Second Half Surge Wins It for No. 18 Washington
State
8/31/2018
| Coug Women's Soccer from WSU Sports Info
(Two photos from Nebraska women’s soccer Instagram)
LINCOLN,
Neb. - A sniper shot from 25 yards out by sophomore Elyse Bennett changed the
course of the game for No. 18 Washington State as the Cougars (4-0-0) completed
a 2-1, comeback, victory at Nebraska (3-1-1)
Friday
night in Lincoln to remain perfect on the season.
The rocket
from deep by the Cougars' sophomore striker came in the 55' of play after WSU
was rocked back on its heels early by a tough Cornhusker team that controlled
play in the first half of action.
Despite
hitting halftime down one goal due to a bad foul in the 22' that gifted
Nebraska a penalty kick and the lead, the Cougars turned the game around
immediately in the second half, pressing the attack and taking it to the
Huskers' defense.
The
merciless attack would pay off first with the Bennett equalizer, her second
goal of the year, and again 10 minutes later when WSU forced a turnover deep in
the attacking third and turned it into gold and the game-winner.
Stealing
the ball deep, sophomore Brianna Alger found a wide-open Alysha Overland just
inside the 18 giving the redshirt-junior the time and the space to slot home
her first goal of the season. For Overland, the goal was special after missing
the entire 2017 season due to injury after finishing her 2016 campaign as the
Cougars' second-leading scorer.
While the
offense needed time to get running, the defense was up to the task led by its
start goalkeeper Ella Dederick who kept the Cougars' in the game with a
season-best six saves. Dederick and the defense stymied the Huskers' early
onslaught, conceding just once in the contest from the penalty spot despite a
heavy shot advantage for Nebraska in the first half.
Quote: "I
am super proud of this team. Nebraska is a great opponent with a unique style.
Our team had a plan and credit to our girls for following through. We will
enjoy this tonight and tomorrow it's back to business as we get ready for the
next one." - Head Coach Todd Shulenberger
Cougs
improved improved to 2-0 over the Huskers winning each of the first two
meetings between the power-65 foes. The Huskers, who entered the game receiving
votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll that placed them one spot outside of
the top-25, were the highest ranked team the Cougars have faced in the early
goings of the 2018 season.
Ella
Dederick came up with six saves in the match, a season high for the senior and
the most since producing six at #8 UCF in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament in 2017.
WSU's
shutout streak ended at 281:25 on the PK goal by the Huskers.
Alysha
Overland scored for the first time since Nov. 3, 2016 against Washington after
missing the entire 2017 season due to a knee injury.
The
Cougars have eight goals scored on the year and six different goals scorers
including two freshmen and two sophomores. Alysha Overland's game-winner became
the fourth different Cougar to score the winner on the season.
WSU comes
home for its final three games of non-conference play beginning Thursday, Sept.
6 against neighborly rival, Idaho. The
game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lower Soccer Field.
……..
VOLLEYBALL
COUGS WIN IN CEDAR FALLS, IOWA
From WSU
Sports Info
Washington
State Volleyball
Washington
State vs #17 Northern Iowa (Aug 31, 2018 at Cedar Falls, Iowa)
Washington State def. Northern Iowa
25-23,19-25,25-21,25-19
:::::::::::::::::
Washington State (3-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
Mims, Taylor 19-1-1;
Woodford, McKenna 7-0-3; Lajos, Ella 7-0-8;
Urias, Jocelyn 7-1-8;
Martin, Claire 3-0-10; Brown, Ashley 2-4-2;
Tusa, Penny 1-5-0;
Phillips, Abby 0-0-1; Totals 46-11-17.0.
(Assists) - Brown, Ashley 37.
