3 Washington State players poised for big performances against Colorado State

Tight end Jack Pedersen received a weekend visit from his girlfriend for her birthday and watched college-football games involving some of his friends.

Defensive lineman Kaden Beatty spent his free time re-watching all of the previous Washington State University games, studying the good and the bad.

Left tackle Ashton Tripp took extra time in the trainer’s room trying to get his legs back for the stretch run of games.

While first-year Cougars coach Kirby Moore and his staff took off last weekend on recruiting trips, they gave their players Friday and Saturday off - to do whatever they wanted to reset at the end of the bye week.

“The rest and recovery was huge,” Pedersen said.

Now, the team fires it back up this week in search of its first Pacific-12 Conference victory when Colorado State comes to Pullman for a night kickoff Saturday.

“We’ve got three weeks left,” Pedersen said. “And if you break down the game time of three games left, it is very minimal - 20 or 30 minutes of actually playing football.”

Here are three WSU players who are in line for big roles as the Cougars find a way to beat Colorado State on Saturday:

Keith Brown, middle linebacker

Oct 24, 2026; Pullman, Washington, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Rasean Jones (19) is tackled by Washington State Cougars linebacker Keith Brown (21) during the second half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brown, the defensive leader, hopefully got plenty of rest last week because he will have a daunting task this week tracking Colorado State dual-threat quarterback Hauss Hejny.

At 6 feet and 206 pounds, Hejny is a load to handle. He is too agile for any one pass rusher to corral in the backfield on scrambles. And once he decides to run, the sophomore is both an ankle-snapper and a tackle-breaker.

Hejny has 1,668 total yards of offense despite missing three games with a hamstring injury.

The Cougars will have to live with some of the downfield passing plays Hejny makes on Saturday. But it will be up to Brown to track the quarterback trying to extend drives with his legs to limit explosive plays.

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Branden Ganashamoorthy, wide receiver

Sep 26, 2026; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars wide receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy (8) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If you think Ganashamoorthy has been relatively quiet the past two games - catching four passes for 58 yards and no touchdowns in each game against Boise State and San Diego State - expect a reawakening Saturday.

This is a smash spot for the big-play redshirt junior from Monroe, Wash.

In all aspects, there isn’t a level of the field that Colorado State has defended with competency this season - and that includes deep middle.

Ganashamoorthy should be the latest wide receiver to take advantage of the Rams’ slow-reaction soft coverage in the secondary, whether it’s on slant-in, shallow cross or post routes.

Expect Ganashamoorthy to eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark for the second time this season and haul in his fourth touchdown pass in what is expected to be a high-scoring affair.

Ashton Tripp, left tackle

Sep 19, 2026; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars tight end Jack Pedersen (28) and Washington State Cougars offensive lineman Ashton Tripp (71) celebrate a touchdown against the Duquesne Dukes during the second half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

You can tell the big man from Kennewick, Wash. takes the recent string of awful performance by the offensive line personally.

And when asked about the upcoming matchup with Colorado State, the first thing he mentioned was the opportunity for the team to run the football.

Bingo.

Trip and right tackle Jaylin Caldwell should have a much easier time setting the edge - sealing the edge rusher - on outside-zone plays for the likes of Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi.

The Rams have really struggled to contain runs outside the hashes all season as the nation’s worst run defense. Tripp and company should help continue that trend in what should be a bounce-back run-game effort Saturday.

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