Cougars Tab Owen Eschelman as New Starting QB, Seeking Offensive Spark
Citing missed opportunities in a dreadful loss to Utah State, Kirby Moore finally pulled the plug on the Caden Pinnick experiment, hoping a quarterback change can wake up one of the worst offenses in the FBS level.
Washington State is making a change at quarterback as the Cougars look for answers to their chronic offensive struggles so far this season.
After a disappointing 1-5 start to the 2026 season, Washington State will turn to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman to lead the offense. The move marks a significant change for first-year head coach Kirby Moore, whose team has had one of the least effective offenses in the country through six weeks.
The Cougars have struggled to move the football with the exception of a blowout win overly lowly FCS foe Duquesne, and the passing game has been nearly nonexistent, with just one passing touchdown for former starter Caden Pinnick against an FBS opponent. In a 17-16 loss to Utah State on Friday, Pinnick completed 23 of 36 pass attempts for only 156 yards with no touchdowns.
Now, Washington State will look to see if a new face under center can provide a spark for an offense that desperately needs one.
"Saturday, going back through the entire game, we just had too many missed opportunities, especially in the red zone and in the second half," Moore said. "And we had opportunities to score more points and there's more than the quarterback with that. But we're excited for Owen's opportunity on Saturday."
Why Washington State Finally Made the Change
Washington State's offensive struggles simply cannot be ignored any longer.
The Cougars entered the season hoping that Pinnick could provide stability after transferring from UC Davis, where he earned Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Pinnick threw for 3,206 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2025, giving Washington State reason to believe he could be the answer at quarterback.
However, that production has not translated to Pullman.
