Perhaps Washington State University wide receiver Daniel Blood said it best when it came to describing what the Cougars were in for Saturday, with 21st-ranked Boise State coming to town.
“A good hard-nosed team,” Blood said.
And a team that has found an unshakable winning formula the Cougars are still searching for.
Here are three matchups WSU must make advantageous at home to knock off No. 21 Boise State in Pullman:
1. Keep Dylan Riley out of the open field
On the checklist of all the standout running backs WSU will face in 2026, Dylan Riley has to get the biggest check.
Not only is he one of the nation’s leading rushers - 835 yards, six touchdowns in six games - he is the best all-around playmaker the Cougars will see all season.
Riley attacks a defense in all ways, but because of his speed and elusiveness, he is especially dangerous on stretch plays to the outside - and in the screen game.
Boise State will do anything to get him in open space at the second level of a defense. Once he’s there, he usually is off to the races.
In the Broncos’ last game against a good Fresno State defense, Riley went 72 yards off an outside-zone carry in the first quarter - and later added a 44-yard touchdown catch where he was allowed to roam behind the line of scrimmage.
Riley was both the Broncos’ leading rusher (150 yards) and receiver (64 yards) in the game.
If the Cougars thought Oregon State’s AJ Newberry was a handful last week, busting up the defense for a 100-yard rushing and receiving games - Riley has another gear to his firepower.
2. Attack Boise State's vulnerable coverage
Did you see what twitchy receiver Ezekiel Avit did for Fresno State in the team’s 38-31 loss to the Broncos nearly two weeks ago?
He put Boise State’s soft-coverage cornerback in a blender - to the tune of six catches, 96 yards and two touchdowns.
Enter quickly-emerging Branden Ganashamoorthy, who received a whopping 18 targets for the Cougars in last week’s 48-30 loss at Oregon State, turning it into a career-high 11 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.
It will be up to Moore to move Ganashamoorthy around to attack the Broncos when they play off. He is the one receiver who has game-breaking speed and high-level body control to win those matchups for big gains.
Might be wise for the Cougars to go at cornerback Sherrod Smith and see if his off game (gave up two touchdowns, responsible for a pass interference, had career-worst 33.6 coverage grade) for Boise State two weeks ago was a blip or something over which the Broncos should be worried long-term.
3. Keep Owen Eshelman out of third-and-long
Even with the change to quarterback Owen Eshelman last week, WSU still had difficulty converting on third downs against the Beavers.
For the Cougars to have any chance Saturday, that has to improve drastically against a defense who feeds off the “money” downs.
Boise State ranks No. 6 in the country in third-down defense, allowing conversions at a 27.4-percent clip.
Let’s be honest here, the chances of a WSU run-game turnaround this weekend against another good defensive front are probably too much to ask.
It would be wise for Moore to give the keys to the offense to Eshelman to see if he can keep the chains moving - with his feet and arms.
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