Washington State gets the first shot at the rebuilt Pac-12 on Saturday night, and the Cougars will have plenty to clean up when Fresno State arrives in Pullman.
WSU is back home at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on USA Network, with the Cougars trying to steady a 1-3 start in Kirby Moore’s debut season. They’re also expected to have a familiar face on the sideline matchup in Moore, who spent 2017-22 with Fresno State as the Bulldogs’ receivers coach and offensive coordinator. This will be the teams’ first meeting in Pullman since 1994.
There’s also a chance tight end Trey Leckner makes his season debut after sitting out the first four games with a foot injury. The Cougars are playing their third straight home game.
WSU’s latest loss came in a 34-24 defeat to Arizona, a game that briefly tilted in the Cougars’ favor before slipping away. Washington State jumped ahead with a touchdown from QB Caden Pinnick and a pick-six from safety Jackquintin Bal, but Arizona answered quickly, controlled the second half and outscored WSU 20-7 after the break.
Pinnick finished 24 of 41 for 241 yards, with two total touchdowns and two turnovers, including an interception and a fumble. He has now lost five turnovers this season, and the Cougars have seven as a team, leaving them at minus-4 in turnover margin, tied for No. 119 nationally.
That turnover issue has been a major drag on offensive coordinator Matt Miller’s unit, but the problems didn’t stop there. The Cougars’ defense held up reasonably well early, yet Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita still carved out a big day, going 22-for-36 for 297 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Receiver Tre Spivey also hurt WSU with seven catches for 129 yards and two scores.
Moore pointed to the strain on his defense, especially with several key players logging heavy snap counts.
“It adds up in fact that you’re going against a really good quarterback,” Moore said, “and we were very aggressive on defense, and you saw that in the first half. Over time, he’s gonna make some plays.
He’s gonna create some passes downfield, and they had the quick drive right there, and just keeping our guys fresh because the coverage and the front, and it’s all gotta work together. If the front is tired and we’re not getting the rush that we want to, well, that’s affecting the back end.
That’s what we gotta get solved there in the third quarter, and it really starts playing complementary football.”
The third quarter was where things really bogged down for the Cougars. WSU didn’t score, managed 149 total yards and 44 rushing yards, and went through two three-and-outs, four punts and three sacks.
Pinnick has now been sacked 10 times this season. Arizona used that stretch to flip a three-point deficit into a four-point lead, then added two more scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
Special teams added to the frustration. WSU had a field goal blocked and allowed a 39-yard punt return, giving the Cougars two blocked field goals and two long punt returns allowed this season, including a 62-yarder against Kansas State in Week 2.
The one steady hand in that phase has been punter Max Dean, who dealt with migraines in Saturday’s game but still put together five punts for 200 yards, an average of 40 yards. On the season, he’s averaging 45.2 yards per punt, which ranks No. 14 nationally.
Fresno State comes in at 3-1 and has already built a strong resume in the rebuilt league. The Bulldogs, coached by second-year head man Matt Entz, opened with a 39-0 loss at USC but have since ripped off three straight wins over Sacramento State, San Jose State and Rice. Last week’s 38-24 win over Rice pushed them into this matchup with real momentum.
The Bulldogs’ biggest edge so far has been on defense. Fresno State is No. 6 in the country with a plus-7 turnover margin and is allowing just 19 points per game, best in the Pac-12.
Cornerback Simeon Harris has three interceptions, and the Bulldogs have also recovered three fumbles, tied for the conference lead. Up front, they’ve piled up nine sacks, second in the conference, with linebacker Titus Khajavi recording two and six other players adding one apiece.
Their Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 65.3 ranks third in the Pac-12.
“That’s gonna be really important,” Moore said, “to make sure we take care of the football.”
On the other side, Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal has been efficient, completing 67 of 104 passes for 789 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. His top target has been senior receiver Josiah Freeman, who Moore knew from his final year at Fresno State in 2022. Freeman has 18 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
“The receiver was there when I was there. He was a really good, athletic player,” Moore said. “You see him show up on third downs and a lot of different situations.”
The Bulldogs have also leaned on Rayshon Luke, who was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after going off for a game- and career-high 167 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries against Rice. He has 240 rushing yards on the season and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry, third in the Pac-12.
The last time these teams met, Washington State escaped Fresno with a 25-17 win in 2024. That day, cornerback Ethan O’Connor delivered a key pick-six in the fourth quarter before transferring to Miami over the offseason.
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For Washington State, the game also sets up a few individual matchups that could shape the afternoon. Fresno State receiver Josiah Freeman has been one of the names to track, while cornerback Simeon Harris will be part of the Cougars' effort to keep the Bulldogs from finding easy answers outside. Early conference games can punish a team that assumes the record tells the whole story, and this is the sort of home opener in league play that can reveal whether Washington State is ready to handle the details that matter. [Read more 🡒]