Cougars Stay Perfect In Iowa
From WSU Sports Info
Washington State took down No. 17 UNI,
3-1, for the second-straight day.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- After a slow start
the Washington State volleyball team (4-0) found its groove late behind the
play of their all-american, Taylor Mims, to knock off No. 17 Northern Iowa
(2-4), 3-1, for the second-consecutive day in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Cougars
stayed perfect on the season with the win while handing the Panthers their
third-straight home loss of the week.
Set scores for the match were: 25-23,
23-25, 25-23, 25-23.
Early on the match proved to be a
struggle offensively for both the Cougars and the Panthers as every ball hit
seemed to find a defender. Trailing late, the Cougars went to the middle to get
back on track as Jocelyn Urias, who finished the match with six kills, put down
a pair of kills to begin WSU's comeback efforts. Down three at 18-15, WSU found
its rhythm, rallying past the Panthers with 10-5 run to close out the set and
steal the opening victory.
Set two proved to be a reversal of set
one as the Cougars jumped out front early thanks to their block only to see the
Panthers rally late. UNI found openings in the Cougars' defense to roll off
four-straight points late, turning a 19-16 Cougars' lead into a 20-19 Panther
advantage that would hold the rest of the way.
Knotted at one set a piece for the
second-straight match, the Cougars turned to their ace in the hole, Mims, to
reset the match. After being held relatively in check for the first two sets,
Mims got rolling early in the third as the senior tallied five kills in the
first 11 Cougar points. Despite the quick start, WSU found itself trailing
22-18 late, staring at a 2-1 match deficit for the first time on the young
season. Even with the four-point deficit, the Cougars would not quit as Mims
sparked another rally as WSU closed the set on a 7-1 run to take command of the
match and stun the Panthers.
Trailing for much of the fourth set, the
Cougars again mounted a late rally against the Panthers, erasing a six-point
UNI advantage to take their first lead of the set late at 20-19. From there,
the two teams traded points until Mims again took matters into her own hands,
drilling her 26th kill of the match to set up match point. A Panther error would
seal the deal for the Cougars as WSU completed the comeback and the upset on
the road in Iowa.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Taylor Mims recorded 19 of her
career-best 26 kills in the final two sets of the match.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Washington State COUG Volleyball:
Washington State vs #17 Northern Iowa (Sep 01, 2018 at Cedar Falls,
Iowa)
Washington State def. Northern Iowa 25-23,23-25,25-23,25-23
Washington State (4-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Mims, Taylor 26-0-1;
Martin, Claire 10-0-4; Woodford, McKenna 8-0-2; Urias, Jocelyn 6-2-5;
Lajos, Ella 5-0-4; Brown, Ashley 1-1-3; Tusa, Penny 0-1-0; Totals
56-4-10.0. (Assists) - Brown, Ashley 44. (Dig leaders) - Dirige,
Alexis 23; Tusa, Penny 11; Brown, Ashley 9
Northern Iowa (2-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Taylor, Karlie 28-1-0;
Thomas, Piper 17-0-2; Seehase, Jaydlin 8-0-3; Koop, Rachel 4-0-0;
Busswitz, Kate 3-0-0; Sorge, Kendyl 0-1-0; Totals 60-2-5.0. (Assists)
- Koop, Rachel 46. (Dig leaders) - Sorge, Kendyl 23; Koop, Rachel 17;
Taylor, Karlie 16; Hedges, Taylor 10; Staack, Abbi 8
Site: Cedar Falls, Iowa (McCleod Center)
Date: Sept 1, 2018 Attend:
1658 Time: 2:14
:::::::::::::::::
Washington State Gains
Season-Opening-41-19 Win at Wyoming
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) Washington State's
starting quarterback wasn't publicly known until the offense took the field
Saturday against Wyoming.
But graduate transfer Gardner Minshew
knew he was the starter and responded by throwing for 319 yards and three
touchdowns as the Cougars gained a 41-19 season-opening win over the Cowboys.
Minshew, who transferred from East
Carolina, completed 38 of 57 attempts.
He had TD passes of 2 yards to James
Williams, 6 yards to Max Borghi and 7 yards to Easop Winston. Minshew threw one
interception.
Cougar coach Mike Leach had kept his
starting quarterback a secret until the game started, but Minshew said after
the game that he knew he was the starter a couple of weeks ago.
Williams rushed 16 times for 82 yards
and one score for Washington State (1-0). He also caught 10 passes for 53
yards.
Washington State trailed at halftime but
the Cougars scored touchdowns on four of its five possessions in the second
half.
''I thought the first half we were
trying to do too much, focusing on trying to be perfect,'' Leach said.
