​Sep. 20—PULLMAN — As Washington State marched closer and closer to this weekend’s game, which turned into a 48-7 rout over winless FCS squad Duquesne, the Cougars found themselves in a tricky spot.If they completely dominated, they would do what they were expected to. If they didn’t, well, some of the concerns about coach Kirby Moore and offensive coordinator Matt Miller’s offense would grow even louder. For WSU, it wasn’t exactly a lose-lose, but it was somewhere in the area.In Saturday’s first half, the Cougars didn’t look sharp, taking only a 14-7 lead into halftime. In the second, quarterback Caden Pinnick and his unit roared to life, using a 34-0 half to run away with a convincing blowout. Considering the circumstances, it was just about exactly what WSU needed.Here are five thoughts from the game and what it means for WSU moving forward.1. WSU simplified some things on offense: Some of the bigger concerns from Washington State’s previous game, a lopsided road loss to Kansas State, centered around some of the opportunities the Cougars’ offense missed. Check out the way the two plays below start.On two straight plays, a third-and-short followed by a fourth-and-short, WSU’s outside receiver sees a big cushion from his defender. In those spots, Pinnick could have checked into a play to hit that receiver for a quick pass and an easy first down. Instead, the Cougs stick with inside runs, both of which get turned away.On Saturday against Duquesne, WSU saw the same look, and this time Pinnick took advantage. On one play in the second quarter, receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy gets a nice cushion of coverage, so he’s able to turn around for an easy pitch-and-catch. To convert a third down in the first frame, Ganashamoorthy sees another cushion, but he runs a clear-out route to make room for wideout Daniel Blood to make an easy catch. Then in the second quarter, Pinnick makes a similar connection with receiver Darrius Clemons.That helped Pinnick finish with a Pro Football Focus passing grade of 90.7, the third-best mark in the country in week 3 of college football, which is remarkable considering the fact he threw a bad interception on his first pass of the game. Chalk that up to Pinnick’s sharp response, completing 7 of 8 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.2. Woods could be in for a big year: WSU turned in an impressive stat from Saturday’s game: Running backs Maxwell Woods and Kirby Vorhees each rushed for 100-plus yards, becoming the first Cougar duo to do so in one game since 2005. That was part of WSU’s 316-rushing yard day in total, the program’s most in one game since 2006.That’s an extraordinary development, and it might give us a window into the vision Moore has for this offense. In Saturday’s game, he was seen on the sideline carrying what looked to be a playsheet, which he didn’t do in either of the Cougars’ first two games of the year. After the game, he called playcalling duties a “collaborative effort” alongsid