Three lingering thoughts from WSU's loss to Oregon State | Rewind

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Oct. 18—PULLMAN — About a day out, it still feels a bit tricky to wrangle Washington State's last game, a road loss to Oregon State on Saturday evening.

In a 48-30 victory for the Beavers, the Cougars looked better than ever on offense. In quarterback Owen Eshelman's first start, WSU's offense scored its season high against an FBS opponent. He unlocked the best in receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy, who finished with career highs in both receptions and receiving yards, and his running ability proved to be an understated part of his game.

That much was obvious to WSU coach Kirby Moore, who earlier in the week decided to bench Caden Pinnick, who started each of the first six games of the season.

"We just had a much better rhythm," Moore said of Eshelman's outing and what it provided to the team. "That takes all 11 being on the same page, whether it's communication, whether it's in the run game, the RPOs, obviously the pass game. It's about landmarks and alignments there with the receivers and guys winning versus man and the quarterback trusting them. Today it was much better on first and second down. Third down, obviously did a better job in the second half than the first half."

Still, it's a fourth straight loss for WSU, which is now 1-6 overall and 0-3 in Pac-12 play. The Cougars are still looking for their first FBS win. Their defense may have been going up against a juggernaut in Oregon State's offense, but good luck finding a team that can win a game allowing 48 points (OK, not counting WSU teams in the 2010s).

Where does that leave WSU for its next game, a home matchup with first-place Boise State next weekend? Here are three thoughts on that.

1. Did WSU coaches wait too long to pivot to Owen Eshelman? During Saturday's game, as Eshelman threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, that question hit the WSU orbit like a meteor. If Eshelman was capable of this all along, why didn't Moore look his way earlier in the season, before things had spiraled out of control?

There is likely some level of truth in that sentiment. With Eshelman at the controls, WSU almost certainly beats Utah State. The Cougars could probably have taken down Fresno State. They could have even taken down Washington in the season-opening Apple Cup, especially now that the Huskies have shown themselves to be a shaky team.

Moore and coaches almost certainly stuck with Pinnick for too long, and in all likelihood, that decision cost their team multiple wins. For a proud program like WSU's, which has made a bowl game in 10 of the last 11 full seasons, that isn't good enough. Moore and his staff will get well-deserved criticism for riding too long with Pinnick, who the Cougars poured all kinds of resources into landing out of the transfer portal last winter.

But it's also true that coming out of fall camp, Eshelman was not clearly the team's best QB. Those honors went to Pinnick. Eshelman looked like he had the most lively arm, but several other factors tilted in Pinnick's favor: He had a full season of experience playing college football, and with his athleticism, he profiled as a true dual-threat QB. He put all those characteristics on display across those 15 practices in August.

In that way, it's not fair to criticize Moore for going with Pinnick for the season opener. It made sense for Pinnick to start that game, plus the next couple contests, at Kansas State and home against Duquesne.

That's why the more salient conversation is when during the season coaches could have looked Eshelman's way. Was there a spot in there for Eshelman to take over? It may not have made sense for coaches to bench Pinnick after a blowout win over FCS Duquesne, but even in that game, he showed a lot of the same problems that he did in Weeks 1 and 2. His one touchdown pass against Arizona, his only FBS touchdown pass, came in large part because a Wildcat defender fell down in coverage.

Pinnick showed the same symptoms in just about all his outings, in simpler terms. The logic that Moore might have been using might have involved his decision to take over playcalling duties, which he did ahead of the Utah State game: If Pinnick still looks iffy in that one, when we remove one of the variables, then we'll find the root of the issue and pull the plug.

That logic feels a little wobbly, but if you're a head coach who invested all kinds of time and resources into earning a commitment from Pinnick and coaching him up, that's probably a thought that crosses your mind.

2. Eshelman should have gotten more chances to show his talents: For as fantastic as Eshelman looked, carving out 136 rushing yards and another score with his legs, he didn't get as many opportunities to display his gifts as he could have.

On two fourth-and-short situations around midfield, Moore chose to punt it away. The first was a fourth-and-1 from the OSU 48, with the Cougs trailing 7-0. That became 14-0 one play later, when the Beavs unleashed a 90-yard touchdown pass.

The second was a fourth-and-3 from the WSU 49, with the Beavers up 20-3. One play after that, they jumped ahead 27-3, scoring on an 88-yard screen pass.

After the game, Moore defended his decision to punt in those spots, saying, "I've got a ton of confidence in our defense." But also in the second quarter, he chose to take the ball out of Eshelman and the offense's hands, opting for a Jack Stevens field goal on fourth-and-1 from the OSU 1. The Cougars got on the board for the first time with that three-pointer, and maybe there's something to be said for giving your team some confidence by scoring any kinds of points.

But WSU was also an 18.5-point underdog, looking for its first FBS win against a juggernaut offense. The Cougars likely weren't going to win that game with field goals. Besides, regardless of what happens after those punts, what kind of message does that send to your quarterback?

3. What kind of hope is there for WSU's rushing game? In Saturday's game, WSU tailbacks Maxwell Woods, Kirby Vorhees and Leo Pulalasi combined for 26 rushing yards on 13 carries. It was the latest example of their inability to get anything going, which has been augmented by their offensive line, which ranks second-to-last in the Pac-12 in Pro Football Focus' run-blocking grades.

In fact, WSU's run-blocking grade of 51.2 ranks No. 127 nationally. Only 11 other teams in the country have had a worse time in that department, at least in PFF's view.

That makes it hard for WSU's tailbacks to generate any production. The Cougars' front five isn't at full strength, riding with left tackle Maximus McCree in the absence of injured Ashton Tripp, but Tripp has graded below-average in run-blocking anyway.

Whatever the reason, though, the Cougs' three running backs have left a lot to be desired this season. Here is how they've fared in their first six games of the season.

—Washington: 16 carries, 38 yards

—Kansas State: 17 carries, 72 yards

—Duquesne: 26 carries, 248 yards

—Arizona: 17 carries, 59 yards

—Fresno State: 12 carries, 45 yards

—Utah State: 19 carries, 77 yards

All told, the Cougars' three running backs are averaging 80 yards per game. Trim that down to FBS opponents and the number is 52. We've written about this several times before, but it still rings true: Back in December, Moore's ability to retain all three running backs felt like his top offseason accomplishment.

Now it's fair to wonder if, with five games remaining, that group can get going in any consistent way. Eshelman's passing ability figured to open up that possibility, but even with that going, the Cougs couldn't generate much rushing attack from their tailbacks.

Maybe WSU can expect a big game in that department in mid-November, when it hosts a home game against Colorado State, which now ranks dead last nationally in total defense: 530 yards per game.

WSU doesn't need to get its running backs going just for the sake of getting its running backs going. It was just one game, but Eshelman showed how skilled he is at running the ball. But the Cougs could lessen the pressure on him by getting more from their tailback trio.

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