Leach said Minshew was ''slow at
delivering the ball'' but was more decisive in the second half.
Minshew said the offense simply did a
better job in the second half.
''The receivers caught the ball really
well in the second half, and I just started throwing the ball better,'' he
said. ''I was making better decisions.''
Wyoming (1-1) was led by Nico Evans, who
ran for 89 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game during the Cowboys'
first series of the second half because of an unspecified rib injury.
The Cowboys offense was limited to 206
total yards, including just 67 passing yards.
Wyoming led 16-13 at the half but
managed only a 30-yard field goal in the second half.
The Cowboys hurt themselves with
penalties, committing 13 infractions for 109 yards.
''If you're going to play against a good
team, you can't shoot yourself in the foot, and I think we did that,'' Wyoming
coach Craig Bohl said. ''The margin for doing that is pretty slim, and we
didn't get it done.''
THE TAKEWAY
Washington State: Entered the game
having lost seven straight season-openers played on the road. The Cougars' last
season-opening win on the road was in 2004 when they beat New Mexico 21-17.
Wyoming: The Cowboys have lost 13
straight games against Power 5 conference opponents. Their last victory against
a Power 5 team was in 2007 when they beat Tennessee 13-7.
REPLACING FALK
Minshew follows in the footsteps of Luke
Falk, who threw for 3,593 yards and 30 touchdowns last season for the Cougars.
Falk was released by the NFL's Tennessee Titans on Saturday. After last season,
Tyler Hilinski was expected to start at quarterback this season, but he took
his own life in January.
SLOW START
Wyoming's offense struggled early on
against the Cougar defense. The Cowboys had no first downs and just 9 total
yards in the first quarter. Tyler Vander Waal, who attempted four passes in the
first quarter, didn't complete his first pass until Wyoming's first possession
of the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Washington State: Home opener next
Saturday against San Jose State. The Cougars were 7-0 at home last season
Wyoming: Plays itsr second road game of
this season when it visits Missouri on Saturday. It will be the first meeting
between the two schools in football.
::::::::::::
COUG SOCCER:
The Cougs come home for the final three
games of non-conference play beginning Thursday, Sept. 6 against their
neighborly rival, Idaho. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Pullman on WSU
campus on Lower Soccer Field.
……………………….
FOOTBALL
RALLY AND ROLL
Cougs face deficit in third, respond
with four TDs on their way to win at Wyoming
Tribune and wire reports Sep 2, 2018
Lewiston Trib
LARAMIE, Wyo. - A strong start, an even
stronger finish. Throw out that second quarter, and the Cougars could hardly
ask for a better season opener.
New quarterback Gardner Minshew passed
for 320 yards and three touchdowns and a sharp Washington State defense grew
increasingly dominant Saturday as the Cougs overcame a six-point deficit to
whip Wyoming 41-19.
The Cougars (1-0) recaptured the lead
early in the third quarter and later produced TDs on their final three
possessions, turning a miserable second period into a distant memory.
"I thought we were resilient,"
said WSU coach Mike Leach, who scored a nonleague win in his native Wyoming.
"It wasn't for lack of trying, but I thought the first half we were trying
to do too much, focusing on trying to be perfect."
James Williams made an agile sideline
catch in the end zone to give Wazzu an early 10-point lead and finished the
afternoon with 10 catches, 81 rushing yards and two scores for a diverse Air
Raid offense.
Yet the Cougs trailed 19-13 in the third
period before Minshew completed a backpedaling fourth-and-6 throw to Jamire
Calvin to sustain a pivotal drive capped by a short TD pass to Max Borghi.
Borghi, a true freshman, later scored on
a 14-yard run, part of a fourth-quarter WSU getaway that also included Easop
Winston Jr.'s first TD reception for the Cougars.
By that time, WSU's defense had things
well in hand. Dominick Silvels, Will Rodgers and Willie Taylor finished with a
sack apiece and safety Skyler Thomas made nine tackles as the Cougs allowed
only 206 offensive yards.
Minshew, a graduate transfer from East
Carolina who won a three-way battle for the Cougs' starting QB role, passed
38-for-57 in his debut for the Pullman school.
He faltered in the second quarter, but
so did the whole team.
The lapse began with a high punt snap
resulting in a Wyoming safety, making the score 10-2 late in the first period.
It continued when Garrett Crail stripped the ball from Borghi to set up a
7-yard scoring run for Wyoming's Nico Evans.
And things grew more worrisome for the
Cougs when Minshew forced a throw under pressure and Tyler Hall intercepted,
leading to a 23-yard touchdown run by Avante' Cox that put the Cowboys ahead
16-13.
