Washington State QB Caden Pinnick gets his chance in massive Apple Cup debut

Washington State QB Caden Pinnick gets his chance in massive Apple Cup debut

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Washington State QB Caden Pinnick gets his chance in massive Apple Cup debut
UC Davis Aggies quarterback Caden Pinnick (12)
Sep 6, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; UC Davis Aggies quarterback Caden Pinnick (12) passes against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Washington State coach Kirby Moore was clear that he planned to have his team's starting quarterback announced at the end of fall camp – and he made good on that promise with Monday's announcement that Caden Pinnick would be under center when the team takes on Washington in the Apple Cup on Sept. 6.

Pinnick, who comes to Pullman after a stellar season at UC Davis at the FCS level, won the starting job over a pair of returners in Julian Duggar and Owen Eshelman.

Duggar – who went 2-6 for 39 yards last year, while rushing 22 times for 47 yards and a pair of touchdowns – was unable to participate in Friday's scrimmage, allowing Pinnick and Eshelman to split all the reps.

Pinnick took both drives with the first unit offense and most of the drives with the second unit, while Eshelman was primarily on the field with the third unit, which continued a trend and made it more and more likely Pinnick would be the starter against Washington in two weeks.

And even though the UC Davis transfer struggled in WSU's final fall scrimmage on Sunday, he had already done enough to separate himself from Duggar and Eshelman thanks to his experience and similarities between UCD's offense under Tim Plough and WSU offensive coordinator Matt Miller's system in Pullman.

"Coming from a school playing your redshirt freshman year, having some experience under the belt, knowing what a tight situation is or a very high-stakes game feels like it's crucial. Coming into this year, it's like, okay, let me see if I can build more in this offense," Pinnick said.

Why Washington State chose Caden Pinnick

Pinnick was outstanding last year at the FCS level, completing 240 passes for 3,206 yards and 32 touchdowns at Davis. He was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year and finished second in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the best FCS Freshman in the country.

While Pinnick only had 10 interceptions at Davis, turnovers have been an early problem in fall camp for the entire offense, something Moore emphasized after Friday's scrimmage.

"We've got to take care of the football on offense," Moore said. "I think that's number one. We have to make sure we do a really good job of that, keeping possession…That's what we have to get in there these next couple days and really look at and assess."

Pinnick gets a familiar opponent

Now that the announcement has been made, Pinnick can turn his attention toward UW – a team he faced last year while at Davis.

The matchup certainly means more this time around between the longtime bitter rivals, and Pinnick will look to make his mark on the 100+-year-old rivalry on Saturday, Sept. 6, in Seattle. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 PM PT.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington-state as Washington State QB Caden Pinnick gets his chance in massive Apple Cup debut.

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