At the halfway point of the 2026 college football season, the Pac-12 has a clear front edge: No. 23 Boise State and Oregon State have pulled away from everybody else.
Boise State got there with a gritty 38-31 road win at Fresno State last Saturday. Oregon State followed by steamrolling San Diego State 66-14 at home. Those two programs now sit above the rest of the league, and their Nov. 14 meeting at Albertsons Stadium carries major weight - it could decide home field advantage for the Pac-12 championship game.
Boise State’s win was its best offensive showing of the year, and it came against one of the conference’s better defenses. Dylan Riley continues to drive the Broncos’ attack as the nation’s leading rusher, sitting at 127 carries for 835 yards and six touchdowns.
Oregon State, meanwhile, has turned its offense into a national talking point, but the Beavers have also quietly built the Pac-12’s best defense by yardage, allowing just 326.3 yards per game. That number may tighten up even more this week, with a matchup coming against one of the nation’s weakest offenses.
Fresno State took the loss to Boise State in a game where the Bulldogs fought but couldn’t get the stops they needed late. Their run game also wasn’t the same without Rayshon Luke, though he could be back this week.
The middle of the league is a mess of teams trying to find some traction. The Bobcats have a stretch of two home games they can win before heading into back-to-back road trips to Boise State and Oregon State. Colorado State gets a well-timed bye after that, and the break may help in more ways than one: quarterback Hauss Hejny could be back, and Jim Mora also got time to rework the defense after the firing of defensive coordinator Tyson Summers.
Utah State picked up a 17-16 home win over Washington State on Friday, and the result only reinforced what the standings already suggest: the bottom of the Pac-12 is ugly. In that kind of crowd, the Aggies have at least looked like the most competent team.
San Diego State’s situation has turned far more uneasy after the 66-14 loss at Oregon State. The source of that collapse was pointed: the Aztecs may have quit on head coach Sean Lewis during the blowout, and Saturday’s game will show whether there’s anything left in the tank.
Washington State remains at the bottom until Kirby Moore makes a change at quarterback, with Caden Pinnick still the starter after the Cougars’ 17-16 loss at Utah State. The next chance for a response comes Saturday at Oregon State.
In Other News...
Washington State Just Made The Change Its Offense Desperately Needed
Washington State is making a quarterback change heading into its next game, with head coach Kirby Moore turning to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman after reviewing the recent film and weighing Caden Pinnicks uneven play. The move signals a clear attempt to shake the offense out of its current rhythm, and it puts Eshelman in position to make his collegiate starting debut against Oregon State.
For the Cougars, the timing matters because the offense has been searching for steadier execution, and the latest stretch of inconsistency left the staff looking for a different answer. Eshelman now gets the first crack at settling things down, while Pinnick steps aside after handling the job for the opening stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Washington States Quarterback Search May Already Be Looking To 2027
Washington States quarterback picture has already become one of the more pressing storyline to watch, and not just because of the struggles around the current starter, Caden Pinnick. With the Cougars taking a hard look at what comes next, the conversation has widened beyond the present season and into future roster planning, where every viable arm matters and every possible bridge to stability is worth tracking.
One name that fits that broader search is Joshua Wood, whose production at the FCS level has kept him on the radar as a potential long-term answer. Wood has shown enough in his current stop to make him an intriguing option if Washington State is thinking beyond immediate fixes, and his path back toward major-college football makes him a player worth monitoring as the Cougars sort through what their quarterback room could look like in the seasons ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Caden Pinnick Owned The Cougs Problem Fans Are Fed Up With
Washington States latest one-point loss only sharpened the questions around an offense that has had trouble sustaining anything close to consistency, and Caden Pinnick stepped forward afterward to own the problem. After the 17-16 defeat to Utah State, the Cougars quarterback said the unit has to be better about how it works during the week and how it carries itself once games move past the opening stages, pointing to practice habits and a second-half approach that have not matched the level Washington State needs.
Pinnick also addressed the noise that follows any rough stretch, including the criticism that can pile up on social media, but he made clear he is leaning on the people around him rather than getting pulled in by it. For Washington State, the larger issue is no longer just one frustrating result. It is whether the offense can turn the self-assessment into actual progress before another close game slips away. [Read more 🡒]