(Dig leaders) - Dirige, Alexis 18; Mims,
Taylor 11; Brown, Ashley 9
Northern Iowa (2-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
Taylor, Karlie 14-0-1;
Thomas, Piper 13-0-3; Seehase, Jaydlin
10-0-2; Busswitz, Kate 9-0-0;
Rotto, Inga 5-0-1; Petersen, Baylee 0-1-0;
Koop, Rachel 0-1-1; Staack,
Abbi 0-1-0; Hedges, Taylor 0-1-0; Sorge,
Kendyl 0-3-0; Totals
51-7-5.5. (Assists) - Koop, Rachel 40. (Dig
leaders) - Sorge, Kendyl
18; Hedges, Taylor 12; Taylor, Karlie 12; Staack,
Abbi 10; Seehase,
Jaydlin 8
Site: Cedar Falls, Iowa (McCleod Center)
Date: Aug 31, 2018 Attend: 2035 Time: 2:02
Referees: Ryan Tighe, Ric Washburn
Line judges: Ted Moser, Vince Werkman
……………..
WSU
FOOTBALL
Two minute
drill: Keys to victory for Washington State against Wyoming
Fri., Aug.
31, 2018, 9:30 a.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
Nonconference
football
At War
Memorial Stadium, Laramie
➤ Saturday, Sept. 1:
Washington State (0-0) at Wyoming (0-0), 12:30 p.m. PT TV: CBSSN Online:
https://www.cbssports.com/cbssports
Don’t take
your eyes off…
Gardner
Minshew. In an alternate world, the East Carolina graduate transfer is enrolled
at Alabama, sitting behind Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts on the quarterback
depth chart as an insurance policy for the top-ranked Crimson Tide. But credit
to Minshew for realizing his value. He may not collect as much hardware at
Washington State, but the opportunity to play for Mike Leach, a coach he’s
admired since his teenage years, and run the Air Raid offense, a system he’s
studied since junior high, was way too good to pass up. Replacing Luke Falk
isn’t an easy task, and Minshew, as a fifth-year senior, is only a short-term
solution. But it’s overtly clear he’s the right solution for the Cougars this
season.
When WSU
has the ball…
Giving the
Cougar playmakers chances to, well, make plays could be more important than
anything else. That begins with the offensive line, which is blending in three
new starters this season and could have a tough time holding off Wyoming’s
fierce pass-rush, which Leach believes is the strength of the Cowboys defense.
Minshew plays with an urgency Falk could’ve used at points last season and his
quick decision-making could be a factor in this game if he’s not getting the
protection he needs. Either way, with the talent the Cougars boast at wide
receiver and running back this season, it’ll be key to put the ball in play and
avoid the pass-rush at all costs.
When
Wyoming has the ball…
The
Cowboys wouldn’t mind another explosive day from Nico Evans, who gained 190
yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns in last week’s win at New Mexico State.
How does that contrast with what the Los Angeles native did his first three
seasons in Laramie? He nearly doubled his career production in one game. As a
freshman, sophomore and junior, Evans recorded 36 rushing attempts and picked
up 108 yards without getting into the end zone. But he’s evidently found a new
gear as a senior and used it to account for more than half of Wyoming’s 312
rushing yards last week.
Did you
know?
The
Cougars’ dismal track record in season openers under Mike Leach is
well-documented. They’re just 1-6 in such games and were winless until last
year’s 28-0 rout of Montana State at Martin Stadium. Another drought would come
to an end if WSU can knock off Wyoming Saturday. The Cougars have lost their
last five true road openers, to Auburn (2013 and 2006), BYU (2012), Oklahoma
State (2010) and Wisconsin (2007). The margin of defeat in those games? How
about 25.8 ppg. But maybe it bodes well for the Cougars that their last win in
a road opener came against the Mountain West Conference. They opened the 2005
football season by beating New Mexico 21-17.
::::::::::::::::::
Previewing
the Jim Walden Bowl: An all-encompassing Q&A with the former Washington
State coach and Wyoming quarterback
UPDATED:
Thu., Aug. 30, 2018, 9:23 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson of Spokane’s Spokesman Review
PULLMAN –
In a game that generally produces one winner and one loser, there should be
only one outcome for Jim Walden this Saturday.
Whether
Washington State or Wyoming wins Saturday’s nonconference matchup at War
Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Walden is likely to be satisfied, probably
sporting a grin spanning from one end zone to the other.
