It's paywalled: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7725648/2026/10/26/college-football-bowl-projections-week-8/

Wow...

Sean Lewis announces that Jayden Denegal remains day-to-day and that Stone Saunders will start Saturday vs. Washington State at Snapdragon Stadium. Saunders threw for 369 yards last week at Colorado State in his first career start, a 56-49 loss to the Rams.

PULLMAN — Only seconds after Owen Eshelman threw a back-breaking interception, the exact kind of turnover that Washington State needed to avoid to upset No. 21 Boise State on Saturday night, his head coach sat him down on a nearby bench.
On the sideline, Eshelman talked with coach Kirby Moore, going over the play and what went wrong. Eshelman was looking for running back Kirby Vorhees, who ran to the right. Eshelman threw it left. It turned into a turnover, which sank WSU’s chances in a 31-10 loss to Boise State, the class of the rebuilt Pac-12.
Turns out, that was a play that the Cougars had installed early in the year, sometime in spring ball or fall camp. After the game, it seemed to frustrate Moore, even as he places his trust in a redshirt freshman making just his second career start.
“We weren’t on the same page there,” Moore said. “Obviously, it starts with me, and we gotta do a better job from that standpoint.”
The Cougars only have four more opportunities to do a better job, and at 1-7, their bowl hopes are gone. It’s their first time being eliminated from bowl eligibility before November since 2010. They have nothing left to play for except pride, except for the 14 seniors who are playing their final years of college football.
Moore has missed all kinds of chances to avoid letting things get to this point, and many of them center on his reluctance to bench quarterback Caden Pinnick for Eshelman, a decision that took so long it likely cost the Cougars multiple wins. But things are where they are, and with four games left to play, Moore can no longer rely on motivating his players with a bowl game, with the kind of national relevance they likely envisioned for themselves back in August.
Instead, Moore will have to find other ways to motivate these Cougars. He will have to find a way to get something out of a lost season. A win at San Diego State next week? A home win over Colorado State after the bye week? The Cougars’ chances at a successful season may be long gone, but they can still eke out something resembling success with the four games they have left, which is why Moore’s motivational skills will be put under the microscope across these last weeks of his debut season.
What can Moore do to squeeze out what’s left of this season? The checklist is long: He needs to get more from his offensive line, whose lack of physicality is creating exponentially more problems for the Cougars’ offense. He needs to corral his defense, which is yielding long scoring plays like bad security guards. And he needs to use his offensive acumen to point Eshelman in the right direction and make sure that in his last four starts, he learns the lessons he needs to so that if/when he returns for the 2027 season, he’s ready to lead an explosive offense.
“I think our players are pretty motivated on a daily basis,” Moore said. “Naturally, there’s different parts that go into every game, and things that we’ve drawn from from the offseason, things throughout fall camp, week-to-week with the opportunities we have. But I think our leadership group does a really good job as well, and I’ve got no reservations about our guys showing up with the right mindset tomorrow.”

It’s a tricky spot for Moore, who is naturally an even-keeled guy, at least publicly. In his last two postgame press conferences, after losses to Oregon State and Boise State, he has seemed more fired up — but the bar is low because he’s usually quieter. The big question: Will that approach work and fire up his players to finish strong?
The topic is still a bit difficult to wrangle, though, because of some of the physical limitations that seem to be behind losses like these. The top ones belong to Washington State’s offensive line, which gave up four sacks here on Saturday night. That group — left tackle Ashton Tripp, left guard Jonny Lester, center Noah Dunham, right guard Nick Bakken and right tackle Jaylin Caldwell — also couldn’t clear space for their running backs, who finished with 20 yards on 10 carries.
For WSU, that has been a problem all season. Here’s how the Cougars’ tailback trio of Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi has fared in its seven FBS games:
— Washington: 16 carries, 38 yards
— Kansas State: 17 carries, 72 yards
— Arizona: 17 carries, 59 yards
— Fresno State: 12 carries, 45 yards
— Utah State: 19 carries, 77 yards
— Oregon State: 13 carries, 26 yards
— Boise State: 10 carries, 20 yards
That comes out to an average of 15 carries for 48 yards. Could those three be doing more to break free? Maybe, but the bigger problem involves their offense, which has struggled in short-yardage situations. Against Boise State, that group couldn’t clear enough space on a third-and-one and Pulalasi was stuffed. To their credit, they helped convert a fourth-and-one QB keeper, which led to the Cougars’ one touchdown.
Still, WSU’s offensive line has been a glaring issue all season, even when Pinnick was playing QB and running himself into all manner of unforced sacks. It’s worth keeping in mind that three of the Cougs’ five linemen — Tripp, Lester and Dunham — were recruited to play in an Air Raid-adjacent system, which doesn’t lend itself to gritty physicality on third-and-one. But that’s what they’re being asked to do now, and it isn’t working out so well.
Beyond that, Moore will have to draw on his offensive mind and mentor Eshelman, find a way to steer him away from the kind of interception that dashed the Cougs’ chances here on Saturday evening. Moore has always fashioned himself an offensive guy. He was Missouri’s offensive coordinator for three years. Previously, he worked the same job at Fresno State, including as QBs coach.

