Washington State Cougars at San Diego State Aztecs
Sat Oct 31 · 6:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 5d ago·2 min read
WSU
SDSU
AT
6:00 PM CT
Share
Washington State and San Diego State are about to become conference rivals for the first time, and both programs are walking into this one with brand-new looks up top.
Bush’s Picks
WSUSDSU
WSUSDSU
OverUnder
Best BetSan Diego State
San Diego State brings the far steadier setup into this one — a returning starting quarterback in Jayden Denegal, a leading rusher back in the fold, and a head coach who just delivered a 9-win season. WSU is rolling with a first-year coach and a wide-open quarterback competition, which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that makes moneyline bettors nervous. Backing the Aztecs at home is the cleaner read until WSU proves it has answers at the position.
Washington State
+Won the last two meetings against SDSU outright
+New coach Kirby Moore brings fresh system and energy
−No settled starting quarterback entering fall camp
−First-year head coach with unproven staff continuity
San Diego State
+Returning starter Jayden Denegal healthy after 2025 injury
This one's really about who WSU trusts under center by the time Halloween rolls around. Kirby Moore takes over in Pullman after Jimmy Rogers bolted for Iowa State following a 6-6 debut season, and the Cougars enter fall camp with zero clarity at quarterback. Jaxon Potter, who started for three years, hit the portal after getting benched; a Rutgers transfer left without ever taking a snap. UC Davis import Caden Pinnick and returner Julian Dugger are the new names in the mix, but nobody's locked anything down yet.
San Diego State, by contrast, knows exactly who it wants running the show. Jayden Denegal is back after an injury-shortened 2025, and he's got Lucky Sutton, the Aztecs' leading rusher, still in the backfield behind him. Sean Lewis stays on as head coach after guiding SDSU to a 9-4 season and a wild 49-47 New Mexico Bowl shootout loss to North Texas — the program's first winning year in three seasons. That continuity is a real edge walking into a new league.
Show fees
6:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
WSU Washington State
SDSU San Diego State
Both schools are jumping from their old homes into the reconstituted Pac-12 this fall, which makes this WSU-SDSU meeting count for conference standings for the first time ever. The two have actually met in each of the last two seasons as scheduling partners, with WSU winning both — a 29-26 nailbiter in San Diego in 2024 and a home win in Pullman last September. History says Cougars, but this year's roster turnover on both sides makes that a shakier data point than usual.
Washington State Cougars
Oct 17?@ Oregon State—
Oct 9?@ Utah State—
Oct 3?vs Fresno State—
Sep 26?vs Arizona—
Sep 19?vs Duquesne—
Sep 12?@ Kansas State—
Sep 6?@ Washington—
San Diego State Aztecs
Oct 17?vs Fresno State—
Oct 10?@ Oregon State—
Oct 3?vs Texas State—
Sep 25?@ Toledo—
Sep 19?vs James Madison—
Sep 12?@ UCLA—
Sep 5?vs Portland State—
Recent form.
San Diego State opened with a modest win total around 6.5 for the season, which tells you oddsmakers see them as solid-but-unspectacular in year one of Pac-12 life — not a pushover, not a contender. WSU's number wasn't out yet as of this writing, but a first-year coach and an open quarterback competition rarely inspire confidence from bettors early in an offseason.
By the time this one kicks off on Saturday, October 31, both teams will have played roughly two months of a brand-new conference slate, so expect a much clearer picture of each roster's identity than exists right now. If WSU has settled on a quarterback and that guy is playing loose, this could be a fun, tight one given the recent head-to-head results. If the Cougars are still shuffling bodies at the position in late October, San Diego State's steadier setup with Denegal should carry the day.
Either way, this is a program-building game for both sides — first impressions in a new league matter, and neither Kirby Moore nor Sean Lewis wants to open Pac-12 life with a loss to a direct competitor for regional bragging rights.