Few can
relate, but these are the benefits that come with being enshrined by two
schools. (Technically it’s three for Walden; Mississippi’s Itawamba Community
College, where Walden was an All-American JC quarterback in the late 1950s,
also recognizes him as a member of its Hall of Fame.)
In 2009,
the Cougars inducted Walden into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame,
recognizing a man who brought them back to the postseason after a 46-year
drought, beating every Pac-10 program along the way. Two years later, the
Cowboys immortalized their former quarterback, who won consecutive Skyline
Conference titles in 1958 and ’59 and was named the league’s MVP both years.
Walden,
who will attend Saturday’s game with family members and former teammates,
reflected on his time in Laramie and previewed WSU vs. Wyoming in an
all-encompassing Q&A with The Spokesman-Review.
Spokesman-Review:
The obvious question first… who will you pull for on Saturday?
Jim
Walden: Well, I’m going into the stadium and I played there, and I tell
everyone, being on the inside it’s always pretty to go back to where you
played. So emotionally, I’ll probably be pulling for the Cowboys. I went to
school there. I love Washington State, but I didn’t graduate from Washington
State, I graduated from the University of Wyoming. I played with great friends
that I still have, and I will probably be sitting with some of them and my
family. So I’d get put out pretty quick if I started pulling for the Cougars.
But the great thing is when it’s over, I have no loser, and that’s not every
day you get to do that. I’ll be happy with whoever wins.
S-R: And
how many times have you been asked that this week?
JW: Well,
ever since probably last year. Since the last time they played in ’15; I had to
go through this then, too. That’s the first thing everybody wants to know, but
I don’t know if it makes any difference who I pull for. They’re going to play
hard anyway.
S-R: Will
you wear all Wyoming garb or throw in some crimson, too?
JW: Well,
what I did last time is I wore a Cowboy golf shirt and I had a Cougar cap, so
I’ll probably stick with that.
S-R: You
haven’t been back for a game in quite awhile, so I’d imagine you’re looking
forward to this weekend.
JW: A bit
of sidebar stuff, we’re having a family reunion. My first wife Janice was from
Evanston, Wyoming, and we met in college and married, of course until she
passed away. And so her middle sister has also passed away. Dave (the husband
of Janice’s sister Diane) and me, our families are going to get together Friday
night and have a little reunion. It’s kind of a different thing – we’re also
going to go for the ballgame, but we’re tying it into a little bit of a
mini-reunion. Not everybody gets to come. There’s a brother and another sister
who can’t make it, that are still living, but some of their families are making
it. I think there’s about 19 of us that are going to be there and have a good
little mini-reunion, plus watch the ballgame.
S-R:
Wyoming is where you met your wife. Is it more sentimental going back knowing
what the school meant to you beyond football?
JW: Well,
sure, and the fact that I’m in the Hall of Fame there. And of course I’m in the
Hall of Fame at Washington State, which I said, maybe that’s in itself a trivia
question. I’m in both of them, and I appreciate the fact that I did something
good enough that both would do that. And so this will be a lot of fun. Maybe I
should just pull for whoever has the ball and let the best man win. How’s that?
S-R:
You’ve got to just pull for whoever has the lead…
JW: It’ll
be an interesting game, with the two quarterbacks. I watched a little bit – not
a lot, didn’t see all of the game – but I watched quite a bit of the Wyoming
game last week. Of course, they just dominated the thing on defense. You have
to evaluate New Mexico State, they made them look inept if you want to know the
truth, and I don’t know if New Mexico State is that inept. But anyway, I think
the intrigue will be the new quarterback, Minshew for Washington State, and
watching the new kid (Tyler Vander Waal) from Wyoming. So that’ll be an
interesting, interesting part of watching the game. I love to go to games and
just watch the game. I’m not a good fan because I don’t jump up and down so
much, but I guess that’s called coaching. I get to a stadium, I like to coach.
S-R: Do
you have any fond non-football memories that really come to mind when you think
about your time in Laramie?
