Howdy, Cougs. Hank Palouse here, writing from the cab of my pickup on a gravel road outside town, looking at wheat stubble rolling over the hills like a crimson-and-gray ocean. Okay, it's more of a gold-and-brown ocean this time of year. Work with me. I've got a thermos of coffee, a Cougar flag on the antenna and one rule for every season: wave the flag. Win, lose or 1-6, you wave the flag.
It's been a tough year. I won't sugarcoat a thing. But Saturday in Corvallis, something happened that made this old wheat farmer sit up in the cab. Let's talk about it, and then let's talk about the No. 21 team in the country coming to Pullman.
Part 1: Oregon State 48, Washington State 30
On Oct. 17 at Reser Stadium, Oregon State beat Washington State 48-30.
The first half was rough. Jake Reichle scored on a 1-yard run, Braden Atkinson hit Jesse Legree for a 90-yard touchdown, and Caleb Ojeda kicked a 48-yard field goal. It was 17-0 after one quarter. Atkinson later found AJ Newberry for an 88-yarder, and the Beavers led 27-10 at halftime. Atkinson finished with 347 yards and three touchdowns, and Oregon State piled up 555 yards. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
But here's the story. Per the AP, redshirt freshman quarterback Owen Eshelman made his first career start, and the kid played like he'd been doing it for years. He completed 32 of 49 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 15 times for 136 yards and a touchdown. A hundred thirty-six rushing yards from a quarterback in his first start! He hit Branden Ganashamoorthy for a 40-yard touchdown before the half and led three straight touchdown drives late. The last one ended with Eshelman's 20-yard touchdown run and a two-point pass to Ganashamoorthy with 1:37 left.
Ganashamoorthy caught 11 passes for 147 yards. Daniel Blood caught six for 59 and a touchdown. The Cougars gained 459 yards, went 3-for-3 on fourth down and had 25 first downs. Per the AP, Washington State's 30 points were the most it has scored against an FBS team this season. Keith Brown made 15 tackles and a sack.
So the Cougars are 1-6 and 0-3 in the Pac-12. They lost 24-10 at Washington and 34-7 at Kansas State, beat Duquesne 48-7, lost 34-24 to Arizona and 26-6 to Fresno State, lost 17-16 at Utah State and then lost in Corvallis. That's a lot of close calls and some long afternoons. But I've farmed long enough to know you don't judge a crop in October by what happened in May.
Part 2: Boise State at Washington State
Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern, which is 3 p.m. here, at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. It's on USA Network, per the AP. No. 21 Boise State (5-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at Washington State (1-6, 0-3).
The Broncos
Boise State is good. Let's be honest. The Broncos run for 234.5 yards per game, ninth in FBS, and they lead the nation in time of possession at 36:41. Dylan Riley has 835 rushing yards and six touchdowns, and Maddux Madsen has 13 touchdown passes and no interceptions. They beat Fresno State 38-31 two weeks ago, and they had last week off.
But they have a soft spot, and it's a big one. Boise State's pass defense allows 261.3 yards per game, 126th in FBS. Its defense allows 368.2 yards per game, 86th. And it committed nine penalties for 83 yards at Fresno State.
Now picture a young quarterback who just threw for 289 yards against a Pac-12 defense and ran for 136 more. Picture Ganashamoorthy, who leads the team with 26 catches for 343 yards and three touchdowns, running at a secondary ranked 126th. That's a matchup this farmer likes.
Our Cougars
The honest note: Washington State's offense ranks 130th in FBS, its turnover margin is minus-7, 131st, and it averages 65.6 penalty yards per game, 102nd. The Cougars have to hang on to the ball and stay out of the officials' way. If Boise State gets to hold the ball for 36 minutes, that's a long afternoon.
But this is Pullman, at home, in late October, and the Cougars have a quarterback who looked like the real thing last week. Kirby Vorhees leads the team with 267 rushing yards. Caden Pinnick has thrown for 952 yards on the season. There's depth there.
The Series
CollegeFootballData.com lists seven previous meetings, and Washington State leads the series 5-2. The Cougars won a 47-44 thriller in 2017. Boise State won 45-24 in 2024. Let's make it six.
Town Report: Pullman vs. Boise
Pullman. Pullman had 32,901 people at the 2020 census, per Wikipedia, and it sits in the Palouse, among some of the most beautiful rolling hills on God's green earth. Those hills are loess, wind-blown soil that grows wheat, barley, peas and lentils. Per Wikipedia, the Palouse is the most important lentil-growing region in the United States, and Pullman has hosted the National Lentil Festival since 1989, with a lentil cook-off, a street fair and a parade. You haven't lived until you've had a bowl of lentil chili from a cook-off table.
And then there's Ol' Crimson. Per Wikipedia, a Washington State flag first flew behind ESPN's College GameDay at a 2003 game in Austin, Texas, and a Cougar flag has appeared on every GameDay show since. More than 320 broadcasts through the 2024 season. Cougar alumni carry it from Times Square to a Navy ship to Augusta National. That's not a tradition. That's devotion. Wave the flag.
And our stadium? Martin Stadium opened in 1972, per Wikipedia, and its field sits at about 2,510 feet, which was once the highest in the old Pac-10. It's tucked right into campus, with the hills rolling off in every direction. When it's loud in there on a cold Saturday, you can feel it in the bleachers and in your boots.
Boise. Boise is a pleasant city of 235,685, per Wikipedia. And per that same article, the origin of the city's name is "uncertain." They're not even sure where it came from! One account credits an Army captain. Another credits French trappers. And locals pronounce it "BOY-see," which Wikipedia says is sometimes used as a test to spot people from out of town. A whole city that grades your pronunciation at the door.
And then there's the field. Boise State put blue turf in its stadium in 1986, and people call it Smurf Turf. We've got a flag that's been on more than 320 national broadcasts. They've got a lawn that looks like it got stuck in a paint bucket. Respectfully, here in Pullman we grow wheat, peas and lentils in our fields. Over in Boise, they grow blue plastic.
And come Saturday, the Broncos will step onto a field that's green. I hope somebody warns them.
The Harvest
Here's the plan. Let Eshelman throw at that 126th-ranked pass defense. Get Ganashamoorthy the ball in space. Hang on to it. Don't let Riley run the clock into next week. And give the home crowd a reason to wave the flag in the fourth quarter.
I know the record. I know who's coming. I'm waving it anyway.
My call: Boise State Broncos 31, Washington State Cougars 20.