PULLMAN - Washington State is preparing for a home game that comes with a strange backdrop: Colorado State spent part of Friday stuck in travel limbo, and the Rams even held a walk-through outside the plane while waiting to get to Pullman.
That scene summed up the mess created by the nationwide flight grounding that hit college football on Friday, when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all flights grounded until further notice. Some teams had already reached their destinations.
Others sat through delays for hours. A few switched to buses.
For WSU, the timing may not be the worst thing. The Cougars are trying to snap a six-game skid and pick up their first FBS win of the season when they host the Rams at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday on CBS Sports Network. WSU enters at 1-8 overall and 0-5 in the Pac-12, while Colorado State is 3-6 and 1-4.
This is the clearest opening left on the Cougars’ schedule. After Colorado State, WSU finishes with a road game at Texas State and then a home FLEX game that will likely bring Oregon State back to Pullman for a second meeting with the Beavers. Neither of those matchups looks as inviting as this one.
The reason is simple: Colorado State’s defense has been a disaster. The Rams are last in the nation in scoring defense at 45 points allowed per game, last in total defense at 542 yards per game, second-to-last in third-down defense at 54%, and last in yards per play at 8. They also allow 271 rushing yards per game, which is dead last by nearly 30 yards, and about 11.4 yards per pass, another national low.
That gives WSU a chance to lean on a ground game that has not delivered much so far. Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi are averaging just 46 yards on 15 carries in nine games against FBS opponents.
The Cougars thought that group could be a strength before the season, especially after coach Kirby Moore worked to pull Vorhees and Pulalasi away from the transfer portal, but the production has not followed. WSU’s offensive line has also struggled in short-yardage situations.
Still, this matchup offers a possible reset. Left tackle Ashton Tripp said, “It’s just another great opportunity for us to run the ball,” and added, “And then, like I said earlier, just getting back to the basics. Break their will and make them quit.”
Quarterback Owen Eshelman will be making his fourth career start, and the Cougars are coming off a bye week. If there’s a game that could help an offense searching for traction, this is probably it.
WSU does have a few things to watch beyond the matchup itself. Starting wide receiver Darrius Clemons is questionable with an ankle injury he suffered last month against Utah State, and he has missed the past three games. He has 20 catches for 218 yards, and his absence has made life tougher for an offense already trying to find a rhythm.
The Rams, for all their defensive issues, do bring some pressure of their own. They have 10 sacks, which is better than WSU’s eight, and they lead the Pac-12 in forced fumbles with eight and interceptions with nine. That should matter for Eshelman, who threw an interception in WSU’s last game, a Halloween-night loss at San Diego State.
At the start of the week, defensive tackle Kaden Beatty tried to keep the Cougars locked in despite the record. “You can’t let the results dictate your behavior,” he said.
“It’s like Coach Moore says: same guy every single day. I love this.
I love playing football. I’m on fire for my work every single day.
I come in here with a smile, regardless of our record. If we have no wins or we’re winning every single game, I’m gonna be on fire for my work and excited to be in this building.”
WSU needs that kind of edge now. Without a win here, the Cougars could be staring at a one-win season. And after the chaos of Friday’s travel problems, they may have caught a break before the opening kickoff.
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