JW: As
silly as it is, we used to, in the dead of winter when you didn’t have a lot of
money … we used to go up over the divide and it’s called the Vedauwoo Mountain
Range, and it’s on your way to Cheyenne. Up above on that range, there was a
huge slope where you could tube, and it was risky because we would go up and
sled. We’d come down with wooden sleds and we’d also take some inner tubes in
those days, just big old tire tubes. And on certain times you’d get those
sleds, those trails so slick that you could go, my goodness, you could go 15
miles an hour. And so I wondered if we hadn’t got killed because you’d just
come off so slick. I just remember the things that we did – everybody remembers
their football things to a certain point. But as far as going to the university
in Laramie, it was a treat for me coming from the Deep South to enjoy the
winter. I know a lot of people say, ‘God, you enjoy 40 below zero?’ I say, ‘No,
I didn’t enjoy that, but I enjoyed doing things in snow.’ So that’s kind of
what I remember, is I did so many fun things on weekends when the season was
over. Going to games, watching wrestling matches, going into the snow, going up
on the mountain. That was my memory of Wyoming, and we had a great group of
guys that went to school together, we were great friends, had great success
with coach (Bob) Devaney and it just made a wonderful college experience.
S-R:
Hopefully coach Devaney didn’t know about the sledding…
JW: He
probably knew about it, but he probably didn’t know how dangerous it was,
because they had a big thing where we would go as football players, it shows
you how dumb we were, they had a big sign out there “Sledding illegal this time
of year, it’s dangerous.” We didn’t care, we were just crazy, same old thing.
Young people never think tragedy’s going to happen to them, and luckily it
didn’t, but boy, it was something. We’d put three or four on a tube, start down
that hill doing 100 miles an hour, it seemed like. Guys sliding off every which
way, but that’s what we did for fun, I guess.
S-R:
What’s the game, or games, that stand out when you reflect on your time there?
JW: Only
one, and it was one play. We played New Mexico and Marv Levy, the old Buffalo
Bills coach, was the old coach at New Mexico. I remember this distinctly, and
we were running out of time down there, and they had just scored and went ahead
of us. And it was for the (Skyline Conference) championship, and Coach Devaney
sent in some play and I didn’t like it. And I did have the option in those
years to run a play if I thought it was better, unless he just really was
emphatic, “run this play!” type of thing. I changed the play and went to kind
of a bootleg action, and we ran kind of a Statue of Lliberty kind of a way,
where the back you fake to going left swings all the way up the left sideline
and you boot out to the right and throw a cross-field pass. We ran that simple
little play, and why it fooled the defensive back I’ll never know, but the
right corner came all the way over to the fake on the boot and left Dickie
Hamilton wide open. And it was about a 75-yard touchdown pass with about a
minute and a half to go in the game. And he caught it and it all worked out,
and we won the game and won the championship. I don’t remember a lot of stuff
because – I always used to say the same thing to the guys that I coached – you
won’t always remember the plays, you remember more the players. But that is one
play that in my two years that I felt was a special play for me, because it won
the championship, it was done when everything you thought couldn’t happen, and
it was a big, big play.
S-R: How
many times have you been back to Laramie since you played there?
JW: I went
there once with Iowa State and played. That was really hard. I didn’t think it
was going to be that hard going into it, but it was quite emotional for me. It
was even worse when we got beat, but we weren’t very good. Then I’ve only been
back one time. This will be my second time to ever go to a ballgame at Laramie.
I don’t get there very often, so it’s kind of fun to be able to do that.
S-R: What
can you tell Cougar fans about the gameday environment they should expect on
Saturday?
JW: Well
the gameday will be fun. They have this big cannon, every time Wyoming scores a
touchdown they’re going to shoot this big old Army ROTC, shoot this big old
cannon down there, it’ll almost jar you out of your seat. But the second thing
is, wear your hat backward, because the wind’s going to blow like you can’t
believe. I used to say I came in second in the nation in punting my last year –
only reason because sometimes we’d punt on third down because you had the wind,
and you didn’t want to play another down and take a chance if you were down in
your own territory. So I got to punt with the wind a lot. But it will blow,
prepare yourself for a pretty good wind.
S-R:
What’s your impression of this Washington State team?