With that type of experience, Moore hasn’t just gotten adept at the X’s and O’s. He’s had a chance to work with all kinds of quarterbacks with all types of skill sets. To get something out of the rest of this season, he’ll have to draw on that with Eshelman, who has a compelling skill set.
Can he play well enough to get a couple more wins out of this season? Neither Eshelman nor any of his teammates will be motivated by a bowl game, so now it falls to Moore and his coaching. For WSU, this season may be lost, but not every game has to feel that way.
“I think it comes down to who you are, and there’s a lot more that’s revealed about who you are when things aren’t going your way,” Eshelman said. “That’s what I’ve loved to see with guys in our locker room the last few weeks — they respond and they go back to work, and so that’s something that I’m really proud of with our guys.
“Just trying to continue to push the envelope, continue to press and see where we can get better, continue to press and grow. As a believer, that’s where I want to be in my life, whether it’s me as a husband, whether it’s me as a father, whether it’s me in whatever future career I’m in. There has to be a standard for my life and the way I do things, and I want to continue to push that standard.”
BOX SCORE

Greg Woods: Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review

Pac-12 football power rankings: No. 20 Boise State stays on top with strong finish against Washington State
Broncos, Oregon State tied atop Pac-12 standings
Bob Lundeberg
|
1 hour ago

No. 20 Boise State was about to lose its place atop the Pac-12 power rankings after three quarters of play on Saturday at Washington State.

But the Broncos (6-1, 3-0) roared back with21 unanswered points to secure a 31-10 road victory over the Cougars (1-7, 0-4).

Boise State is tied atop the Pac-12 standingswith Oregon State (5-2, 3-0), which was idle last week. The two teams will meet at Albertsons Stadium on Nov. 14. 

Here is the Week 9 edition of our Pac-12 power rankings. 

All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time

1. Boise State

Last result: 31-10 road victory over Washington State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 1

Season record: 6-1, 3-0

Analysis: The Broncos wore down Washington State by the fourth quarter and finished with 258 rushing yards on 37 carries. Boise State’s defense also played one of its best games of the season against promising Cougars quarterback Owen Eshelman.

Up next: Saturday vs. Texas State, 8 p.m. (The CW)

2. Oregon State

Last result: Bye week

Previous ranking: 2

Season record: 5-2, 3-0

Analysis: The Beavers received a major boost over the bye week as Jesse Legree, the nation’s leading receiver, re-signed with the team for next year. Legree and quarterback Braden Atkinson have been one of the top duos in the country this season. 

Up next: Saturday at Fresno State, 9 p.m. (USA Network)

3. Texas State

Last result: 20-17 home victory over Utah State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 3

Season record: 4-3, 2-1

Analysis: Texas State’s offense was not impressive in the win over Utah State, but the Bobcats would be 3-0 in Pac-12 play without an all-time collapse at San Diego State. The Bobcats will be tested the next two weeks with road trips to Boise and Corvallis. 

Up next: Saturday at Boise State, 8 p.m. (The CW)

4. Fresno State

Last result: Bye week

Previous ranking: 5

Season record: 4-3, 1-2

Analysis: It’s put up or shut up time for Fresno State, a preseason Pac-12 dark horse that has dropped two straight games with Oregon State coming to town. 

Up next: Saturday vs. Oregon State, 9 p.m. (USA Network)

5. Colorado State

Last result: 56-49 home victory over San Diego State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 7

Season record: 3-4, 1-2

Analysis: ‘Flawed’ would be a polite way to describe the bottom of the Pac-12 this season. The Colorado State offense is a force to be reckoned with, but the Rams’ defense remains a comedy of errors. 

Up next: Saturday at Utah State, 1:30 p.m. (USA Network)

6. San Diego State

Last result: 56-49 road loss to Colorado State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 4

Season record: 3-5, 2-2

Analysis: Stone Saunders played well behind center in his first career start, but San Diego State’s defense has fallen off a cliff without defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, who left for Nebraska last December.

Up next: Saturday vs. Washington State, 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

7. Utah State

Last result: 20-17 road loss to Texas State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 6

Season record: 2-5, 1-2

Analysis: The Aggies turned in a great defensive performance at Texas State but were unable to get Javen Jacobs and the ground attack going. 

Up next: Saturday vs. Colorado State, 1:30 p.m. (USA Network)

8. Washington State

Last result: 31-10 home loss to Boise State (Saturday, Oct. 24)

Previous ranking: 8

Season record: 1-7, 0-4

Analysis: The Cougars can’t block or catch, which makes it hard to run a functioning offense and give the defense a breather. 

Up next: Saturday at San Diego State, 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Interesting article regarding genius cameras and gambling in pac 12.

Such a great weekend in football! Recap it with the PAC’d12 boys!

I know the Huskies won't be good this year, but nice job Cougs, you might have something to be looking forward to, in basketball season.

WSU:84

UW:80