Washington State finds answers on offense but bigger problems emerge in loss to Oregon State

Oregon State University flashed a lot of the same football-related components Saturday - big-play passing attack, disciplined defense and lots of pure enjoyment - that they have for the past month.

Their sensational wide receiver Jesse Legree saw no bruising to his quickly developing Heisman Trophy campaign against Washington State University with two more touchdowns, including a career-long 90-yarder.

Suddenly-surging Oregon State beat the Cougars, 48-30, at Reser Stadium to win its fifth game in a row.

Now, 1-6, WSU still hasn’t defeated an FBS opponent in its first season in the restructured Pacific-12 Conference.

And yet, through all the rubble Saturday, did the Cougars discover a long-term solution for their struggling offense?

Redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman certainly stated his case to remain the quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Here are three instant takeaways from the Cougars’ loss at Oregon State in Corvallis:

1. It has to be Owen Eshelman’s job moving forward

Not sure it’s even up for debate after the Oklahoma product amassed 425 yards of total offense in his collegiate debut.

Eshelman rushed for 136 yards Saturday, becoming the first WSU quarterback to post a 100-yard rushing game since 2024, when John Mateer went for 111 yards against San Jose State.

It was the most rushing yards by a Cougars’ signal caller since Mateer rushed for 197 yards against Texas Tech earlier in that same season.

For Eshelman, it wasn’t just about racking up gaudy numbers on Saturday. It was his overall command of the offense. It was his toughness. It was his leadership.

As for the WSU offense, it looked more like - dare we say - Cougar-like. It scored a season-high in points, scoring four touchdowns and showing more life than it had all season.

2. Kirby Moore needs to come out of shell

For various things - most of all over the performance of the WSU offense - Moore has been under fire plenty over the past month.

It took him longer to make a play-calling change than fans would have liked.

It took him longer to make a quarterback switch than fans would have liked.

And during the first half Saturday, it was his game management against a high-powered opponent.

On two separate occasions, the WSU offense marched near midfield, and faced fourth-and-short situations.

Both times, Moore sent on Max Dean to put the football away - and the decision backfired.

The first time, the Cougars had a fourth and 1 and the Beavers’ 48. Dean’s punt pinned the Oregon State offense at its own 10-yard line.

On the first play, Atkinson connected with Legree in the middle of the field for the 90-yard touchdown, giving the Beavers a 14-0 lead.

The second punt on fourth and 3 also left the Beavers with a long field late in the first half. Again, Atkinson found Newberry for the 88-yard score for a 27-3 Oregon State lead.

To Moore’s slight defense, putting Eshelman in go-for-broke situations with a couple of series under his belt might have been unfair. But now that the coach knows what he has leading the offense, he needs to be more aggressive.

3. WSU defense wasn’t as good as the numbers indicated

All three levels of the Cougars’ defense Saturday was knocked down a peg by the Beavers.

Until late, the defensive line got no pressure on Atkinson.

WSU’s linebackers, particularly D.J. Warner, were largely responsible for Newberry becoming the first Oregon State running back since 2013 to record a 100-yard rushing game (105) and a 100-yard receiving game (120) in the same game.

And while the secondary overall did a decent job on Legree, the speedster from Maryland still ran right by cornerback Kai Rapolia to catch the 90-yard touchdown.

The Cougars gave up a season-high in yards (555) and points (48).