JW: Well
for the Cougars, because of some injuries, I think I’m not going to get to see
the team I thought I’d get to see when the season was going into. I’m
interested to see how their offensive line pulls back together, because they
lost two really great components there. I think their defense is suspect,
mainly because they’ve got a new defensive coordinator. I think the other thing
is they’ve got four new coaches on offense. I think Cougar fans need to be very
aware that you can downplay that all you want to, but take it from me, you do
not lose five coaches and especially the defensive coordinator – to lose him, I
thought was a big blow. I like [Tracy] Claeys, I think he’s got a great
reputation, but don’t underestimate the effect of having five brand-new coaches
will have. They don’t know yet how each other’s going to respond (under) the
stress. They may like the new coaches, but there’s too many unknowns for that
not be an effective or ineffective thing. It takes awhile for players and
coaches to get on the same page in lots of ways. Not just X’s and O’s, that’s a
small part of it. How the players react to the criticism, how do they react to
the stress, how do the coaches react to the players not doing something they’ve
been taught. I mean, it’s a whole new ballgame for both sides – both coaches
and players – in a lot of spots. So that to me is going to be one of the
biggest things. How’s this football team going to adjust this season going
forward to all these new coaches, and it’s not easy. I’ve been through it.
S-R: Do
you have a score prediction?
JW: No, I
don’t. I don’t know enough about each quarterback’s play. Let me just say this,
I think it won’t be as a high-scoring ballgame as the normal Mike Leach games
will be. At this point I’m really impressed with Wyoming on defense. Will I be
that impressed going against the Cougar offense? I don’t know. I can’t imagine
that the Cowboy defense will be anywhere near as effective against Washington
State as they were against New Mexico State, but I’m still convinced it’s going
to be a little bit lower-scoring game than normal Mike Leach games are.
S-R:
Certainly would’ve been fun to watch Luke Falk and Josh Allen duke it out last
season…
JW: That
would’ve been a great matchup, that would’ve been really sensational. You talk
about big-time quarterbacks on the same field. That would’ve been sensational
to watch that.
UPDATED:
AUG. 30, 2018, 9:23 P.M.
::::::::::::::::::::
WSU
FOOTBALL
41-40 Cody
(3 OT). As Washington State coach Mike Leach returns home to Wyoming, one
memory stands out from the rest
UPDATED:
Thu., Aug. 30, 2018, 10:20 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson , Spokane S-R
PULLMAN –
Media encounters with Mike Leach are usually the last thing from predictable,
but it was almost certain the Washington State coach would have to address
three topics in each of his postpractice interviews, radio shows and conference
calls this week leading up to the season opener at Wyoming.
One, he’d
be pressed to name a starting quarterback (a spoiler: he didn’t). Two, he’d be
questioned about the Cowboys’ stifling defense and three, he’d be implored to
relive his childhood in Cody, Wyoming, another all-too-obvious storyline as the
coach returns to his home state Saturday to open up year No. 7 with the Cougars
(12:30 p.m. PDT at War Memorial Stadium, CBSSN).
The
quarterback question got old quickly and a coach can only shower so much praise
on his opponent before that too starts becoming monotonous. But hashing out the
details of his childhood, and sharing some old stories along the way? Memory
lane could keep Leach entertained for hours.
By this
point, the WSU coach has been thoroughly prodded about his return to Wyoming,
but Leach is quick to warn anyone who may be unfamiliar with the state map that
Cody and Laramie aren’t exactly in bordering towns.
“From
where I grew up it’s nearly 300 miles,” Leach said. “It’s on the other side of
the state.”
But the
WSU coach still has some definite ties to Laramie. A number of friends and
acquaintances from his adolescent years left Cody to attend college at the
state’s largest public institution. Some will be in the crowd Saturday.
And then
there was the game.
The 1976
Wyoming AA State high school football championship was played on a frosty
Saturday in Cody, on Nov. 13, between Leach’s Cody Broncs and the Laramie
Plainsmen.
Just how
frosty? There may be a discrepancy.
A Casper
Star-Tribune article published the next day reports “the title game was played
in 34-degree temperature with only a slight wind.”
Bonkers,
Leach said.
“It was a
bitter cold day,” he recalled after a practice in Pullman earlier this week.
