Washington State and Oregon State are the only two schools left standing from the old Pac-12, and now they're reunited in a brand-new version of the league they used to run.
Bush’s Picks
WSUORST
WSUORST
OverUnder
Best BetWashington State
Washington State gets grouped with the Pac-12's competitive middle class this fall, while Oregon State's realistic range still includes a third straight losing season under a first-time head coach. That gap in outside expectation, paired with the Cougars retaining a proven weapon in Tony Freeman, makes Washington State the side to back to win outright.
Washington State
+Grouped in Pac-12's competitive middle tier for 2026
+QB Pinnick threw 32 TDs, Big Sky Freshman of Year
+Tony Freeman a retained deep-threat/return weapon
−Third head coach in three straight seasons
−Pinnick unproven at the FBS level
−Ongoing QB battle heading into fall camp
Oregon State
+Shephard an accomplished offensive coordinator hire
+Murphy finally gets a full, unquestioned starting role
+LB Dylan Layne coming off 88-tackle season
−Program hit hardest by conference realignment
−First-time head coach with no prior HC experience
−Worst-case outlook includes a third straight losing season
Both programs show up to Corvallis under first-year head coaches trying to answer the same question: can you rebuild a roster fast enough to matter in a conference that's suddenly stacked with Group of Six heavyweights. Kirby Moore hands the Cougars offense to Caden Pinnick, a UC Davis transfer who threw for 3,206 yards and 32 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman and picked up Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors doing it. Across the field, JaMarcus Shephard finally gets to run his own show with Maalik Murphy after Oregon State burned through three different starting quarterbacks a year ago.
Shephard's résumé as an offensive coordinator is the whole pitch for Oregon State fans right now — he's known for wanting to push tempo and keep the ball in the air, which lines up well against a Washington State defense that's also adjusting to new coordinators and new faces. On the other side, Tony Freeman gives the Cougars a proven weapon regardless of who's throwing him the ball; he's one of Kirby Moore's biggest retention wins and doubles as one of the best punt returners in the country.
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WSU Washington State
ORST Oregon State
Neither team is walking into October with much margin for error. Oregon State was hit as hard as any program in the country by realignment, and the honest range of outcomes this season runs from bowl eligible to a third straight losing year. Washington State at least gets mentioned in the same breath as the conference's competitive middle class, but that's a group, not a guarantee — Pinnick and this offensive staff still have to prove it translates against real competition.
Washington State Cougars
Oct 9?@ Utah State—
Oct 3?vs Fresno State—
Sep 26?vs Arizona—
Sep 19?vs Duquesne—
Sep 12?@ Kansas State—
Sep 6?@ Washington—
Oregon State Beavers
Oct 10?vs San Diego State—
Oct 3?@ Colorado State—
Sep 26?@ UTEP—
Sep 19?vs Montana—
Sep 12?vs Texas Tech—
Sep 5?@ Houston—
Recent form.
The name to know on the Oregon State defense is linebacker Dylan Layne, an Idaho transfer who racked up 88 stops last season and adds real coverage range to a unit trying to find its footing under co-coordinators Cort Dennison and Mike MacIntyre. If the Beavers are going to keep this one competitive, it likely runs through Layne slowing down whatever Pinnick and Freeman try to do on the perimeter.
For Washington State, this is also about establishing an identity beyond the quarterback change. Moore is the program's third head coach in as many years, and stability itself is part of the pitch to a fan base that's watched the roster get picked over during conference realignment. A trip to Corvallis against a rebuilding rival is exactly the kind of game a program in that spot needs to handle.
Zoom out and this game is really about which rebuild is further along. Washington State enters with more continuity at the skill positions and a QB who's already proven he can put up numbers, even if it was at the FCS level. Oregon State is banking on a first-time head coach with a strong offensive pedigree to speed up a timeline that hasn't been kind to the Beavers the last two years.
