Make it six straight defeats in a continuous tailspin season for the Washington State Cougars. This time it comes at the hands of the San Diego State Aztecs, 26-20.
For the last decade or so, losing six games in a season was considered a bad season. Now it’s six straight and eight total on the season before the calendar even flips to November. Zero wins against FBS opponents heading into the final month.
WSU (1-8, 0-5 in Pac-12) had a chance to steal the game away late as the rain poured down onto
an already sloppy field at Snapdragon Stadium. After forcing a quick SDSU (4-5, 3-2) three-and-out, the Cougars got the ball back on their own 14-yard line with 4:43 to play, down six points. Redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman helped convert a 3rd and 2 with his legs, then converted a 3rd and 13 with his arm on a pass to Trey Leckner that put WSU at their own 37-yard line at the two-minute timeout. Out of the break, Eshelman connected with Daniel Blood, who had an outstanding day, for 11 yards to the 48-yard line. That ended up being as far as WSU could go with the game on the line. A one-yard sack as Eshelman tried to escape pressure set up 2nd and 11. Before Eshelman could even get the right playcall in, right tackle Jaylin Caldwell stood up and picked up a false start. With the clock running, head coach Kirby Moore elected to take his final timeout instead of taking the 10-second runoff with 1:16 to play. On 2nd and 16, Eshelman dumped it off to Kirby Vorhees for six yards to get WSU back to the original line of scrimmage. Eshelman nearly threw a pick on the next play to Caleb Ricks to bring up 4th and 10 to decide the game. Eshelman rolled right out of pressure and tried to heave it down field for Branden Ganashamoorthy, but it fell incomplete. Turnover on downs. Loss number eight.
If you didn’t watch this game but have watched every other game, well, it played out like almost every other game. The WSU run game was non-existent (34 rushing yards from the running backs), the defense held their own for most of the game and the offense showed flashes, but never enough to sustain success over the course of four quarters.
The proof is in the pudding. This is who the 2026 Washington State Cougars are. They are 1-8 and are likely finishing at the bottom of the Pac-12. They’ll get a chance to fight out of the conference basement next weekend when they host the Colorado State Rams.
Enjoy the rest of your Halloween night. Be safe. Go Cougs.
