New QB in Tow, Washington State Seeks Road Upset at Oregon State

Washington State is running out of time to turn its season around.

After dropping their third straight game with a 17-16 loss to Utah State, the Cougars will travel to Corvallis to face Oregon State on Saturday afternoon. Washington State enters the matchup at 1-5 overall and 0-2 in Pac-12 play, while the Beavers sit at 4-2 and 2-0 in conference play as one of the biggest surprises in college football so far.

The Cougars are still searching for their first win against an FBS opponent this season. With Oregon State riding a four-game winning streak, Washington State will have a difficult challenge ahead of it.

First-year head coach Kirby Moore made a change at quarterback earlier this week, turning to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman as the Cougars continue looking for answers offensively. Now, Washington State needs to find a way to move the ball more effectively and score more points.

The next two games are against Oregon State and Boise State. At 1-5, the Cougars need to win one of these next two games to keep their bowl hopes alive.

Here’s what to watch as Wazzu battles Oregon State on the road:

Washington State's Offense Needs to Show Improvement

The biggest question heading into Saturday is whether Washington State's offense can finally put together a consistent performance with a different signal caller.

The Cougars have struggled to move the football against FBS competition this season. Through their first six games, Washington State has struggled with lackluster quarterback play, turnovers, lack of receiver separation, and third down inefficiency. Those issues have made it difficult for the offense to sustain drives and put points on the board.

The change to Eshelman gives the Cougars an opportunity to see what a different quarterback can bring to the offense. However, Washington State cannot expect one personnel change to fix all of its problems. The rest of the unit needs to play better around the young gunslinger.