3 things WSU must fix before Kansas State

Win or lose - and in this case, Washington State University's dejecting Apple Cup defeat to No. 17 Washington - any coach would tell you there are issues to address on his football team.

Despite all the pleasant developments about the defense, the Cougars' offense and special teams will certainly need to take a hard look at their performance from the 24-10 loss Sunday afternoon at Husky Stadium.

Here are three things WSU needs to clean up before kicking off at Kansas State on Saturday.

1. WSU has to get better on third down

Not sure you heard, but the Cougars failed to convert on any of their 11 third-down plays Sunday.

Many of those plays were behind the down-and-distance meter - seven of the 11 plays needed seven or more yards to make a first down.

"Third-and-7-plus (yards) against anybody in college football is going to be difficult," Moore said.

Moore said both Sunday after the game, and at his weekly press conference on Monday that the offense needs to get in more manageable late-down situations.

Sep 6, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington State head coach Kirby Moore looks on from the sidelines against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter at Husky Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The most important thing early in the drives, you’ve got to execute on first down and get in a rhythm," Moore said. "It took us longer than we wanted to get in a rhythm there.”

Even though the Huskies' defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage much of the afternoon - quarterback Caden Pinnick was sacked three times and under constant pressure - going 0-for-11 on third downs seems kind of a fluky occurrence.

"That is how the ball rolls sometimes," Pinnick said. "We cannot really plan that. We’ve definitely got to get better and got to improve on that part of the game. When you go 0-of-11, you are not going to win a lot of games on third down.”

2. Jack Stevens needs to bounce back

Jack Stevens has been a consistent placekicker wherever he's been - high school and college.

And after utilizing a redshirt season at South Dakota State, he earned the starting job last fall when he transferred to WSU - and converted 16 of his 19 field-goal attempts and all 33 of his PAT kicks.

In fact, his .842 field-goal conversion percentage in 2025 ranks No. 4 all-time in Cougars' history for a single season.

Sep 6, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars kicker Jack Stevens (38) misses on a field goal attempt against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Sunday in WSU's season opener, Stevens was brought on for a 52-yard field goal on the opening series. He missed. Kind of understandable given the kick's length.

But with nearly seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, when the Cougars were still in search of much-needed points in a 10-game, Stevens was brought on to attempt a 27-yarder, which he booted through, only to be wiped out by a delay-of-game penalty.

Backed up five yards, Stevens badly pushed his 32-yard attempt to the right, and the Cougars came away empty. Moore stated that the whole "operation" on field goals has to get more efficient.

Stevens did make a 42-yard field goal with 4:30 remaining to cut Washington's lead to 17-10.

Everyone is entitled to one big game. Stevens needs to bounce back in another hostile road environment come Saturday.

3. Ball security is critical on the road

At the top of Moore's Monday game-review checklist that needs to change: Turnovers.

Pinnick was picked off twice, including one in the first half on a tipped pass. And Kirby Vorhees fumbled at the Cougars' 24 with 9 1/2 minutes to go before halftime.

Sep 6, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars running back Kirby Vorhees (9) catches a pass against the Washington Huskies during the fourth quarter at Husky Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Ball security," Moore said, "we did not achieve that."

Last season, WSU didn't commit its first turnover until Week 3, when it had five of them (three interceptions, two fumbles) in a 59-10 loss at North Texas State.

And in the three games in which the Cougars had three or more turnovers in 2025, they were 2-1. In the five games where they had no turnovers, they went 4-1.

"I’ve just got to play better, prepare better and mostly help give my guys a chance to actually have a chance to go win something," Pinnick said.

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