Caden Pinnick explains what changed for WSU in 48-7 win over Duquesne

WSU's quarterback opened up about the Cougars' second-half turnaround, his mindset after two losses and the team's dominant rushing performance

Washington State Cougars quarterback Caden Pinnick (12) throws against the Duquesne Dukes during the second half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After two losses, it was a week of deep reflection Washington State University quarterback Caden Pinnick, who responded Saturday with the best game during his short Cougars' tenure.

Pinnick passed for 196 yards and his first two WSU touchdowns, adding another 76 rushing yards and a score in the team's 48-7 victory over Duquesne in Pullman.

He spoke for nearly seven minutes to reporters after the game in the interview room.

What changed for WSU after halftime?

"Yeah, it was recognizing we’ve got too many holding calls. That was what was hurting us. Once we realized that, it was preaching to the (offensive) line, we have the amount of rushing yards that we had for a reason. They are playing downhill. Everyone honestly is playing aggressive. It was flip a switch 'Hey, let me do my job, let me not get outside my body or try and overblock, or make a ‘hero’ block.' That was just a switch."

Pinnick adjusted to WSU's faster tempo

"It was an idea. You didn’t see much of that in the first half, but in the second half we definitely ramped it up. That is what you are going to get with a new offense. You are going to start to see what your strengths are and what plays in a certain place well. That is why we are trusting the process and why it turned out great for us."

Pinnick praised WSU's rushing attack

"Man, that is awesome. What they said, we haven’t had two running backs with 100-plus yards since 2005. That is a compliment to the (offensive) line. These dudes, they’ve been in a rabbit hole and been getting knocked on, whether is it pass or run efficiency. Yeah, it is Duquesne, but we are going to take our victories as they come. We know we have harder opponents ahead of us, but that is going to be the main focus is trying to get better every day. Hats off to them, they played their butts off."

Pinnick had to reset after WSU's 0-2 start

"A lot of it is trying to play outside of my body, trying to play an 11-man sport with just only one. That is bad quarterback play. As we keep going on through these weeks with the great game plans that we get, you start to see what guys can do and what guys can’t. That is just the adjustment, right? For me, (in) my head space, (it was) getting back to positivity., Your mind can go all over the place after two inefficient losses. By any means, (it was) not a perfect game on my part (today), missed a couple reads but we will watch the film and get better."

Pinnick credits WSU for keeping him positive

"All the guys in that room right there, from the head man down to the water girls and water guys. This place and facility is filled with Cougar pride. They don’t really look at you sideways if you are doing bad or good. They look at you as you. A lot of those guys and women in that facility kept my mind space right and had belief in me."

Pinnick believes WSU's defense will keep showing up

"Defense continues to show up. Hats off to Coach Bray and his staff, and all the guys on that side of the ball. They come to play, without a doubt, every Saturday. It shows throughout the week. We still need to pick it up on offense. By all means, not a great or perfect game. We played our butts off."

Pinnick thanks Cougar Nation for its support

"I just say thank you to Cougar Nation, in general. The first two games offensively were quite honest not great at all. And for them to stick around throughout the second half and continue to see us play, and continue to cheer - third-down chants - that felt like home. It was really cool to experience that for the first time. … Being able to just experience all of the pride this community has, this town has - thank you to all of those people and we love them very much."

Pinnick explains who was calling WSU's offensive plays

"It was still (offensive coordinator Matt) Miller, and coach (Kirby) Moore definitely had some input in it. At the end of the day, our goal was to create a simple offensive plan;. That way, guys could go out and execute. … It was simple football and at the end of the day, that is what can happen if you just play simple football."