Washington State goes into Friday night in Logan carrying the kind of start nobody in Pullman wanted to see.
The Cougars are 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-12 after last Saturday’s 26-6 loss to Fresno State, a game that left the offense searching for answers after its roughest showing of the year. Now first-year head coach Kirby Moore is taking over playcalling duties for the trip to Utah State, where WSU and the Aggies will kick off at 6 p.m. on The CW (KSKN).
Utah State is in a similar spot at 1-4 and 0-1. The Aggies picked up their only win against Troy on Sept. 26, opened the season with a loss to FCS Idaho State and then fell to Boise State 37-18 in their Pac-12 opener last week.
The line reflects how much both teams need this one. Utah State is favored by 5½ points, and a loss for either side would make the rest of the season look a lot more complicated.
Washington State does have a recent edge in the series. The Cougars are 4-2 all-time against Utah State and have won the last two meetings, beating the Aggies in Pullman in 2024 and again in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2025. Utah State’s last win in the matchup came in 2021, when the Aggies rallied past the Cougars during a September stretch that ended up helping push then-coach Nick Rolovich out after he refused to comply with state COVID-19 mandates.
For Washington State, this game lands in the middle of a major program overhaul. Since last winter, the Cougars have replaced the head coach, assistants, players and other staffers, with Moore now leading the new-look group into a season that still has plenty of room to turn in a different direction.
In Other News...
Washington State Faces A Costly QB Question At Utah State
Washington State heads to Utah State carrying a familiar early-season concern, only this one sits right at the most important spot on the field. The Cougars have already been forced to weigh how much trust to place in Caden Pinnick, while the alternatives bring far less game experience and no easy certainty. For a team still trying to find its footing, the quarterback situation has become one of the defining questions of the week.
The matchup could easily swing on which side handles mistakes better, because both teams enter with turnover issues and each has reason to believe the other can be rattled. Washington State will look to lean on its defense if Utah States offense wobbles, while the Aggies will try to test the Cougars up front and turn any protection problems into takeaways. In a game shaped by caution as much as execution, the offense that protects the ball may be the one that leaves with the better feeling. [Read more 🡒]