Washington State Rolls Past Duquesne 48-7 for First Win of Kirby Moore Era
Washington State finally got the performance it had been looking for. After struggling to find any consistency during the first two games of the season, the Cougars broke out in the second half Saturday afternoon, scoring 41 unanswered points on their way to a 48-7 win over Duquesne at Gesa Field.
The victory gave Washington State its first win of the season and the first career victory for head coach Kirby Moore. The Cougars improved to 1-2 on the season after opening the year with tough losses to Washington and Kansas State.
Washington State led just 14-7 at halftime with the Dukes giving them a better than anticipated fight early, but the Cougars completely took control after the break. WSU scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half before adding two more scores in the fourth quarter, blowing the contest wide open in the final 30 minutes.
The Cougars finished with 26 first downs and 480 total yards, including 316 rushing yards, and had multiple 100 yard rushers.
Here are four takeaways from the Cougs first win of 2026:
1. Caden Pinnick put together his best performance of the season after struggling through the first two games.
Pinnick, a redshirt sophomore, completed 17 of 22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns while adding 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He also distributed the ball to seven different receivers, making significant improvements as the game wore on.
After a rough start that included a botched snap and an interception, Pinnick settled down and helped Washington State move the ball consistently against Duquesne. His 19-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter gave the Cougars a 14-7 lead heading into halftime, building momentum needed to break things open after the break.
Washington State then opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pinnick to Jack Pedersen. The quarterback followed that effort with another scoring drive in the third quarter, finding Branden Ganashamoorthy for a 10-yard touchdown.
For a Washington State offense that had scored just 17 total points through its first two games, the performance was a major step forward, albeit it against far inferior competition compared to the first two games on the schedule.
2. The biggest difference for the Washington State offense was far better efficiency on the ground.
Kirby Vorhees and Maxwell Woods combined for 225 yards on 20 carries, giving the Cougars a much-needed one-two punch in the backfield. Vorhees finished with 109 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries, including a 58-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Woods added 116 yards on 11 carries, helping dice up a porous Dukes defense that had been one of the worst in the FCS division through the first two weeks.
The offensive line also had one of its strongest performances of the season. Washington State averaged 7.9 yards per carry and consistently created opportunities for its running backs to get into the second level. The success on the ground also helped open up the passing game for Pinnick.
After struggling to move the ball against Washington and Kansas State, the Cougars finally found an offensive identity against Duquesne, hoping to see the stellar blocking and run game production translate in future games against better competition.
3. Branden Ganashamoorthy was the Cougars leading wideout and stepped up in a big way.
With Tony Freeman likely out for the season with a knee injury, the Cougars needed other players to elevate their games to help a struggling passing attack. Saturday provided some encouraging signs, most notably with Ganashamoorthy taking the torch with his best game of the season.
The receiver caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, including a 10-yard touchdown reception from Pinnick in the third quarter, leading the group in their second full game without Freeman. Pinnick also found Jack Pedersen for a touchdown, while Washington State continued to get contributions from multiple receivers to help pick up the slack minus their No. 1 target.
4. Washington State's special teams unit provided two of the biggest plays of the afternoon.
Putting points on the scoreboard in the third phase of the game, Jaylen Thomas returned a punt 47 yards for a touchdown with 5:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. Just over two minutes later, Tank Hawkins Jr. followed with a 65-yard punt return touchdown of his own, ballooning the lead without Pinnick and company even taking the field.
The back-to-back punt return touchdowns gave the Cougars a 48-7 lead and provided a memorable finish to the home opener. The last time a Cougar returned a punt for a touchdown was Kaleb Fossum in 2016 and two different Cougs haven’t returned a punt for a touchdown in the same game since 1973, making Saturday a historic day for the program on special teams.
5. After allowing 34 points to Kansas State the previous week, the Washington State defense responded with a much stronger performance.
Locked down for most of the afternoon, Duquesne finished with just 180 total yards and was held scoreless after the first quarter. The only major defensive mistake came early when Duquesne broke off a 54-yard run that helped set up its only touchdown of the game.
After that, Washington State's defense settled in and kept the Dukes from finding any rhythm, forcing 11 punts while allowing just two third down conversions on 13 opportunities.
Up Next
A 48-7 victory over a winless FCS opponent does not erase the struggles Washington State had during the first two weeks of the season, but it gives the Cougars confidence as they head towards a tough matchup with Big 12 opponent Arizona and the eventual start of the Pac 12 schedule.
The offense finally showed signs of a developing identity, as the running game came alive and Pinnick settled into the quarterback position with his best effort so far, while the defense responded after a difficult performance against Kansas State.
There is still plenty for Washington State to clean up with a far better opponent coming up next week, but the Cougars now have their first win of the Kirby Moore era and hope to carry that positive momentum into their matchup with the Wildcats as Moore seeks his first win against a Power 4 foe.