“Like, I don’t know, 10 degrees.”
In the
1970s, a coal and oil boom led to major economic growth for the state as an
entity, but it also widened the gap between Wyoming’s largest and smallest
public schools, therefore leaving high school athletic classifications fairly
unbalanced.
Laramie
was a Class AA power that prospered from the economic upswing. Relatively, Cody
was a minnow that had gone in the opposite direction.
“We were
the smallest school in the biggest classification,” said Leach, a sophomore in
the fall of 1976.
Cody’s
coach was John McDougall, an accomplished play-caller who’d pick up more than
150 wins by the time his career was over. But the Broncs seemed to be
overmatched there, too. On the other sideline, 33rd-year Laramie coach John
Deti had won more games than any other high school coach in the country and was
seeking No. 208 against the Broncos in the ’76 title game.
“And it
was his last game,” Leach said.
The WSU
coach and Air Raid offense co-founder might cringe if he looked back at the box
score from the title tilt. In an era of grind-it-out football, the Broncs and
Plainsmen recorded 107 rushes for 286 yards. Compare that to the 12 passes that
were thrown, for a whopping 23 yards.
Leach, a
wide receiver and occasional outside linebacker for the Broncs, was resorted to
special teams work in his second varsity year. He watched the heavily favored
Plainsmen take an early lead, then expand it to 20-8 at halftime.
But a
spirited locker room message from McDougall paid dividends in the third
quarter.
“I told
the kids they had too much pride to have their heads down,” McDougall said,
relaying his words to the Billings Gazette afterward. “I told them to go out,
have fun and play football.”
Cody had
wiped out the deficit by the end of the third quarter, outscoring Laramie 12-0.
The teams traded goose eggs in the fourth to set up overtime. They matched each
other in the first frame and again in the second to make it 34-34 heading into
the third OT.
The
Plainsmen scored first, on a 1-yard blast from lead tailback Mike Newman, but
the 2-point conversion failed, opening a door for the Broncs.
How was
the game won? That’s a good trivia question for Leach, now 42 years removed
from that bone-chilling night in November ’76.
“There’s a
high probability that Rob Russell ran off tackle and scored,” he said. “There’s
a high probability of that. He was our running back, he was one of the better
ones in the state and there’s a reasonably high probability that was the case.”
Close. A
2-yard touchdown from Russell is what evened things up in the second overtime
period. Cody’s fullback threw the winning punch.
Dennis
Gaub of the Gazette detailed the sequence: “Just when it seemed the place
couldn’t stand any more, Cody’s Kevin Inbody spun a yard and a half, Rob
Russell kicked the all-important extra point, and the Broncs ruled Wyoming’s
large schools.”
41-40 Cody
in triple-OT.
“Surreptitiously,
perhaps, the Cody Broncs must be pinching themselves, asking if their Wyoming
Class AA football championship is for real,” Gaub wrote. “It’s not that the
Broncs’ defeat of perennial champ Laramie Saturday was a fluke. Cody deserved
it.”
The
following week, Leach and his teammates raced to the store to pick up copies of
Sports Illustrated, which featured a blurb from their upset win – “a big deal
back then,” Leach assured. The Broncs returned to the state title game the
following year, only to lose 34-22 to Cheyenne Central.
But the
’76 championship feat remains a precious memory for a man whose hard drive is
certainly not short on memorable football games.
“We were
the littlest school,” he said. “So it was quite an achievement.”
………………
COUGARS'
OPPONENT: A quintessential Bohl defense
By DALE
GRUMMERT Lewiston Trib Aug 31, 2018
PULLMAN -
In playing a home-and-home series against Wyoming during the latter half of the
twenty-tens, Washington State has somehow avoided facing Josh Allen, the
Cowboys quarterback who in April became the No. 7 selection in the NFL draft.
It's too
early for the Cougs to celebrate, because they still have to face what Craig
Bohl believes is one of the premier defenses of his singular career.
If there
was any doubt about the quality of Wyoming's D, it was quashed along with the
New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday in the Cowboys' season-opening 29-7 win at
Las Cruces, N.M. The Pokes didn't allow a first down until 14 seconds were left
in the first half, and didn't give up a score until 1:16 was left in the game.
