Nov. 16—PULLMAN — Ten video games into this season, a wacky and compelling and rollercoaster affair that has coated 4 totally different time zones in six totally different states, Washington State’s protection has grow to be a tough factor.
On one hand, the Cougars are lacking boatloads of tackles. Headed into Saturday’s recreation towards Louisiana Tech, a 28-3 win for WSU, the group had whiffed on 143 tackles. That was the second-most nationally. However on so lots of these, the Cougars have rallied to the play, swarming the ballcarrier like ants to breadcrumbs, wiping away the affect of the missed sort out.
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“That is the way in which it is presupposed to be,” WSU cornerback Colby Humphrey mentioned.
In that means and plenty of extra, the Cougars are taking part in in methods which are serving to coach Jimmy Rogers’ imaginative and prescient come to fruition. Their protection has blossomed right into a thick layer of concrete, permitting solely 10 factors per recreation of their final 4 video games. Their offense has discovered a rhythm on the bottom, sprucing off this win with a 14-play, eight-minute scoring drive within the fourth quarter.
So lots of the parts of a Rogers crew have arrived at WSU. The Cougars have illustrated that finest of their final two dwelling video games, victories over Toledo and Louisiana Tech, which managed a mixed 10 factors at Gesa Discipline. However after they’ve gone on the street, whether or not to North Texas or Virginia or Oregon State, these Cougs have seemed something however. At instances, they’ve seemed like a unique crew completely.
For WSU, that looms significantly massive at this juncture. With solely two extra regular-season contests to go, the Cougs’ subsequent recreation is a street matchup with 9-1 James Madison, which is squarely within the hunt for the School Soccer Playoff. In keeping with a report Friday evening, JMU will host ESPN’s School Gameday.
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That figures to place WSU in a highlight it has not loved this season. Earlier this season, the Cougs missed alternatives for signature wins in Rogers’ debut season. With an opportunity to play spoiler, to knock JMU out of the playoff race and earn their finest win of the season on the nationwide stage, can these Cougars money in?
Take some parts from WSU’s win over Louisiana Tech and you’ll see how the Cougars may do it. On Saturday evening, two key offensive linemen returned from damage: heart Brock Dieu and proper sort out Christian Hilborn, the latter of whom had been out for almost two months. These guys gave quarterback Zevi Eckhaus far more time to throw, and it ought to register as no shock that Eckhaus seemed a lot better than he did two weeks in the past, totaling three touchdowns and finishing 17 of 25 passes towards La Tech.
“At Oregon State, we had some moments the place the offense was struggling, and we simply could not discover a method to get it again collectively,” Eckhaus mentioned. “And there have been moments at this time the place we struggled and we discovered a method to get it again collectively and put collectively nice drives to shut out the sport. So excellent there, transferring on, displaying that now we have grown from that second, and we gotta proceed to develop from this one.”
The Cougars’ offense was hardly excellent on this one, at one level slogging by means of 4 straight drives that resulted in punts, however Eckhaus ought to really feel pleased with the way in which he responded on this win. Two weeks after handing over his worst recreation at WSU, tossing two interceptions in a loss to a dilapidated Oregon State protection, he seemed a lot sharper. He did not throw a single decide towards Louisiana Tech’s protection, which entered fifth nationwide with 15 interceptions.
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Maybe extra to the purpose: When the Cougs wanted to run the ball, after they wanted to chew clock and starve the Bulldogs’ offense, they did. Early within the fourth quarter, they ran off a 14-play, 66-yard landing drive that ran 8 minutes and 19 seconds off the clock. In weeks previous, Rogers has harkened again to his days at South Dakota State, the place his imaginative and prescient coalesced to the tune of a 27-3 report.
“We gotta have the ability to run the ball when the world is aware of that we’re operating the ball,” Rogers mentioned after his membership’s loss to Virginia. “That is what nice groups do.”
WSU defenders also needs to really feel pleased with the way in which they performed on this one, holding the Bulldogs to only 167 whole yards of offense, a outstanding feat whether or not they had misplaced their beginning quarterback to damage the week prior or not. The Cougs piled up three sacks — 1 1/2 from Malaki Ta’ase, one from Buddha Peleti and 1/2 from Isaac Terrell — and 4 tackles for loss. In addition they produced their second interception of the season, which got here from Humphrey, who agreed with Rogers after the sport: he ought to have returned it for a landing.
“Yeah, I ought to have scored,” he laughed.
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Briefly, the Cougars are getting more healthy on the positions that matter in large methods, like their offensive line. Below defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit, their protection is doing extra of the identical, and if there was an award for WSU assistant coach of the 12 months, he would win in a runaway victory. Coming in second could be defensive position coach Jalon Bibbs, whose group has thrived within the face of devastating accidents, churning out replacements like they’re made in a manufacturing facility, from Darrion Dalton to Soni Finau to Donovan Fitzmaurice, a real freshman.
That units WSU up with the chance of the season. The Cougs whiffed on comparable probabilities earlier. They did properly to hold with Virginia, for instance, however who is aware of what sorts of NIL donations would have rolled in if that they had received? Who is aware of what sorts of recruits would have perked their ears up at a end result like that? Who is aware of what sorts of sources Rogers’ program may have landed with a feather of their cap?
The Cougars cannot get that recreation again. However a street win over James Madison, which is surging into the School Soccer Playoff dialog, may resonate almost the identical. They are saying love covers a large number of sins, and for the Cougs, beating the Dukes would cowl a litany of blown probabilities in earlier video games, inviting a deluge of donations and recruiting consideration and nationwide limelight to Pullman.
To do it, WSU must play far more disciplined. The Cougs cannot afford the sorts of penalties that plagued them in earlier street video games. They can not afford any turnovers, the varieties that Eckhaus has been susceptible to away from dwelling. In different phrases, they’re going to should play like they did right here on Saturday evening: immovable on protection, versatile on offense. Extract all that from this recreation and put off a few of the errors, the listless drives and unimaginative playcalling, they usually may set themselves up with an opportunity to ship Rogers’ finest end result all season lengthy.
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“The world thinks it is loopy,” Rogers mentioned. “I mentioned years in the past, we set targets to carry individuals to 17 factors, and I simply thought that that was loopy. The extra we retain gamers and preserve them on this system, I do imagine our targets will change, as a result of it is real looking to get to 10 factors per recreation, in the event that they do it the precise means. Among the finest groups and defenses within the nation do it each single 12 months, and if we wish to be that, I believe the expectation must be extraordinarily excessive that means. So our guys really feel that and wish to be part of that, and it is coming to fruition proper now.”
