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.
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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.
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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” alongside Miller, with Pinnick adding that Moore had some input.
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So was the Cougars’ 48-point outburst a product of Moore’s involvement or the result of playing a bad FCS team? It’s hard to say, but it’s worth examining the way the Cougs involved Woods, perhaps the team’s fastest and shiftiest running back. He was the team’s leading rusher with 11 carries while Vorhees chipped in nine rushes.
If WSU wants to pull an upset and topple Arizona next weekend, Woods might find himself at the center of his team’s rushing attack. For evidence, look no further than the way the Cougs used Woods on a trick play, breaking him free for 45-yards on a direct snap.
3. The Cougars got creative to record two sacks, but should they have needed to? Defensive coordinator Trent Bray dialed up a few sharp blitzes, bringing safety Jeremiah Bernard into the fold for one and linebackers Isaiah Hung and DJ Warner in for another. Hung’s emergence is something to monitor — in the last two games he has played 41 and 39 snaps, respectively, pushing starter Keith Brown in that department — and Bernard’s athleticism and willingness to hit makes those ideas splendid.
But there’s another pattern developing: Edge rushers Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk, hailed as the WSU defense’s top two players, haven’t made huge splashes yet. In Saturday’s game, they combined for just three pressures. Against K-State, the number was just one, which came from McLain (who was courted strongly by the Wildcats over the offseason).
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Those two see lots of double-teams, which is part of the reason why they haven’t been the wrecking balls they were projected to be headed into this season. But can they find a way to generate more pressure against Arizona? That’ll be a key storyline to keep an eye on.
4. WSU missed a real opportunity at the end of the first half: In fall camp, the Cougars spent oodles of time repping the exact situation that came up at the end of Saturday’s first half: Clock under two minutes, ball in their own territory, looking to score before the end of the half. It was clear that Moore placed a high priority on capitalizing in those kinds of scenarios.
So when the real thing came around against FCS Duquesne, why didn’t the Cougs give it a shot? They didn’t show any real urgency to move the ball down the field, running three inside runs for Vorhees to kick off the drive. They didn’t try their first pass until the clock ticked under 20 seconds.
At the time, it seemed like a signal from coaches on the way they viewed their offense, which later felt even stranger because of the way the Cougs erupted in the second half. In the end, it didn’t matter against an FCS team, but it very well could against a Power 4 opponent like Arizona.
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“I need to look at that one more (time),” Moore said. “I do think there was a slippery, slow, fine line with that. We got the ball first to start the second half. I can’t remember the yardage on the first play, but I don’t think it was a second-and-two, and so if you go three-and-out quick there, you might give the ball back to them a little bit quicker than you want to. We have to look at that. I think we could have had a better plan just altogether in that situation.”
5. WSU’s new-look offensive line excelled: The Cougars rolled out a new lineup on their offensive line on Saturday, and it worked wonders: Left tackle Ashton Tripp, left guard Jonny Lester, center Noah Dunham, right guard Nick Bakken and right tackle Jaylin Caldwell didn’t give up a single sack, finishing with an over PFF pass-blocking grade of 72.7, their best mark of the season. Their run-blocking grade was 72.0, also their best figure yet.
To make that happen, coaches benched left guard Kyle Martin and moved Lester from right tackle to left guard, which is where he played his best games last season. Then they brought Caldwell in at right tackle, and he earned a PFF pass-blocking grade of 86.3, also his best grade of the season.
After the game, Moore wouldn’t commit to sticking with that lineup moving forward, but it appears to be the team’s best five-man group so far.
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“I probably gotta look at the tape before I completely give you an answer on that,” Moore said. “Obviously, running for 316 yards there, there was some really good things that those guys did up front. There was definitely some lapses, whether it was protection, whether it was finishing there in the first half. So we’ll have to take a look at it. I know we’re gonna need all six of those guys.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
