SEATTLE - Washington State’s opener against No. 17 Washington gave Kirby Moore a first look at a roster still learning how to play together, and it also gave the Cougars something to build on defensively.
The 24-10 loss Sunday was packed with the kind of growing pains you’d expect from a team with so many new faces and so few returning starters. Quarterback Caden Pinnick put it plainly afterward: "There were a lot of 'first times' for us" in the season opener Sunday.
WSU’s defense, though, held up far better than the final score might suggest. Washington finished with 402 total yards, but 40 percent of that came in the final 10 minutes, when the Huskies finally pulled away. That late burst included Demond Williams Jr.’s 44-yard pass to Rashid Williams, a 37-yard throw to Chris Lawson and a 21-yard scramble on third-and-9 that set up Washington’s decisive touchdown.
For most of the afternoon, the Cougars made life hard on a high-powered offense.
Linebacker Keith Brown set the tone with a team-high six tackles, and his biggest play came at the end of the first half. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, he stopped Jayden Limar cold and killed the Huskies’ momentum.
Inside, Jirah Leaupepetele and Paul Hutson III helped clog things up, and Washington’s running backs never really found a rhythm. Williams led the Huskies with 61 rushing yards, while Limar, Quaid Carr and Trey Cooley combined for 76 yards on 21 carries.
"Stopping the run," Brown said when asked what WSU did best against Washington. "I don't know how much yardage they had, but it wasn't very many. Stopping the run is a big thing."
The Cougars also came through in the red zone and on money downs. Washington was stopped twice inside the 5-yard line without scoring, and the Huskies finished just 4-for-14 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
"Yeah, they were aggressive and challenged Washington offensively," WSU first-year coach Kirby Moore said.
The offense was a different story. Pinnick and the Cougars flashed at times, but they never matched the steadiness of the defense. His best work came after halftime, including a sharp 13-yard throw between two Washington defenders to Daniel Blood that put the ball at the Huskies’ 11.
On the very next snap, Pinnick kept it himself, slipped through an inside crease after faking a pitch outside, and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to trim the lead to 10-7 with 10:15 left.
Moore said the big task now is getting the offense - and Pinnick in particular - into a better early-game groove.
“Overall, we’ve got to execute better earlier in the game," Moore said. "The defense did a great job responding there in the first half, but there was definitely some opportunities we want to maximize better (on offense).”
WSU also has an injury situation to monitor. Moore wasn’t encouraging about wide receiver Tony Freeman’s knee injury, which he suffered late in the first quarter. Freeman had a large bag of ice on the knee on the sideline minutes later, and Moore said he’ll have an update later this week.
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Pinnicks postgame comments pointed back to the same issue that has haunted Washington State at times this season: cleaner execution when the stakes rise. The Cougars had enough chances to make the game interesting, but the mistakes proved costly against a ranked rival, leaving plenty for Pinnick and the offense to sort through as they look for a sharper response next time out. [Read more 🡒]
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Instead, familiar problems kept piling up. Turnovers blunted promising drives, and the kicking game left points sitting on the field before Washington State finally got a field goal late. By then, the damage was mostly done, and the Cougars were left with another reminder that effort and resistance are only part of the equation when a rivalry game starts tilting on the details. [Read more 🡒]