Washington State has a chance to reset things Friday night at Utah State, and the path is pretty clear: run the ball, hit the Aggies’ quarterbacks, and make the most of a defense that has already shown it can get after people.
That’s not just the read from the outside, either. Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall, who has one of the winningest active résumés in FBS football, looked at the Cougars on tape and came away wondering how they’re sitting at 1-4.
“I watched the tape (and asked), ‘How are they 1-4?’” Mendenhall said Monday during his weekly press conference. “I hope they are saying the same about us.”
He also pointed to schedule strength as a big reason both teams have only one win.
“I am not going to make these teams the same, but there are more similarities than not in terms of circumstance,” Mendenhall said.
For Washington State, the cleanest opening may be on the ground. First-year coach Kirby Moore is making his debut as the Cougars’ offensive play caller, and this feels like the week to lean into the run game.
Utah State is usually organized and disciplined under Mendenhall, but teams have still found room between the tackles. Boise State ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns last week, and Troy piled up 169 yards two weeks ago.
That puts junior Kirby Vorhees in focus as WSU’s power back.
The Cougars also need to be ready for a familiar connection on the other side. Mendenhall has been leaning on his Virginia ties since taking over at Utah State, and two of the Aggies’ key offensive pieces followed him there during the offseason: quarterback Grady Brosterhous and wide receiver Eli Wood. Both spent long stretches at Virginia before transferring.
Their timing has shown up in the passing game. The Brosterhous-to-Wood pairing has been one of the best in the Pac-12, and Wood is coming off his strongest game for Utah State.
Against Boise State on Saturday, he caught seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, including a season-long 31-yard grab. He has scored in four of the team’s five games.
Washington State’s defense should have its own chances to tilt the night. The Cougars have 15 sacks, while Utah State has 17, and those numbers underline just how often quarterbacks on both sides have been under fire this season.
That makes pressure a huge part of the assignment for WSU against Brosterhous and McCae Hillstead, who opened the year as the starter before a forearm injury sidelined him. Brosterhous has started the last four games, and the two Aggie quarterbacks have combined for a conference-high 10 interceptions.
Hillstead was picked off last week against Boise State, and that return went back for a touchdown in the first half.
Mendenhall singled out two WSU edge rushers when talking about the Cougars’ defense: Linus Zunk, who posted a career-high six tackles against Fresno State, and Matyus McLain, who finished that game with two tackles for loss and a shared sack.
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What makes this one stand out is the helmet detail, because this blend has not previously been worn with a crimson logo and white facemask. Since 2017, Washington State has cycled through 56 different uniform combinations, and the white-helmet looks have already built their own little record book along the way, which makes every new variation feel like part tradition and part experiment. [Read more 🡒]