didn't let a slow start define him. Kirby Moore made the right call switching QBs. The only question is why it took this long. The Cougs are 12.5-point dogs against Boise State for homecoming. That's fair. But with Eshelman, the offense has a pulse it didn't have before. If you want to dig deeper on how the defense is holding up, check out our piece on Khamari Terrell, who tackles like he's the only one on the field. Go Cougs.
Boise State week hits a snag as Tripp and Clemons hobble in
Ashton Tripp is day-to-day with an ankle. Darrius Clemons is on crutches. And Boise State rolls into town this weekend ranked 21st in the country. That's not ideal. The offense was starting to look like something. Owen Eshelman put up 289 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon State, and the run game finally had some teeth. But now the left tackle who's held that spot since 2023 might not be available, and Clemons, 20 catches, 218 yards, seven starts, is getting his ankle evaluated. Kirby Moore said depth at receiver is thin already after Tony Freeman's ACL in the Apple Cup. So if Clemons is out, you're looking at Daniel Blood, Tank Hawkins, and Branden Ganashamoorthy to carry the load. Ganashamoorthy just posted career highs last weekend, so maybe that's something. On the other side, the defense might actually get some help. Malachi Wrice and Michael Hughes are expected to play full speed. Hughes got 30 snaps back against Oregon State after missing five games. Wrice hasn't played since Week 2. If those two can spell McLain and Zunk, that's a real boost. Moore also put to rest any talk about NIL deciding playing time. Said the best players play. That came up after the decision to bench Caden Pinnick for Eshelman. Moore said Eshelman had turnover issues in camp but kept preparing like a starter. He's grown. We saw it Saturday.
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Lobos run wild as Cougs get smoked 92-64 in Albuquerque exhibition
The Lobos ran wild in The Pit on Sunday, and there's no polite way to say it: the Cougs got smoked 92-64. That's not a scrimmage score. That's a statement. New Mexico's Jake Hall, the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, put up 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and made it look easy. The Lobos started with an 8-2 run, then buried WSU with a 16-0 surge in the first half. By midway through the second, the Cougs were down 42 points. That's not a bad afternoon. That's a fire drill. Uriah Tennette hit a three to open the game, and Ronnie Harrison answered with a layup to make it 3-2. That was the last time it felt close. The Lobos went on a 16-point tear in four minutes, and WSU never recovered. Isaiah Watts? Not in the box score we have here. The bright spots: Nate Houston led the Cougs with 14 points and two assists. Harrison added 12 points, four boards, and four assists. But that's cold comfort when you trail 80-38 at one point. It's an exhibition. That matters. But it's also The Pit, and the Lobos looked like a team that knows who it is. The Cougs looked like a team still figuring that out. If you want a better taste of where this program is headed, check out our piece on Owen Eshelman's first start giving Wazzu its best FBS offense yet. That's the kind of story that reminds you what's possible. This one?