The
performance also quashed the betting spread for Washington State's game against
Wyoming. The Cougars of the Pac-12 are now favored by a single point over the
Pokes of the Mountain West for Wazzu's season opener Saturday (12:30 p.m.
Pacific, CBS Sports) at Laramie, Wyo.
Yes, the
Cougars dodged Allen, who's now a Buffalo Bill and happened to be injured the
last time these schools clashed. But they'll be hard-pressed to dodge Wyoming's
fast, efficient defenders.
Staunch
defenses are nothing new for Bohl, 60, a quirky but devotedly old-school coach
who honed his craft under Tom Osborne at Nebraska and, as a head coach, led
North Dakota State to three consecutive FCS championships before taking the
Cowboys helm in 2014.
In his
weekly news conference Monday at Laramie, Bohl acknowledged this year's Wyoming
defense may be among his best.
"First
of all, a lot of experience at key positions," he said. "When you say
key positions, you're usually looking, it's kind of a baseball term, to be
really strong down the middle."
Showing
the same attention to detail that his teams display, Bohl then singled out
defensive tackles Sidney Malauulu and Youhanna Ghaifan and worked backward to
All-MWC middle linebacker Logan Wilson, free safety Marcus Epps and finally
strong safety Andrew Wingard, a preseason AP second-team All-American who's a
force on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The senior has made 221/2 tackles
for loss in his career.
"There's
good athleticism, there's some maturity, a lot of experience," Bohl said.
"Our whole coaching staff is back. They (the defensive players) are
hungry. They got a taste of being good last year - I think they want to take
another step forward."
The
Cowboys return 17 starters from a team that went 8-5, ranked ninth in the
country in scoring defense and capped the school's first back-to-back bowl
appearances since 1989.
So they're
vastly improved over the Wyoming team that lost 31-14 at Washington State in
Bohl's second year at the school, sporting one the youngest rosters in the
country.
Allen, the
Bills' first-round draft choice this year, was a first-year Cowboy during that
2015 season, a junior-college transfer who, in seeking an FBS destination, had
failed to impress virtually anyone besides Bohl and the Pokes. Bohl liked him
partly because of his similarity to Carson Wentz, who had played for him at
North Dakota State.
A week
before the Wyoming-WSU game, though, Allen suffered a season-ending shoulder
injury and wound up getting a medical redshirt. The Cougars dominated that
contest in Pullman despite a spotty performance, and the Cowboys stumbled
through a 2-10 season.
Since
then, they've done nothing but climb, one display of deft execution at a time.
"I do
get frustrated when coaches are critiquing players because they say they didn't
execute, they didn't execute, they didn't execute," Bohl said. "Well,
who in the heck's job is it teach them to execute? That why you've got 'Coach'
on your shirt."
Allen's
successor at Wyoming quarterback is second-year freshman Tyler Vander Waal,
whose talent, according to Bohl, is further developed than that of Wentz or
Allen at the same age. He passed 13-for-21 for 137 yards in his debut last
week, completing his first seven passes.
Sixteen
minutes into that game at Las Cruces, the Cowboys had invoked four of the five
ways of scoring in football: a touchdown, an extra point, a safety and a field
goal. Senior tailback Nico Evans finished with 190 rushing yards and two
touchdowns behind an offensive line that included two freshmen and a sophomore.
Of course,
all of them were aided immeasurably by the Pokes' defense. Bohl said he drew
some postgame second-guessing from fans who wanted him to show more daring in
fourth-down situations.
"I
look at those guys and say, 'Hey, punt the ball inside the 10,' " he said.
"Good luck Jack Buck on going 90 yards against our No. 1's."
Nobody
seems to know why he was evoking a legendary sports broadcaster in making his
point. Apparently, though, that's Craig Bohl.
……………
COUGAR
NOTES: 'Decisiveness' helped Minshew separate
By DALE
GRUMMERT of Lewiston’s Tribune Aug 31,
2018
PULLMAN -
Mike Leach won't specify mobility and footwork as the reasons Gardner Minshew
has won the starting quarterback role at Washington State.
