How Washington State’s 2024 opponents fared in Week 9

Outside of the Cougars’ most recent opponent, San Diego State, Washington State’s 2024 foes finished 4-6 in Week 9.

Portland State: no game

The Vikings did not play last weekend.

Texas Tech: Loss at TCU 35-34

Texas Tech had a 17-point lead in the third quarter, but couldn’t hold it when TCU came back to hand the Red Raiders their second loss of the season. Josh Hoover threw two touchdown passes in the final nine minutes to seal the deal for the Horned Frogs. Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton was injured and true freshman Will Hammond had to step in under center. Neither Hammond threw for 121 yards and a score on ten completions. Tahj Brooks also ran for 121 yards, but two ill-timed fumbles on the Red Raiders’ final two drives buried any chance of stealing the win.

Washington: defeat at Indiana 31-17

#13 Indiana proved to be too much for the visiting Huskies and having ‘College Gameday’ in town only fueled the crowd further, making it even more difficult for UW. Will Rogers threw two interceptions and the running game couldn’t muster much either. The Hoosiers took the lead with a long pick six from D’Angelo Ponds and never looked back. Washington falls to 4-4 on the year and just 2-3 in Big Ten play. Indiana remains undefeated with the victory.

San Jose State: Defeat at Fresno State 33-10

SJSU had a rough day in Fresno. Three different players attempted passes during the Bulldogs game and all three were intercepted at least once with regular starter Walker Eget throwing two interceptions. The Spartans scored their only touchdown just 56 seconds into the game and then did virtually nothing for the rest of the night. The defense gave up over 400 yards and was on the field too long. San Jose State, now 5-3, is 3-2 in Mountain West action and is still trying to become bowl eligible.

Boise State: Win at UNLV 29-24

Aside from its lone loss to Oregon, No. 17 Boise State faced its biggest test of the season so far against UNLV, but passed it on Friday night. Ashton Jeanty ran for 128 yards on 33 carries (a relatively quiet night by his standards) and found the end zone once. Trailing by one as the fourth quarter began, the Broncos defense locked down and held the Rebels scoreless for the final 15 minutes. The offense put together a beautiful final drive that ate up more than eight minutes and BSU is now 6-1.

Fresno State: Victory against San José State 33-10

The Bulldogs’ defense had a peak with the visiting Spartans on Saturday night, forcing four turnovers (all interceptions) and holding SJSU to just 101 rushing yards. Mikey Keene threw three touchdowns and gained 275 yards. Jalen Moss scored two touchdowns and led receivers with 85 yards on six losses. Fresno State is now on a two-game winning streak and has improved to 5-3 on the season.

Hawaii: Victory vs. Nevada 34-13

Hawaii finally got its first win over an FBS opponent on Saturday night, handily defeating visiting Nevada. The Rainbow Warriors’ defense was tremendous, keeping the Wolfpack off the scoreboard until the third quarter. Brayden Schager ran for 120 yards and the team’s four touchdowns while throwing for another 153 yards. The win snaps a three-game losing streak for Hawaii and marks the first in Mountain West play.

San Diego State: Loss against Washington State 29-26

The Cougars scored 15 points in the final 12 minutes to come back and defeat the Aztecs. San Diego State playmaker Danny O’Neil threw an ill-timed pick to WSU’s Taariq Al-Uqdah to help set up the comeback. Marquez Cooper ran for two touchdowns and Nate Bennett scored another, but it wasn’t enough. It didn’t help that the Aztecs allowed Cougs D lineman Ansel Din-Mbuh to record three sacks. San Diego State falls to 3-4.

Utah State: victory at Wyoming 27-25

It took the Aggies almost two months, but they finally have a second in the win column. Utah State beat Wyoming on the road thanks to a big night from running back Rahsul Faison, who rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Spencer Petras was solid through the air, throwing for nearly 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A 40-yard Tanner Cragun field goal as time expired iced it and USU improved to 2-6.

New Mexico: Defeat at Colorado State 17-6

The CSU game was deadlocked for quite some time before the Rams broke it open with two big plays in the second quarter. An 82-yard punt return by Kobe Johnson proved to be too much for the Wolves to overcome as they watch their three-game winning streak come to an end. Devon Dampier threw two picks and fumbled twice. New Mexico never broke the goal line and the game was never really under control. The Lobos fall to 2-2 in conference play and 3-5 overall.

Oregon State: Loss at California 44-7

It was another really ugly performance for Oregon State signal-caller Gevani McCoy against former Pac-12 foe Cal, and it looks like a QB change is happening because of it. McCoy completed just two passes and had one pick before being benched in the second quarter. However, OSU didn’t fare much better with Ben Gulbranson there, and still didn’t score until the game was already out of reach in the fourth. The Beavers defense gave up nearly 500 yards and didn’t get to Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza even once. Oregon State is now 4-4.

Wyoming: loss against Utah State 27-25

It wasn’t Wyoming’s best performance Saturday night against Utah State at home. It looked like kicker John Haoyland had the winning goal with less than two left when he kicked a 31-yard field goal. The Aggies, however, came within range to kick the real game winner as the clock hit zero. Evan Svoboda barely played and when he was in, he didn’t play well, throwing one interception and completing only two throws. Sam Scott rushed for 115 yards, but that was all the Cowboys had going for them. Wyoming is 1-7.

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