Cooper Rothe added a field goal for the
Pokes (1-1) early in the second half before the Cougars gradually reclaimed the
momentum, snapping a streak of seven straight season-opening road games dating
to 2004.
The Cowboys already had a game under
their belt, but overall they were the more error-prone team, drawing 13
penalties for 109 yards. The infractions included two hits on Minshew that
fueled WSU's first TD drive.
"I thought going in it would have
to take an outer-body experience for Washington State to play poorly,"
Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. "They played well and have a good football
team. There were too many opportunities this afternoon that we needed to make
plays and didn't capitalize."
The Cougars held freshman quarterback
Tyler Vander Waal to 8-for-20 passing for 67 yards and a deep-throw
interception by Marcus Strong. Evans wound up with 93 ground yards but sat out
most of the second half with an upper-body injury.
New Cougars kicker Blake Mazza booted a
24-yard field goal to open the scoring and added a 41-yarder in the second
quarter.
Washington St. 10 3 7 21-41
Wyoming 2 14 3 0-19
First Quarter
WST-FG Mazza 24, 9:57
WST-J.Williams 2 pass from Minshew
(Mazza kick), 3:28
WYO-safety, 1:35
Second Quarter
WYO-Evans 8 run (Rothe kick), 12:23
WST-FG Mazza 41, 8:37
WYO-Cox 23 run (Rothe kick), 5:07
Third Quarter
WYO-FG Rothe 30, 8:48
WST-Borghi 6 pass from Minshew (Mazza
kick), 3:51
Fourth Quarter
WST-Winston 7 pass from Minshew (Mazza
kick), 10:55
WST-Borghi 14 run (Mazza kick), 5:50
WST-J.Williams 3 run (Mazza kick), :44
WST WYO
First downs 25 16
Rushes-yards 21-74 39-139
Passing 320 67
Comp-Att-Int 38-57-1 8-20-1
Return Yards 7 7
Punts-Avg. 3-49.33 9-36.44
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 10-75 13-109
Time of Possession 31:38 28:22
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Washington St., J.Williams
16-81, Borghi 1-14, Harrington 2-5, Minshew 1-2, Draguicevich 1-(minus 28).
Wyoming, Evans 18-89, Bigelow 11-42, Cox 1-23, Valladay 4-15, Conway 1-9,
Vander Waal 4-(minus 39).
PASSING-Washington St., Minshew
38-57-1-320. Wyoming, Vander Waal 8-20-1-67.
RECEIVING-Washington St., J.Williams
10-54, Borghi 6-18, Calvin 5-82, Martin 5-73, Patmon 4-49, Winston 3-13, Sweet
2-22, Harrington 2-5, T.Harris 1-4. Wyoming, Conway 3-18, Price 2-23, Ismail
2-21, Cox 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
AT A GLANCE: WSU 41, Wyoming 19
Sep 2, 2018 Trib of Lewiston
> Stars of the game
GARDNER MINSHEW, who was never announced
as the WSU starting quarterback until he took the field, completed 38 of 57
passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. JAMES WILLIAMS
caught 10 of those throws for 53 yards and a TD while rushing for 84 yards and
a score. JAMIRE CALVIN made five receptions for 82 yards and TAY MARTIN added
five catches for 73. For the WSU defense, DOMINICK SILVELS made two tackles for
loss and SKYLER THOMAS tallied nine tackles.
> Turning point
With the Cougars trailing 19-13 early in
the third quarter, Minshew faced fourth-and-6 on the Wyoming 40-yard line. Backpedaling
to escape pressure, he fired over the middle to Calvin, who made a sliding
catch for a 9-yard gain. That helped set up a 6-yard scoring pass to MAX
BORGHI.
> Up next
The Cougars play a home opener at 8 p.m.
Saturday against San Jose State, which opened with a 44-38 loss Friday to UC
Davis.
:::::::::::::::::::::;
Cougfan.com
3 instant reactions to Washington
State's win against Wyoming
By BRIAN STULTZ 12 hours ago
==LARAMIE – Two big questions may have
been answered in Week One. Washington State looks to have reloaded on defense.
And the Cougs have a quarterback. The Cougars fought off first-half struggles
to come back and defeat Wyoming 41-19 by scoring the final 28 points of its
season opener Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. Here are 3 instant reactions to
the victory.
Cougars’ quarterback Gardner Minshew
showed a lot of grit, leadership and determination in the second half, leading
WSU to four touchdowns after a disastrous end to the first half. There are a
lot of reasons Minshew wound up earning the starting job, but his experience –
which showed up when the Cougs were down and needed someone to make plays – is
near the top of that list. The offense looked out of rhythm after a good start,
and a lot of quarterbacks might have hung their heads. Minshew did not, and
that is a credit to him.
