Washington State heads into Friday night’s trip to Utah State with both teams sitting at the bottom of the Pac-12 scoring chart, but the mood around each offense couldn’t be more different after conference openers that went in opposite directions.
The Cougars are coming off a 26-6 home loss to Fresno State, a game that first-year coach Kirby Moore called “not good enough” as the home crowd booed steadily through the second half. It was Washington State’s worst outing of the season and, by the sound of it, one of its flatest in a long time. Another setback would leave the Cougars on the edge of bowl elimination.
Utah State, meanwhile, lost 37-18 to Boise State, but Bronco Mendenhall came away feeling “encouraged” by what he saw from his playmakers after the Aggies piled up 345 yards of offense.
Mendenhall’s resume still carries real weight. The Utah native has 147 wins, which ranks fourth among active FBS coaches.
He began his head-coaching career at BYU in 2005 and spent 11 seasons there, sending the Cougars to a bowl game every year. From there he moved on to Virginia for six seasons, then New Mexico for one, and is now in his second season of a six-year deal with Utah State.
That bowl pedigree carried over again in 2025, when he guided Utah State to its 17th bowl appearance. The Aggies fell to Washington State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 34-21, and finished 6-7.
Quarterback play has been a moving target for Utah State this season. McCae Hillstead returned to the program after two seasons at BYU and won the starting job coming out of spring ball. But after a forearm injury and three interceptions in a 29-17 season-opening loss to FCS Idaho State, he gave way to Grady Brosterhous, a graduate transfer from Virginia.
Brosterhous has thrown for a team-high 764 yards and six touchdowns, and he’s added 232 rushing yards, second-most on the team. The downside has been the turnovers: six interceptions for Brosterhous and four more for Hillstead. After Brosterhous handled the full-time role for three straight starts, Hillstead got a series or two back against Boise State, and Mendenhall said he plans to continue to “reintroduce” the preseason starter into the offense.
On the other side, this looks like Bronson Olevao’s defense in Logan. The longtime Aggies defender is in his fifth and final season with Utah State and has appeared in 28 games with 19 starts, though he didn’t become a full-time starter until last season.
Olevao finished third on the team with 90 tackles a year ago and earned all-Mountain West Conference honorable mention honors. He also made his presence felt against Washington State, recording a sack in a 2024 game and then adding seven tackles in last season’s bowl meeting.
In Other News...
Ryan Leaf Just Turned Up The Heat On Washington State's Offense
Washington States offensive issues are drawing attention beyond Pullman after the Cougars loss to Fresno State, with TV color analyst Ryan Leaf suggesting the pressure is now squarely on coordinator Matt Miller. The Cougars have some immediate chances to clean things up, but the bigger concern is that the offense has not looked settled enough to inspire much confidence heading into a tougher stretch of the schedule.
Leaf pointed to the possibility that Miller could lose play-calling duties if the struggles continue, and he also raised the idea that quarterback Caden Pinnick might see his role shrink. With Utah State, Oregon State and Boise State on deck, the margin for patience is getting thinner by the week, and Washington State needs a quick offensive answer before the seasons next few tests start piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Enters Fresno State Showdown With Pac-12 Control At Stake
Recent Pac-12 play has started to sort out the contenders, and Boise States latest stretch has put a little more heat on the league race. The Broncos have been part of a week-by-week reshuffling that has also included fresh looks at team performance, individual production and coaching choices, all of it feeding into the bigger picture of who can still seize control as the season moves forward.
The matchup with Fresno State looms as the next real checkpoint, and it carries more than just one more conference result. For Washington State observers, it is the kind of game worth tracking closely because it can ripple through the standings and shape how the rest of the Pac-12 chase is viewed. Boise State has a chance to tighten its grip, but the path there runs through a Fresno State team that could still change the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
WSU Fans Got An Early Look At A Key 2026-27 Question
Washington State used Parents Weekend at Friel Court to give fans a first real look at where the mens basketball roster stands heading toward the 2026-27 season. The public scrimmage featured two evenly split teams playing two 12-minute quarters, with Crimson edging Gray 47-41, and it offered a useful snapshot of how the Cougars pieces are starting to fit together as the program keeps sorting through roles and lineup combinations.
Five players especially stood out in the workout, each showing traits that could matter once the games count next season. The starting lineups for both the Crimson and Gray squads also gave a hint at how Washington State is thinking about its depth and its options, leaving fans with an early answer to one of the bigger questions surrounding the roster: who is ready to take hold of meaningful minutes when 2026-27 arrives. [Read more 🡒]