The quarterback change grabbed the spotlight in Pullman, but Kirby Moore spent just as much of Monday’s conversation on the other pressure points staring at Washington State as it heads to Oregon State.
The Cougars are waiting on the status of left tackle Ashton Tripp, who left the Utah State game with what looked like an ankle injury. Moore called Tripp “day-to-day” and said the staff will keep monitoring him through the week before Saturday’s 3 p.m. kickoff.
If Tripp can’t go, Maximus McCree would slide in at left tackle after filling in against Utah State. That would give the Cougars a different starting left tackle for the first time since 2024.
There was better news elsewhere on the injury front. Kyle Peterson, Malachi Wrice and Michael Hughes are expected back at practice, though Moore said all three remain game-time decisions. Their potential return would matter most on defense, where depth has been stretched thin.
Peterson’s lower-body injury came against Arizona and thinned the safety rotation. Wrice and Hughes have both been out with leg injuries, leaving Linus Zunk and Matyus McLain carrying a heavy load at defensive end. Hughes was hurt at Washington, while Wrice went down at Kansas State.
Moore made clear, too, that the quarterback move to Owen Eshelman doesn’t solve everything. The offense has issues beyond the player under center.
“Regardless of who's at quarterback, we have to do a better job and hold ourselves accountable in the key areas that win and lose games,” Moore said. “And so when you look at that, that's efficiency and explosiveness on first and second down, ball security and protecting the quarterback and protecting the ball.
“Coaching is about problem solving. That's the beauty of this game, working together to problem solve.”
He also pointed the finger back at the staff when talking about the penalty problems from Friday, leaning on one of Mike Leach’s old lines.
“You get what you emphasize,” Moore said. “Obviously we have refs at practice on Wednesday, so we have to make sure if there's anything that's close, we're throwing it (flags) and we're coaching our guys.
We're either coaching or we're allowing it to happen. And we have to do a much better job of when those explosive plays happen, we can't have that (penalties).”
Moore said he met with Eshelman and Caden Pinnick on Monday morning to explain the switch. He said Pinnick should be disappointed because “as a competitor, you want to be on the field,” but also stressed the need to stay locked in and ready.
For Eshelman, the message was simple: keep trusting what got him here. Moore said he was already in the facility watching film.
There was also support for Jack Stevens, who has worked through a rough stretch before bouncing back.
“There's frustration there when the ball doesn't go through the uprights. A couple blocks, there's protection elements to that.
So just like the quarterback, there's other people involved when you're kicking a field goal. Appreciate his work.
Sometimes the team is on the practice field, the kickers go into the stadium there and just the amount of work, and I think his teammates helping him as well, picking him up. And so really excited about where Jack's at.”
And on the offense’s third-quarter issues, Moore said the problems have changed from game to game, which has made them even more frustrating.
He pointed to the first three plays of the second half at Logan as a snapshot: a communication mistake on the first play, a run-game issue on the second and a pre-snap problem on third down.
“So we're going to work to fix that, and there's going to be adjustments in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday to make sure we're simulating halftime and having a better response there.”
In Other News...
WSU Defense Faces Its Biggest Test After Carrying The Cougars
Washington States defense has become the stabilizer in a season where the offense has had trouble sustaining drives, and the unit has had to do plenty of heavy lifting while dealing with poor field position after turnovers. Even so, the Cougars have kept competing the way Keith Brown describes it, with the defense forcing punts, getting after quarterbacks and giving the team a chance to stay in games when the offense has sputtered.
The challenge only gets bigger from here, because Oregon State brings a much more dangerous offense than the Cougars have seen in recent weeks. For a Washington State group that has already spent plenty of time bailing out short fields and uneven offensive stretches, this matchup looks like the kind of test that can show whether the defense has been carrying the load or merely holding it together. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Defense Could Decide How This Week Really Plays Out
Washington State heads into this matchup trying to steady its offense while dealing with one of the toughest scoring attacks it has seen all season. The Cougars are set to start Eshelman at quarterback, banking on his leadership and passing accuracy to help clean up an attack that has needed more consistency, while the defense gets a much bigger spotlight against Oregon State, the 10th-ranked scoring team in FBS.
That side of the ball has been one of Washington States strengths, sitting second in the conference, but this week brings a different kind of test. The Beavers passing game has forced the Cougars to lean on a secondary that still needs better communication, and how well that group handles the moment could go a long way toward deciding whether WSU can stay in control of the game. [Read more 🡒]