==The defense’s tackling technique will
need some work over the next few weeks. Too many times, the Cougars had Wyoming
players in their arms but let him escape. There is little doubt that defensive
coordinator Tracy Claeys will be mentioning those breakdowns in practice, and
for good reason: When going up against more talented players later in the
season, limiting yards after first contact will be key. Overall, though, the
defense played well, holding the Cowboys to 205 total yards, with only 80
allowed in the second half and all but eight of those coming on an early
third-quarter drive that yielded a field goal.
==The transition to the college game
went pretty darn well for freshman running back Max Borghi, who scored a pair
of touchdowns, including a 14-yard burst that put the game out of reach with
5:50 left in the fourth quarter. While Borghi’s fumble in the first half was
costly, he remained confident and responded.
::::::::::::::
Minshew threw for 319 yards in his first
Pac-12 start as the Cougars used a big fourth quarter to beat the Cowboys
41-19.
By Theo Lawson
Spokane’s Spokesman-Review
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The amount of confidence
pollsters and prognosticators have in the 2018 Washington State Cougars was
perhaps best illustrated in an early-August preseason ranking of all 129 FBS
teams, courtesy of CBS Sports.
The Cougars couldn’t crack the top-70
and were picked below every Pac-12 team aside from Oregon State.
If that didn’t catch WSU’s eye, maybe
this did. The congregation of CBS analysts who formed the list carefully placed
the Cougars one spot below the first team on their schedule.
Checking in at No. 71 were the Wyoming
Cowboys. And at No. 72, the Cougars.
“They were wrong, that’s all I can
really say,” WSU defensive lineman Will Rodgers III said. “They were wrong, and
we went out and proved it. No point in talking about it, they were just wrong
and they’re going to keep being wrong as long as they have us underdogs.”
Gardner Minshew tossed three touchdowns
in his first start as a Pac-12 quarterback, all-purpose tailbacks James
Williams and Max Borghi combined for three TDs and the WSU defense, under the
direction of first-year coordinator Tracy Claeys, held Wyoming’s offense at bay
more times than not, holding the Cowboys to 206 yards of total offense.
So far, so good for the Cougars, who
emerge from what many thought would be their toughest nonconference test with a
1-0 record.
“I thought we were resilient the second
half,” said WSU coach Mike Leach, whose team trailed 16-13 at halftime, and
19-13 in the third quarter after taking a 10-0 lead early in the game. “It
wasn’t for a lack of trying, but I thought the first half we tried to do too
much, tried to be perfect, tentative, everything a perfect play. Is this
perfect? But we did a good job not hesitating the second half and I think that
was a big step for us.”
There was nothing perfect about it, and
who anticipated it would be for a team that faced as much offseason attrition,
and has as much to replace as much as the Washington State Cougars?
No Luke Falk. No Hercules Mata’afa. No
Cody O’Connell. No Alex Grinch. The Cougars might feel those losses at some
point this season, but there was more than enough talent and toughness on the
field Saturday to overcome a good Mountain West team on its home turf.
WSU’s answer for Falk was Minshew, the
fifth-year graduate transfer from East Carolina whose confidence, vocal
leadership and maturity got the Cougars through their slog of a second quarter.
The Cowboys turned Minshew’s only interception into six points to take a
three-point lead before halftime.
Then Minshew and his receiving corps —
which often included Williams and Borghi — found their stride and squeezed four
touchdown drives into the game’s final 19 minutes, sending droves of Wyoming
fans to the exit gates when Borghi’s 14-yard scoring run made it 34-19 with
5:50 left.
“(Minshew) had the same spirit even when
he threw the pick, was playing bad,” said wide receiver Jamire Calvin, who
turned five catches into a game-high 82 yards. “He had the same uplifting
spirit and he controlled the offense, really. He helped us win this game.”
For the first time since 2014, WSU’s
defensive line played a game without Mata’afa — and didn’t flinch. The Cougars
sacked Wyoming QB Tyler Vander Waal three times and held him to 8-of-20 passing
for 67 yards.
“We tried to get out there, after them
as much as we can,” Rodgers said, “so when they did pass, they didn’t want to
do it anymore.”
This offseason, WSU replaced Grinch with
Claeys, who’d gone more than 600 days without coaching a college-football game
after a yearlong break from the sport.
