No. 20 Boise State spent three quarters looking ready to surrender its grip on the top spot in the Pac-12 power rankings. Then the Broncos flipped the switch in a hurry.
Down in Pullman on Saturday, Boise State erased Washington State with 21 straight points and rolled to a 31-10 road win. The Broncos improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in league play, while the Cougars fell to 1-7 and 0-4.
Boise State is now tied with Oregon State for first place in the Pac-12 standings. The Beavers are 5-2 and also 3-0 after a bye week, and the two teams are set to meet at Albertsons Stadium on Nov. 14.
The Broncos’ finish was the difference. They wore Washington State down by the fourth quarter and piled up 258 rushing yards on 37 carries. On the other side, Boise State’s defense turned in one of its strongest performances of the year against Cougars quarterback Owen Eshelman.
Oregon State’s idle week brought a different kind of momentum. Jesse Legree, the nation’s leading receiver, re-signed with the Beavers for next season, keeping one of the country’s top quarterback-receiver pairings intact. Legree and Braden Atkinson have been one of the best duos in the nation this season.
The rest of the league has plenty of questions, starting with Fresno State. The Bulldogs, once viewed as a preseason Pac-12 dark horse, have dropped two straight and now host Oregon State on Saturday at 9 p.m. on USA Network. The source material calls this the moment for Fresno State to prove it.
Texas State, meanwhile, keeps hanging around in the standings despite a messy offensive showing in a 20-17 win over Utah State. The Bobcats would be 3-0 in Pac-12 play without their collapse at San Diego State, and the next two weeks will be a major test with road trips to Boise and Corvallis.
Colorado State sits in a different kind of spot entirely. The Rams came out of a 56-49 win over San Diego State, and the offense is clearly dangerous, but the defense is still giving up big plays in bunches.
San Diego State’s loss in that shootout was another rough one. Stone Saunders performed well in his first career start, but the Aztecs’ defense has taken a serious step back since defensive coordinator Rob Aurich left for Nebraska last December.
Utah State also came up short, falling 20-17 at Texas State after a strong defensive effort that didn’t get much help from Javen Jacobs and the run game. The Aggies return home to face Colorado State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on USA Network.
At the bottom, Washington State is still searching for answers after the loss to Boise State. The Cougars cannot block or catch, and that has made it tough to keep an offense on the field or give the defense any relief. They’ll travel to San Diego State on Saturday at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
In Other News...
Washington State Still Has One Big Problem Heading Into Week 9
Washington State heads into Week 9 still searching for its first Pac-12 win of the season, and the latest stretch has only sharpened the focus on what first-year coach Kirby Moore wants to see from his team. As the Cougars turn their attention to San Diego State, the conversation around the program is less about style points and more about putting together a cleaner, more complete effort after a run of uneven results.
Moore has kept the emphasis on getting the Cougars to play a full game, which has become the central measuring stick as they try to steady themselves. The matchup also brings a familiar backdrop, since Washington State and San Diego State have met in each of the last three seasons, with the Cougars winning the past two, but this years trip comes with WSU installed as a slight underdog and still carrying the weight of that conference skid. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Suddenly Has Two More Problems It Cant Afford
Washington State left its matchup with Boise State still searching for traction in FBS play, and now Kirby Moore is dealing with a pair of injuries that only add to the pressure. Wide receiver Darrius Clemons and safety Jeremiah Bernard both missed the game and are listed as day-to-day, leaving the Cougars with a couple more lineup questions as they try to steady a season that has yet to produce a league breakthrough.
The bigger concern may be what happened up front. Moore said the Cougars are weighing changes along the offensive line after the unit gave up 16 pressures and two sacks against Boise State, a reminder that the problems on both sides of the ball are starting to stack up. With Washington State still winless against FBS competition, even small fixes now carry outsized importance. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Just Found Something Real In A Rivalry Win
An exhibition win over Washington is never just another tune-up for Washington State, even if the result wont go in the regular-season standings. David Riley treated the 84-80 victory as more than a November checkpoint, pointing to how valuable a game like that can be for shaping the Cougars identity and giving them a better sense of what they want to be before the season starts for real.
Ronnie Harrison looked like the kind of transfer who can steady a new group in a charged setting, giving Washington State the kind of inside-out production that travels. The seniors presence was a big part of why the Cougars could leave the floor with something concrete from a rivalry game, and Rileys postgame message suggested the next question is how much of that edge becomes part of the teams everyday formula once the games begin to count. [Read more 🡒]