Kirby Moore takes over a Washington State roster that lost 41 players to the portal, and the defining theme of this offseason is coverage instability on defense paired with target-share churn on offense. Zevi Eckhaus returns as the starting quarterback, which matters given the alternative — the team also lost Jaxon Potter, who logged 24.1 PPA before leaving for Old Dominion, but Eckhaus staying put anchors an offense that otherwise lost its top two receivers in Tony Freeman (27.9 PPA) and Mackenzie Alleyne, who left for Oklahoma. Missouri transfer Daniel Blood arrives as the headline addition at receiver, joined by Tank Hawkins from Florida and tight end Jack Pedersen from UCLA, but replacing 79.6 PPA of departed production with 9.3 PPA of new production is a real gap to close. The offense projects as below average, the defense and special teams roughly average, and the overall profile lands squarely in the middle — fitting for a team replacing significant edge and coverage pieces on a defense that carried real weight last season.

JP+ projects 5.1 wins, and the toughest stretch includes road trips to Washington and Kansas State plus a home date with Arizona, while Fresno State, Colorado State, and Duquesne at home offer the clearest paths to bowl eligibility. The gap between that projection and any rosier outside expectation comes down to replacement confidence on defense, where role loss, edge attrition, and coverage attrition all registered as high-risk items entering fall camp. If Blood and the new receiving corps give Eckhaus enough target-share stability and the front seven replacements hold up in coverage, Washington State could push past 5.1 wins. If the defensive attrition shows up on tape early, six wins again feels like the ceiling rather than the floor.