If he was rusty, it didn’t show. Claeys
dialed up three-and-outs in Wyoming’s first three series and the Cougars kept
the Cowboys out of the end zone for the rest of the game after Avante’ Cox
scored on a 23-yard sweep with 5:07 left in the second quarter. Wyoming running
back Nico Evans made things easier for WSU when he left the game with a chest
injury in the third quarter after rushing for a game-high 89 yards.
“We had a good defensive game, we just
have new people playing a lot of positions and a new coach,” said nickel Hunter
Dale. “It’s definitely a first game to feel out like that, but I feel like a
lot of people that stepped in did their job.”
Many wondered how WSU’s offensive line
would regroup after losing three starters, including an All-American at left
guard (O’Connell) and an NFL fifth-round draft pick at right tackle (Madison).
Saturday was if nothing else a positive start. Minshew was sacked just once and
three running backs accumulated 101 yards on the ground, plus two touchdowns.
“I thought we had some communication
issues at times,” Leach said, “but generally for a first game and some new
faces, I thought they did a good job.”
…………
Former Washington State quarterback Luke
Falk doesn’t make Titans’ 53-man roster
Originally published September 1, 2018
at 5:45 pm
Luke Falk, who was selected in the sixth
round of the 2018 NFL Draft by Tennessee, was released by the Titans. River
Cracraft, who’s second all time at WSU in career receiving yards, was also
waived by the Broncos.
By Theo Lawson
….Spokesman-Review
Former cornerstones of Washington
State’s Air Raid offense, quarterback Luke Falk and wide receiver River
Cracraft, weren’t able to hold onto jobs Saturday as NFL teams trimmed their
rosters to 53 players.
Falk, who was selected in the sixth
round of the 2018 NFL Draft by Tennessee, was released by the Titans, who
retained two quarterbacks: fourth-year starter Marcus Mariota and primary
backup Blaine Gabbert.
Mariota and Gabbert rested in
Tennessee’s most recent preseason game, and Falk played all four quarters in a
13-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Pac-12 record-holder completed 13 of 24
passes in the game for 114 yards, throwing no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Falk, who may stay with the Titans as a
practice squad player, finished the preseason completing 32 of 58 passes for
296 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Broncos waived Cracraft and former
Georgia receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
Cracraft, who’s second all time at WSU
in career receiving yards, caught six passes for 26 yards during the preseason.
He also spent time on special teams,
returning four punts for an average of 9.3 yards per punt.
Former WSU safety Shalom Luani, a 2017
NFL Draft pick by the Oakland Raiders, was traded to the Seattle Seahawks,
reuniting him with ex-Oakland defensive coordinator Ken Norton.
………………………………………………
WSU FOOTBALL
First impression: Washington State
running back James Williams has another solid season-opening performance
UPDATED: Sat., Sept. 1, 2018, 10:50 p.m.
By Theo Lawson S-R of Spokane
Analysis: Led by fresh faces, Washington
State trounces Wyoming in season opener
Difference Makers: James Williams and
Gardner Minshew lead offensive charge in Washington State’s 41-19 win over
Wyoming
➤ Saturday, Sept. 8: San
Jose State Spartans at Washington State Cougars, 8 p.m. PDT TV: Pac-12 Networks
LARAMIE, Wyo. – James Williams and
season openers seem to get along well.
One year after bursting for 211
all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a 28-0 win over Montana State, the
junior tailback once again found his groove in the first game of the season.
Difference Makers: James Williams and
Gardner Minshew lead offensive charge in Washington State’s 41-19 win over
Wyoming
The junior running back finished with
135 total yards and two scores for the
Williams led the Cougars in rushing
attempts and rushing yards in a 41-19 win over Wyoming in the season opener,
carrying the ball 16 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns while also catching
a game-high 10 passes for 53 receiving yards and another touchdown.
So, in his last two openers, the shifty
running back has accumulated 348 yards of total offense, two receiving
touchdowns and one rushing score.
“Thought
he was consistent,” WSU coach Mike Leach said. “One of our consistent guys that
did some consistent things and we were pleased with that. I thought he was more
consistent than some of our other guys on offense early.”
:::::::::::::::::
WSU FOOTBALL
John Blanchette: Surrounded by oddities,
Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew was the Cougars’ key to staying
calm
UPDATED: Sat., Sept. 1, 2018, 8:56 p.m.
By John Blanchette of Spokesman-Review
➤ Saturday, Sept. 8: San
Jose State Spartans at Washington State Cougars, 8 p.m. PDT TV: Pac-12 Networks
LARAMIE, Wyo. – You can parse inorganic
nitrates and energy at altitude and vasodilation all you want, but Washington
State winning at 7,220 feet here Saturday wasn’t about swilling beet juice.
