Colorado State at Washington State
Usual during the game: 40°, between 30° and 49° in about 7 in 10 games.
Airport reading near the stadium26 games since 2016 · How we measure
Colorado State (3‑5) at Washington State (1‑8) — no line yet, and the model has this one close to even. Colorado State’s offense is at the 95th percentile on explosive plays; Washington State’s defense is at the 16th.
How they got here
Last three games
Colorado State · 3-5
Rated 79th in our preseason ratings, 118th now.
1-2 in its last three, including a 7-point win over San Diego State as a 1.5-point underdog.
L 26-56 vs Oregon State No. 38 of 668 teams
lost by 30 as a 7-point underdog
Last three games
Washington State · 1-8
Rated 43rd in our preseason ratings, 92nd now.
Three straight losses.
Biggest mismatch: Colorado State’s explosive plays against Washington State, 79 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
Colorado State’s explosive plays against Washington State’s defense
Colorado State offense, 95th percentile · Washington State defense, 16th
Colorado State’s rushing EPA against Washington State’s defense
Colorado State offense, 95th percentile · Washington State defense, 21st
Colorado State’s EPA/play against Washington State’s defense
Colorado State offense, 76th percentile · Washington State defense, 39th
What’s at stake
Colorado State
- Colorado State is still shaking off a 17-point loss.
Washington State
- Washington State hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2023.
The series
Washington State leads the series 3-1
4 meetings since 2013 · Washington State has won the last 3
- 2025Washington State 20-3
- 2023Washington State 50-24
- 2022Washington State 38-7
- 2013 · neutral siteColorado State 48-45
Each line is Washington State’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Colorado State
The chip · vs big brotherRams fans have spent a generation watching Colorado get the cameras, the recruits, and the benefit of the doubt while Fort Collins gets called the other Colorado school. The Pac-12 move is the chance, finally, to be looked at as a peer instead of a punchline.
What this game touches
The 2025 bottom-out. The Rams went 2-10 (1-7 MW) and fired Jay Norvell on October 19 after a 2-5 start — a humiliating final Mountain West season right before the move up, with interim coach Tyson Summers closing out the year.
Washington State
The chip · vs big brotherCougar fans watched the bigger schools sprint to richer leagues and leave the loyal ones behind, and they have not forgotten which neighbor pulled the ladder up. They say the ones who ran abandoned the conference; the Cougs are the ones who kept it alive.
What this game touches
Left behind in the Pac-12 collapse. In 2023 the Pac-12's biggest names bolted for the Big Ten and Big 12, and Washington State — too remote, too small a market — got no invitation. WSU and Oregon State were the only two left holding the conference's name, forced to schedule against a borrowed league while everyone who ran cashed in.
Best players
Colorado State
- Oumar Diomande (LB) · 76 tackles
- TreShawn Moore (S) · 61 tackles
- Reginald Vick Jr (WR) · 425 receiving yards
Washington State
- Keith Brown (LB) · 71 tackles
- Isaiah Hung (LB) · 39 tackles
- Branden Ganashamoorthy (WR) · 459 receiving yards
The betting line, and the fans
Colorado State fans are in a better mood than Washington State fans (43rd percentile vs 10th among FBS fanbases), even with Washington State favored.
Weather at kickoff
Typical at Gesa Field: noon Saturdays score 89, 7:30 pm Saturdays 84
Colorado State at Washington State · Saturday, Nov. 14 · 10:30 pm ET · Gesa Field.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
If it kicked off at
Typical at Gesa Field: noon Saturdays score 89, 3:30 pm 85, 7:30 pm 84.
- noon: 89, Mixed
- 3:30 pm: 85, Mixed
- 7:30 pm: 84, Mixed
Typical weather score at each kickoff time.
Typical means the average of regular-season Saturdays at this stadium, 2018 to 2025. It is not a forecast for this game.
Home field
Washington State is worth +4.9 points (±4.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 62nd percentile.
62% at home, 33% on the road against FBS opponents (26-16 home, 15-30 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -1.4 at home vs. away over 95 games — inside the ±6.4 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 737 miles to get here.
Season profile
Week by week
Washington State
- Wk 5Lvs Fresno State6-26
- Wk 6Lat Utah State16-17
- Wk 7Lat Oregon State30-48
- Wk 8Lvs Boise State10-31
- Wk 9Lat San Diego State20-26
Colorado State
- Wk 4Lat UTSA45-59
- Wk 5Lvs Oregon State26-56
- Wk 7Lat Texas State27-66
- Wk 8Wvs San Diego State56-49
- Wk 9Lat Utah State14-31
Power rating by week
Washington State is rated 1.9 points ahead as of week 10. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Conference standings
Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.
- Washington State8th0-5
- Colorado State7th1-3