Two rebuilding programs, two new-look rosters, and a Pac-12 rivalry nobody's had time to build a history with yet — Washington State and Utah State meet with more questions than answers on both sidelines.
Bush’s Picks
WSUUSU
WSUUSU
OverUnder
Best BetUtah State
Utah State's biggest advantage here isn't scheme, it's stability — Hillstead is a known, settled starter while Washington State is still sorting out a three-man quarterback competition. Home teams with a locked-in QB and a defense that returns its two leading tacklers are the safer bet in a game with this much roster churn on both sides. It's not a blowout lean, just a nod to whoever has fewer unknowns.
Washington State
+Vorhees, Woods, Pulalasi form a deep RB room
+Peterson broke out as a true freshman DB
−Kirby Moore is a first-year head coach
−Quarterback job still unsettled entering fall camp
Utah State
+Hillstead locked in as starting quarterback
+Hamblin, Olevao anchor a proven returning defense
−Coming off a 6-7 finish in Mendenhall's debut
−Nearly 30 newcomers to replace at receiver, LB
This one's less about who these teams are and more about who they're still figuring out. Washington State walks in with first-year head coach Kirby Moore after Jimmy Rogers bailed for Iowa State following a 6-6 debut season in Pullman. Utah State is a year further along under Bronco Mendenhall, but a 6-7 finish in his first season and a roster overhauled by nearly 30 transfers means the Aggies aren't exactly a finished product either.
The clearest edge either side has heading into fall camp is at quarterback, and it belongs to Utah State. McCae Hillstead — who started at Utah State back in 2023, left for BYU, redshirted, then barely played before reversing course — was named the Aggies' starting QB in April. That's real continuity Washington State doesn't have. Cougars coordinators are still sorting through a three-way battle between Zevi Eshelman, Julian Dugger and company, and until that shakes out, WSU's offense is a bit of a question mark.
Show fees
8:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
WSU Washington State
USU Utah State
Where Washington State does have an identity is in the backfield. Vorhees ran for 576 yards and 5 touchdowns last season, and with Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi in the mix, the Cougars could roll out one of the deeper running back rooms in the rebuilt Pac-12. If Moore leans on the ground game while the quarterback room settles, that trio gives him something to lean on.
Washington State Cougars
Oct 3?vs Fresno State—
Sep 26?vs Arizona—
Sep 19?vs Duquesne—
Sep 12?@ Kansas State—
Sep 6?@ Washington—
Utah State Aggies
Oct 3?@ Boise State—
Sep 26?vs Troy—
Sep 19?@ Utah—
Sep 12?@ Washington—
Sep 5?vs Idaho State—
Recent form.
Utah State's calling card is defensive continuity. Safety Brevin Hamblin (114 tackles, an interception) and linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. (90 tackles, 4 sacks) are both back, giving new OC Robert Anae's offense a defense that can keep the Aggies in games while the newcomers find their footing. That matters given how brutal Utah State's early Pac-12 slate is on paper — this is a program absorbing a lot of change at once.
Washington State Cougars
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Utah State Aggies
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Neither program has a settled look yet, which is exactly what makes a game like this hard to forecast months out. Washington State's defense also has its own continuity story in defensive back Brown, entering his third season under his third different head coach and coordinator combo. By the time Friday, October 9 rolls around, both rosters will have had a full fall camp and a handful of games to sort out who they actually are — for now, this reads like two teams still writing their own scouting reports.