It was more about exorcising
Beetlejuice.
Because, man, things got eerie at War
Memorial Stadium there for a while.
Wild snaps, goal-line laterals, phantom
fumbles, momentum-flipping interceptions – all had the Cougars thoroughly
spooked and seemingly slipping back into the dreaded trance that has haunted
Wazzu openers under Mike Leach, at least up until last season.
What restored the psychic equilibrium,
oddly enough, was something the Cougars had that maybe no one was quite ready
to accept: an assured, tested, steady hand at quarterback, who looked as if he
had years of flight hours in Leach’s cockpit.
Gardner Minshew passed, folks.
More tests await, to be sure, but the
41-19 shiv Wazzu gave the Wyoming Cowboys here calmed a lot of Coug nerves, and
not necessarily because he was flinging it all over the place and rolling up
Luke Falk and Connor Halliday numbers. It was more about him not unraveling
when the freaky stuff started happening.
And it wasn’t just Minshew – his
protectors on the offensive line who never allowed a sack, the receivers Leach
has amassed in Costco bulk, even the thin and doubted defensive line all
managed to hold it together in remarkable fashion.
But it starts with the quarterback.
Just ask Wyoming.
The big joke here, of course, is that
Leach spent all of August practicing his flipcard tricks, not only refusing to
publicly announce a starter at quarterback but listing four on his depth chart
with the word “OR” beside their names, as if they were all created equal and
any could trot out to take the first snap.
Nobody bought it. Leach should stick
with jackalope gags.
Theo Lawson of the S-R of Spokane/Inland
Empire
A question about Wyoming’s elevation
transformed into a Mike Leach tangent about jackalopes. “I sold a bunch of
jackalopes to people to this day from back east that think there are spots out
west where jackrabbits actually have horns.” Gotta listen to the whole thing.
Truth was, he gave Minshew the news “a
couple of weeks ago,” the quarterback said.
“He plays games with ya’ll, but he’s
just having fun. He enjoyed it more than anybody.”
Or maybe exclusively. Whatever.
But Leach more than anyone appreciates
the graces of a seasoned hand, and Minshew’s arrival as a graduate transfer
from East Carolina provided something he wasn’t going to get from his the rest of
his OR squad, none of whom had played a Division I snap.
Simply, he’s been there.
“Nothing teaches you as well as
experience,” Minshew said. “I feel like that really helped us today. It helped
me personally.”
Never more so than after the second
quarter, when the Cougars’ run of calamities turned a 10-0 lead into a deficit
that would reach 19-13 and stir up the ghosts of openers past. All Minshew did
after that was turn four of Wazzu’s five second-half possessions into
touchdowns – and without pulling off anything really extraordinary.
“I thought he was really good,” Leach
allowed. “Some of it is you just have to pitch your way through it. He was just
more decisive.”
That meant checking to his running
backs, James Williams and freshman delight Max Borghi, when the situation
demanded. Or standing in nervily on fourth down to deliver a ball to a sliding
Jamire Calvin.
The two boldest strokes came early in
the fourth quarter, the Cougs clinging to a 20-19 lead. Minshew rifled a pass
to Dezmon Patmon on a post with the narrowest of windows, Patmon hanging on
through a big hit.
“One of the toughest catches I’ve ever
seen,” Minshew marveled, “and that was at a pivotal point in the game. We
needed that. I had just enough space to put it in.”
Two plays later, Easop Winston Jr.
managed to sneak behind Wyoming’s C.J. Coldon to the right corner of the end
zone – “such a tough play, running a fade against outside leverage,” Minshew
said.
But the ball was right there, too.
TV Take: Washington State fans greeted
by familiar broadcast voice of Rich Waltz in victory at Wyoming
In the meantime, the Cougar defense was
keeping Wyoming’s running game in close enough check to make the quarterback a
deciding element. That would have been fine in 2017 when Wyoming had Josh
Allen, the NFL’s seventh overall pick in last summer’s draft. This year, the
Cowboys have Tyler Vander Waal, a redshirt freshman who took his first snaps
last week.
Note to any of Minshew’s backups who
might have itchy feet: There’s playing time to be had here in the thin air.
By the NCAA’s metric, it was the
second-best first start for a quarterback in the Leach era, for what that’s
worth. You may never see Minshew throw it halfway to Goshen Hole this season,
but here it was more important that he and his teammates summon some grit
against a program with a boatload of starters back from a bowl team – “a big
step for us,” as Leach noted.
“Every football game is going to be
hard,” said nickel back Hunter Dale, one of Minshew’s housemates. “You just
don’t know when it’s going to be hard, so you have to fight through it.”
