PORTLAND - Washington State’s path to an upset at Oregon State starts on offense, and that puts redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman squarely in the spotlight.
Eshelman is set for his first career start Saturday at 3 p.m. on USA Network in Corvallis, where the Beavers opened as 17.5-point favorites. The Cougars are trying to halt a three-game slide and pick up their first FBS win of the season, but they’ll need far more production than they’ve gotten so far from a unit that has struggled to keep them afloat.
WSU enters at 1-5 and 0-2 in Pac-12 play, averaging just 12.6 points per game and sitting only seven spots above the bottom of the national scoring rankings. The Cougars are also minus-6 in turnover margin, a figure that ranks 129th in the country and has been a major reason Kirby Moore moved on from starter Caden Pinnick.
Eshelman has barely been used to this point. He has taken only two snaps in his college career, both in garbage time against FCS Duquesne earlier this season. Now the former three-star recruit from Norman North High in Oklahoma gets the call, and Moore believes the 6-foot-3, 204-pound quarterback brings traits that could help unlock a better version of the offense.
Moore has already started making adjustments. Before last week’s road loss to Utah State, he took over playcalling duties in an effort to spark the unit.
But the Cougars still face a steep climb, and the timing is brutal. They’re off to their worst six-game start since 2010, and with a 10-bowl run in 11 full seasons hanging in the balance, they need wins in a hurry.
Across the field, Oregon State is rolling. The Beavers are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play, and they come in off a 66-14 home rout of San Diego State. Their offense is one of the most explosive in the nation, ranking fifth in total offense at 522 yards per game, powered by quarterback Braden Atkinson and freshman receiver Jesse Legree.
Atkinson has been on a tear. He leads the country with 376 passing yards per game and has piled up 21 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. He has also thrown seven touchdowns on deep balls, according to Pro Football Focus, a sign of just how dangerous Oregon State can be when it starts stretching the field.
Legree has become a matchup problem all by himself. He leads the nation with 12 receiving touchdowns, and three of those have come in each of his last two games. Moore said Washington State has to treat him as part of a complete defensive assignment, not just a one-man problem.
“He’s a really good player,” Moore said of Legree, who leads the country with 12 receiving touchdowns, including three apiece in his last two outings. “You see him with the ball in space, obviously taking the top off a number of times as well.
I think it’s about playing team defense. Obviously, communication is gonna be really important: Where he’s at, whether he’s in the slot, whether he’s outside, left, right.
The pass rush has to help out the coverage. The coverage has gotta help out the pass rush.
I think Coach (Trent) Bray is doing a good job right now with our guys, making sure they’re all on the same page.”
Bray is in a familiar place for this matchup. He’s an Oregon State alum who spent 11 years coaching at his alma mater, including the full 2024 season and part of the 2025 campaign before being fired after the Beavers’ 0-7 start.
Still, the WSU roster has its own heavy dose of OSU ties. Receiver Darrius Clemons and cornerback Jalil Tucker both transferred from Oregon State, true freshman Lance McGee had been committed there before flipping to Washington State, and chief of staff Dan Van De Riet spent 20 years in various roles with the Beavers.
Saturday’s game also carries a new wrinkle: a fan- and alumni-backed trophy, a new rivalry rock that has not yet been named. It is not an official school trophy, and it won’t be presented at midfield, but it does add something extra to a series that will reach its 112th meeting.
For Brown, that’s enough to sharpen the edge.
“Hey,” Brown said earlier this week, “let’s go win the rock.”
The challenge, though, is obvious. Washington State has defended well enough to stay in games, but Oregon State’s attack has been hard to slow. The Cougars have shown some vulnerability to explosive plays, including a long touchdown pass against Utah State last weekend and a 75-yard touchdown run against Kansas State last month.
So the equation is simple, even if the solution is not. WSU may need its defense to hold up and its new quarterback to provide a jolt. Moore said there are similarities between Eshelman and Pinnick in terms of playmaking ability, but the Cougars need better accuracy, better efficiency on first and second down, and cleaner football in critical situations.
“There’s definitely some similarities in terms of playmaking ability,” Moore said, comparing Eshelman and Pinnick’s styles. “I think the big thing is we gotta continue to work on accuracy with the football, and when something’s there, we gotta take advantage of it and be more efficient on first and second down.
Had opportunities there to drive in the red zone and didn’t take advantage of it, and then on third down, we gotta make sure we do a good job of taking care of the football. And sometimes it’s OK to punt.
We’ve had some turnovers in those situations the last few games that have put our defense in bad positions.”
That’s the job in front of Eshelman: give Washington State something it has not consistently had, and do it against one of the hottest offenses in the country.
In Other News...
Washington State's Season Pressure Builds In A Brutal Trip To Oregon State
Washington State heads into Reser Stadium still trying to find its footing, and the matchup with Oregon State arrives with the Cougars staring at a 1-5 record and plenty of pressure to show something different on offense. The Beavers, meanwhile, come in at 4-2 and dealing with their own injury concerns, a setup that makes this a useful measuring stick for both sides as the Cougars look for any sign of progress.
The intrigue for Washington State is the reset under center, a move designed to give the offense a jolt in a season that has sputtered too often. Oregon States availability report also matters here, especially with key injuries thinning the Beavers, and the Cougars will be hoping those gaps can help them stay competitive on the road while fans follow along with the broadcast details and the latest pregame updates. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Turns To Owen Eshelman As Offensive Pressure Mounts
The quarterback shuffle in Pullman has finally arrived after Washington State spent the early part of the season searching for more consistency on offense. Owen Eshelman is now the starter, giving the Cougars a new direction after a stretch of uneven production with Caden Pinnick under center, and head coach Kirby Moore pointed to Eshelmans preparation, leadership and readiness as reasons for the move.
For a team that has been waiting for the offense to find its footing, the timing matters as much as the decision itself. Washington State does not have much margin for error now, and the change adds a fresh layer of urgency heading into the next game as the Cougars try to solve a problem that has lingered for weeks. [Read more 🡒]
WSU Heads Into Oregon State With Key Week 1 Decisions Looming
Washington States first injury report of the week offered an early look at how much shuffling might be needed before the Cougars head to Oregon State. Linebacker Jack Ellison is no longer on the report, a positive sign as the team starts sorting through availability for a game that could hinge on depth and flexibility across both lines and the secondary.
The bigger concern is the cluster of players still listed as questionable, a group that includes key pieces on the edge, in the defensive backfield, and up front at left tackle. Linebacker Nylan Brown is already ruled out for the season, leaving Washington State with at least one long-term hole to manage while it waits to see how the rest of the week unfolds. [Read more 🡒]