Gameday Guide: WSU at Colorado State

In today's newsletter ...

• A must win?

• Critical Info

• Gamblin’

• This week’s podcast (in case you missed it)

• Injury Impact

  • WSU

  • Colorado State

• Key matchups

  • WSU’s rushing attack vs. CSU depleted defensive li …

  • WSU’s pass defense vs. CSU’s new QB

• What I’ll be watching for

  • What’s the mentality?

• What you can watch for: Gameday Bingo!

• Other games of interest

  • Game of the day (if you have a second screen)

  • Next opponent

  • Opponent after that

  • Late Night Sicko Special

A must win?

At first blush, it seems overdramatic to call any game in September a “must win.” But if the Cougars (2-2) are going to secure six wins and make it to a bowl game, this sure seems like one.

The Colorado State Rams (2-1), frankly, are not very good. Of course, the available evidence (to this point) suggests the Cougs also are not very good! That said, when a not-very-good team travels to face another not-very-good team, there’s a chance for either of those not-very-good teams to come away with a victory.

The reason this one sticks out for WSU is because it kicks off a three-game swing away from home, and the following two games are at Mississippi (4-0, ranked 13th) and Virginia (3-1). Getting a victory in either of those figures to be much tougher than this one; if WSU loses to CSU, they’ll likely be 2-5 heading into the final five games, needing to win four to get bowl eligible. Hardly ideal.

But if you at least get this one, you’re (at worst) 3-4. That’s a pretty big difference.

A funny thing about this game is that the Cougars are the ones who actually have some quarterback stability heading into it. Zevi Eckhaus will be making his second start after a strong outing against Washington last week. Colorado State, meanwhile, comes off a loss in which they benched their starter in the second half, only to see the backup, Jackson Brousseau, lead them to a pair of TDs that nearly send the game to overtime.

The reason it didn’t go to overtime? UTSA was offside on CSU’s extra point that tied it, so coach Jay Norvell elected to take the point off the board and go for the immediate win from a yard and a half closer. Only, he took out Brousseau and brought in a running QB before calling what looked like an RPO that resulted in a poor, contested pass. I’m not sure which is worse — losing the way we did or losing the way they did, to be honest.

In light of everything above, both teams figure to be pretty desperate for a win.

Critical Info

• Game time: 4:30 p.m. PT

• Location: Canvas Stadium — Fort Collins, Colorado

• Weather forecast at kickoff: 75 degrees and sunny, slight breeze

• How to watch: CBS Sports Network/cbssports.com/Paramount+

• How to listen: WSUCougars.com

• Live stats: StatBroadcast 

Gamblin’

Consensus via VegasInsider.com.

Trends: WSU is just 1-3 ATS, SDSU just 2-1. WSU has gone over the number in three straight, while CSU has gone under in the last two. WSU has covered as the favorite in their last two matchups against Colorado State (in 2022 and 2023).

Predictive model probabilities: 41% to win, 54% to beat the spread (at +6)

This week’s podcast (in case you missed it)

Injury Impact

WSU

The biggest news in the last week came off the field, where reserve offensive lineman Sone Falealo is recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in the evening following the Apple Cup. Thankfully, his injuries are not considered serious, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

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