And maybe bust some ghosts.
…………
WSU COUGARS FOOTBALL
Mike Leach did a weird formation thing
in the win over Wyoming
That was new!
By Jeff Nusser Coug Center Sep 1, 2018,
9:03pm PDT
Washington State Cougars coach Mike
Leach is known around the college football world as an offensive innovator, a
reputation built on being the foremost proponent of the Air Raid. But the
reality is that he doesn’t do a lot of tricky things — to some extent, everyone
knows what he’s going to do. He’s fairly old school in his belief that his
players are just going to execute so well, there’s no need for trickery.
Which is why this moment in Saturday’s
41-19 win over the Wyoming Cowboys was pretty eye popping.
Yes, that’s wide receiver Kyle Sweet
lining up as the center. And if you’re wondering how the formation is legal,
the only requirement (more or less) is that seven players be on the line of
scrimmage. WSU has that, with Sweet, the five linemen, and Tay Martin at the top
of the screen.
Wyoming wasn’t really fooled either time
— in fact, the only player who looked confused was erstwhile center Fred
Mauigoa, who blocked nobody the second time — but both runs were productive,
gaining a total of nine yards. And, to be honest, it appears there were more
yards to be had if it was blocked a little better.
It’s interesting that WSU ran it to the
short side of the field; that suggests to me that the idea is to snap it to
quarterback Gardner Minshew at some point and throw off of it to the wide side
of the field.
Why do this? Well ... it’s just another
thing opponents have to prepare for, right? And honestly, it’s not that tricky
— the line still blocks it as an inside zone, the receivers still block corners
and/or run a route. Varying formations is the biggest way Leach changes his
plays, and while this is an extreme version, it’s definitely within his M.O.
………………….
Cougars capture season opener in Wyoming
WSU defeated Cowboys on Saturday thanks
to a strong second-half performance
Redshirt junior running back James
Williams breaks through defense for a gain of yards during a scrimmage Aug. 8
at Martin Stadium.
JACKSON GARDNER, Evergreen
September 1, 2018
WSU football defeated the University of
Wyoming 41-19 Saturday afternoon on the road in Laramie, Wyoming, for the
team’s 2018 season opener.
If you never watched the second quarter,
you would have thought this game was a blow out because in the second quarter
the Cougars surrendered 14 points via turnovers making this one a little closer
than the final stat sheet suggests.
“Things got a little frantic in the
second quarter and I didn’t do a good job.” starting graduate transfer quarterback
Gardner Minshew II said. “Then we regrouped at halftime, came out and scored on
all four drives and I’m really proud of the way the team fought back and were
really resilient today.”
Coming into the game, a lot of discussion surrounded the altitude
and the potential effect it would have on the Cougars. WSU Head Coach Mike
Leach said the team was prepared for that challenge.
“Well we strategically have seasonal
forest fires as we prepare for the season in the event we do find ourselves in
altitude,” Leach said.
WSU couldn’t have had a better start to
the opening game of the season, taking both of its opening drives for points.
On the very first drive of the game a
36-yard quick screen brought WSU into Cowboy territory but after the drive
stalled, redshirt freshman kicker Blake Mazza would put his first career field
goal through the uprights from 30 yards out.
After the Cougars forced a quick
three-and-out, it was Minshew’s turn for a WSU career first. On a 10 play
63-yard drive, Minshew would toss his first touchdown of the game to redshirt
junior running back James Williams from 2 yards out to give the Cougars a 10-0
lead.
WSU would force another three-and-out
before the Cowboys made it interesting. After a three-and-out of their own,
WSU’s punting unit lined up on its own 28-yard line and a bad snap from
redshirt senior long snapper Kyle Celli resulted in a loss of 28 yards and a
Cowboy safety, their first points of the game.
The defense for WSU then forced its
third three-and-out of the game and got to the second quarter with the lead.
At the end of the first quarter, the
Cougars defense had limited Wyoming to 9 total yards of offense.
The Cowboys turned up their defensive
pressure in the second quarter. After WSU forced its third three-and-out,
freshman running back Max Borghi would give the ball right back to Wyoming in
Cougar territory.
The Cowboys would take full advantage of
the turnover and turn it into six points on a five play 30-yard drive that
would end with an 8 yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Nico Evans.
The Cougars responded well by turning
their ensuing drive into three points off a 41-yard Mazza field goal to give
WSU a little breathing room at 13-9, but that wouldn’t last very long.
Minshew would give the ball right back
on a pass intended for sophomore wide receiver Tay Martin. With pressure in his
face and throwing off his back foot, the pass was offline and ended up in the
hands of Wyoming’s senior cornerback Antonio Hull.