Heck, he
won't even acknowledge Minshew as the starter. In typical Leach fashion, he
said he'll announce his choice when his Air Raid offense first takes the field
Saturday for a season opener at Wyoming.
But it's
easy to imagine Minshew, who has been getting the majority of reps in practice
lately, showing a tad more willingness to run the ball than any other QB during
Leach's tenure at Wazzu, though that's not saying much. And at 6-foot-2 and 220
pounds, he might draw less trepidation from Leach when he does take off.
"Honestly,
they're similar in how fast they can run, so to speak," Leach said of the
three QB's who have been vying for the No. 1 role: Minshew, Trey Tinsley and
Anthony Gordon. "I think Gardner is pretty efficient in the pocket, and
then Gardner is more decisive when he runs. The other thing is, he's kind of a
muscled-up, buttoned-up guy. So I think his decisiveness has separated him
some, and then he's been in a lot of pockets. I think he's got a pretty good
sense back there."
Coming out
of Northwest Mississippi C.C. in 2016, Minshew was actually billed as a
dual-threat quarterback, though he gained only 48 gross rushing yards in his
subsequent two years at East Carolina.
MEMORY
LANE - Leach has fond memories involving Laramie, Wyo., site of Saturday's
opener. He was a sophomore member of a Cody (Wyo.) High team that upset Laramie
High in a state championship game in Cody in 1976. It was the final game of the
33-year career of celebrated Laramie coach John Deti, who had won 10 state
titles.
"Back
then, Cody was the smallest school in the largest (enrollment) class,"
Leach recalled this week. "So it was quite an achievement."
:::::::::::
College
Football Cougs of Washington State
By Scott
Hanson Seattle Times
Washington
State (0-0) at Wyoming (1-0)
When:
Saturday, Sept. 1, 12:30 p.m., PT
Where:
Laramie, Wyo.
TV/Radio:
CBS Sports Network/710 AM
Line:
Washington State by 1
WSU
players to watch (2017 stats)
QB Gardner
Minshew — 2,140 yards passing*
WR Tay Martin — 366 yards receiving; 6 TDs
RB James
Williams — 71 receptions
S Jalen
Thompson — 73 tackles, 4 INT
*Stats
were at East Carolina
Wyoming
players to watch (2018 stats)
RB Nico
Evans — 190 yards, 2 TD)
QB Tyler
Vander Waal –13 of 122, 137 yds
NT Sidney Malauulu — 3 tackles, 1 sack
Keys to
the game
A smooth
transition at QB
Washington
State no longer has Pac-12 record-setting quarterback Luke Falk, and his
replacement appears to be Gardner Minshew, an East Carolina transfer. He gets
no easy landing in the opener, on the road against a Wyoming defense that held
host New Mexico State, last year’s winner of the Arizona Bowl, to seven points.
Minshew will undoubtedly throw often and can cement his status as the Cougars’
starter after a tough camp battle with Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon.
Stop
Wyoming RB Nico Davis
The
Wyoming senior had a huge game against New Mexico State and his 190 yards were
more than he had in his first three years combined. His performance allowed
Wyoming to take pressure off freshman quarterback Tyler Vander Waal, who is
replacing Josh Allen, the No. 7 pick in the NFL draft and led the Cowboys to an
8-5 record last year and a win in the Idaho Potato Bowl. If the Cougars can
stop Wyoming’s running game, and force the young Vander Waal to beat them, they
should be in good shape.
Will WSU’s
defense be stout again?
The Cougar
defense steadily improved in three years under defensive coordinator Alex
Grinch, who left for Ohio State. Former Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys takes over
as DC and inherited a unit that lost a lot of top players to graduation. The
defense got a big boost when middle linebacker Peyton Pelluer was granted a
sixth year of eligibility. With some uncertainty for both teams at quarterback
(one making his second start, the other his first for his new team), this game
could be decided by the defenses.
Prediction
This would
be a huge win for the Cougars, and as the betting line would indicate, it’s a
very hard game to handicap. But I have a feeling that Minshew will be just
fine, so:
Washington
State 31, Wyoming 23
#
