PULLMAN, Wash. (September 26, 2026) — Washington State football lost to Arizona 34-24 Saturday. WSU’s late push included Caden Pinnick’s 46-yard touchdown pass to Branden Ganashamoorthy with 7:15 left, trimming Arizona’s lead to 31-24, but it was not enough.
Pinnick completed 24 of 41 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown and added 35 rushing yards and a score. Ganashamoorthy caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Jackquintin Bal led the Cougars with nine tackles and returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown. Linus Zunk recorded six tackles and 1.5 sacks.
WSU’s first offensive possession went 10 plays and 71 yards, capped by Pinnick’s 11-yard touchdown run and Jack Stevens’ PAT for a 7-0 lead. The defense added the next score when Bal intercepted an opponent and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, with Stevens’ kick making it 14-0. Arizona answered in the final seconds on a 28-yard touchdown pass, leaving the Cougs ahead 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars put together the second quarter’s final scoring drive, moving 52 yards in 1:31 before Stevens hit a 33-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to make it 17-14. Earlier, Arizona tied the game at 14 with a 4-yard touchdown pass and the ensuing PAT, and WSU’s next drive reached the Arizona 21 before Stevens’ 39-yard try was blocked. Josh Wedel and Zunk combined for a sack on the following Arizona possession, helping force a punt that set up WSU’s late field-goal drive.
Wazzu was held scoreless in the third quarter, with its four drives ending in three punts and a lost fumble while going 0-for-4 on third down. The defense limited the damage after Arizona started twice in WSU territory, including Damarjhe Lewis' block of a 43-yard field-goal attempt, but Arizona later finished an 82-yard drive with a touchdown and extra point to make it 21-17. The Cougs finished the third quarter down 21-17.
WSU answered Arizona's touchdown with a six-play, 75-yard drive, capped when Pinnick hit Ganashamoorthy for a 46-yard touchdown on fourth-and-10 and Stevens' PAT made it 31-24 with 7:15 left. Arizona added a 51-yard field goal, and the Cougs' final possession reached the Arizona 24 before a fourth-down incompletion turned it over with 39 seconds remaining. Wazzu finished with a 34-24 loss.
Up next, the Cougars host Fresno State Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6:30 p.m. in Pullman, Wash.