With that interception, the Cowboys
would convert their second takeaway into six points on a 23-yard end around
rush to sophomore wide receiver Avante Cox who would get into the endzone to
give Wyoming a three point lead.
Other than an interception from junior
cornerback Marcus Strong, both teams would trade punts until the halftime
whistle blew and the Cougars hobbled into the locker room down 13-16 and in
need of regrouping.
When both teams returned from their
locker rooms, it appeared that Wyoming had all the momentum and they would run
with it.
But on the opening drive for the
Cowboys, which looked all but destined to find the endzone, a dropped pass from
Wyoming redshirt freshman tight end Mason Keeler on third and four forced the
Cowboys to settle for a field goal to make it 19-13.
The next series for the Cougars proved
to be the pivotal drive of the game, where Minshew would refuse to give the ball
back to the Cowboys even after a false start penalty on fourth and one.
With a fourth and six situation and a
punt looking like the probable outcome, Leach kept his quarterback on the field
and sure enough Minshew delivered with a first down completion off his back
foot to sliding sophomore wide receiver Jamire Calvin.
The 10 play 75-yard drive would end with
freshman running back Max Borghi making his first career touchdown reception.
WSU took a 20-19 lead and wouldn’t look back.
Nearing the end of the third quarter and
with just a one-point lead, the Cougars defense came up huge with a strip sack
from redshirt freshman rush linebacker Willie Taylor III on third and four,
resulting in a loss of 28 yards for the Cowboys.
Both teams would trade drives that
resulted in punts, but it was an unsportsmanlike penalty on Wyoming that would
force them to punt out of its own endzone.
This gave WSU the field position to set
up a four play 48-yard scoring drive ending on a 7-yard endzone fade to
redshirt junior wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. to give the Cougars an eight
point lead.
Still just a one score game, Wyoming got
the ball back and started to move the ball but they wouldn’t get farther than
where they started after a sack from sophomore linebacker Dominick Silvels and
a loss of 11 yards forced yet another punt from the Cowboys.
WSU took full advantage of another drive
from good field position and this time Borghi would score his first rushing
touchdown of his young career giving the Cougars a 34-19 lead.
The Cougars would find the end zone once
more on a three-yard touchdown rush from redshirt junior running back James
Williams, but it was Borghi’s touchdown run that put the proverbial nail in
Wyoming’s coffin.
“I thought we were resilient [in] the
second half,” Leach said. “I thought the first half we were trying to do too
much, focused on trying to be perfect … but we did a good job not hesitating in
the second half and I think that is a big step for us especially for this
season.”
The clock would strike zero with the
Cougars ahead 41-19. Now WSU will fly home and shift its focus to San Jose
State University who they will face at 8 p.m. Saturday in Martin Stadium.
:::::::::::::
Volleyball sweeps Northern Iowa
Cougars stay undefeated after upsetting
Panthers twice in two days
Then-Junior outside hitter Taylor Mims
spikes the ball against Florida State University on Dec. 1.
By COLIN CONNOLLY, Evergreen
September 1, 2018
The Cougars swept No. 17 University of
Northern Iowa this weekend in a two-game series on the road to bring their
record on the season to a perfect 4-0.
The Cougars started the weekend by
taking the first match Friday afternoon when they toppled the Panthers (2-4) in
four sets.
The first set Saturday morning didn’t
start as the Cougars wanted it to as they weren’t passing great early. They got
down 5-0 but called a timeout and fought back. A 10-5 run flipped the set in
WSU’s favor and they won the set 25-23.
Set two was the exact opposite as the
first as WSU got off to an early lead. Up three points late, the Cougars
allowed the Panthers to go on a late run themselves.
Winning the second set 25-23, UNI evened
the match at 1-1. Senior outside-hitter Taylor Mims had been quiet in the first
two sets but got five kills in the first 11 points for WSU in the third set.
Down 22-18 late, the Cougars needed to
go on a run to avoid being down 2-1 for the first time all year. WSU was able
to close the set outscoring the Panthers 7-1 to take the third set 25-23.
Up two sets to one, the Cougs played
from behind for most of the fourth set. Getting its first lead at 20-19, WSU
battled UNI finishing out the set.
WSU took the fourth set 25-23 to win the
match 3-1. Saturday proved to be a difficult test for WSU as they were often
behind and forced to rally late.
Mims tied her career high with 26 kills.
The Cougars will look to stay perfect as they head home to host the Cougar
Challenge starting noon Friday against McNeese State University at Bohler Gym.
#
