Grading the Game: Washington State

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Passing Offense – 6.5/10

Quarterback – 6.5/10

Offensive line – 4/10

Receivers/tight ends – 7/10

Demond Williams finished 24-of-35 for 268 yards and a touchdown, no picks, no sacks, and tacked on 61 yards and a score with his legs, but that final line covers up how disjointed this game felt through most of the afternoon. Jedd Fisch dialed up a flea-flicker that went for 44 yards to WR Rashid Williams, and they scored a touchdown two plays later. Then WSU answered and the it was a one score game again. That’s when Williams delivered his signature moment of the day, weaving away from traffic and shaking loose for a 21-yard scramble on third-and-9 with 2:40 left in the game. One snap later he found WR Chris Lawson streaking down the sideline for a beautiful, falling-to-the-ground one handed catch. Two plays later RB Jayden Limar punched in the touchdown that put the game away. Those two drives are basically the entire reason this ended as a comfortable win instead of a stressful one, and give Williams real credit for making those plays down the stretch. But, for long stretches this wasn’t a clean, in-control game. It’s week one, and the offensive line didn’t do him many favors, but we still need to see evidence Williams has elevated his game from last year.

The offensive line is where this grade really takes a hit. PFF had guards Geirean Hatchett and John Mills as the two best offensive linemen on the field by a good margin. True freshman left tackle Kodi Greene had the weakest pass-blocking number (though watching it live, I didn’t think he looked nearly that shaky; the physical upside is obvious). Champ Taulealea was the bigger issue with his two holding penalties, stacked with a delay of game, turned what looked like a likely touchdown on Washington’s second drive into a 48-yard field goal. He spent most of the rest of the afternoon on the bench in favor of Hatchett.

At receiver, Lawson took over the starting job after WR Christian Moss left on the second snap of the game, and made the most of his first meaningful college action with four catches for 87 yards (minus his taunting penalty). Dezmen Roebuck led the team with 11 targets but turned those into just seven catches for 41 yards, pretty quiet by his standards. His one huge gain on a screen pass was negated by — you guessed it — a penalty. The pleasant surprise to me was TE Baron Naone, who caught 5 passes for 32 yards and looked more comfortable than I expected. He’s not going to break off many yards after the catch, but he blocks well, has soft, natural hands, and did well to stay coordinated and keep a foot inbounds on a sideline catch in the first half.

Rushing Offense – 5/10

Running backs – 5.5/10

Offensive line – 4.5/10

It took Washington’s tailbacks 21 combined carries to scrape together just 76 yards, against a Washington State front that was clearly more disruptive than anyone expected. RB Jayden Limar did the most with his touches, turning 12 carries into 47 yards and capping the day with the 11-yard touchdown that sealed the win, while Quaid Carr picked up 28 yards on five totes. Both looked like they were going to be significant pieces of this offense, but sadly both are out for extended absences with long-term injuries.

RB Trey Cooley didn’t accomplish much running the ball but had a great chip block to keep Williams clean for his throw on the flea-flicker. The low point was Washington coming away empty on a fourth-and-goal try from the 1 right before halftime, and then got stuffed again on fourth down in the third quarter.

Passing Defense – 8/10

Pass rush – 8/10

Secondary – 8.5/10

QB Caden Pinnick was held to 142 yards on 16-of-25 passing and threw two interceptions, and Washington’s defense as a whole forced three turnovers. True freshman CB/nickel Jeron Jones picked one off in his college debut, and S Alex McLaughlin grabbed his second career Apple Cup interception. He got an assist from DT Derek Colman-Brusa who pressured Pinnick and got a hand up to deflect the pass. Edge Russell Davis II got the Huskies’ third sack, his first since November of 2024. Washington also kept WSU 0-for-11 on third downs, a truly impressive feat. CB Emmanuel Karnley had two nice pass deflections and covered well all day. Between the pass rush and coverage downfield, WSU had little going for it.

Rushing Defense – 8.5/10

Whatever else went wrong Sunday, the front seven mostly dominated the line of scrimmage. Washington held Washington State to 3.2 yards per rush and 4.3 yards per play for the game. Colman-Brusa added a tackle for loss on a Cougar running back. Isaiah Ward both forced and recovered a first-half fumble.

The only real blemishes were self-inflicted, and they came on the same third-quarter series: Edge Ramzak Fruean drew an unnecessary-roughness flag for hitting Pinnick out of bounds after a third-and-11 stop, and Manu picked up a taunting penalty after another long-down stop later in the same drive. Both extended a possession that Washington had all but stopped. Fortunately, it stalled out in a missed field goal anyway, but the front seven made that harder on itself than it needed to. Finally, how about Jacob Manu? He led the team with nine tackles, added a sack, and was by his own telling freed up by a d-line that kept blockers off him all day. He looks like he’s in a for a huge season with his intensity and nose for the football.

Special Teams – 7/10

P Hunter Green was the best special-teamer on the field, and it wasn’t especially close. He boomed his four punts for an average of 50.8 yards, with two of them going for 60-plus. They had plenty of hang time allowing the coverage units to reach the opposing punt returner. He earned himself a game ball and the “Dawg of the Week” award. It certainly appears UW will have one of the better punters in the B1G, and he was a key portal addition.

K Tyler Robles made a 48-yarder but missed a shorter attempt, leaving points on the board in a game that got tighter than it needed to. The one real special-teams miscue was S Rylon Dillard-Allen’s kick-catch interference penalty on a punt in the first quarter, which tacked on 15 free yards for WSU. CB Rashawn Clark looks to have a lot of confidence and sure hands on punt returns, taking his first of the season back for 31 yards. This was a mostly clean, quietly solid day in the kicking game.

Coaching – 5.5/10

Fisch called his own offense “embarrassing” at halftime before running into the tunnel, and it’s hard to argue watching the game, especially the way they tried to run the ball. Setting the injured running backs aside for a moment, the run game will have to improve by B1G play or this offense is in trouble. Not to mention 12 penalties for 130 yards is a total that will bury Washington against better competition. It’s not even the penalties themselves but the timing of them, coming after key third stops or first downs by the offense. It also looks like punting could be a strength this year — which can be a game decider in this league — but not if great punts are negated by penalties.

I’ll give credit where it’s due: DC Ryan Walters and the defensive staff had a terrific plan, took the ball away three times, and got the stops needed to survive an offense that couldn’t finish drives. But too many self-inflicted penalties, a running game that never got out of first gear, and the overall inability to assert themselves for 60 minutes leaves you feeling like there’s a plenty to improve about this team if they want to achieve more than they did last season.

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