WSU
FOOTBALL
Difference
makers: Easop Winston hauls in 89-yard touchdown to lead Washington State
Sat.,
Sept. 29, 2018, 8:08 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
Easop
Winston
Relatively
quiet most of the game, the junior outside receiver caught the game-winning
touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew with 4:14 to play in the fourth quarter. Winston
broke free from his defender, then hauled in a pass from Minshew and juked Utah
safety Corrion Ballard for an 89-yard score.
Peyton
Pelluer
Washington
State’s tackles leader finished the game with 13 total takedowns – the second
consecutive double-digit tackles game for Pelluer and the 10th of his career.
Pelluer was also credited with 1.5 tacles-for-loss and had a 14-yard sack on
Huntley at a crucial point of the game in the fourth quarter.
Tyler
Huntley
Utah’s
slippery junior quarterback kept the Cougars guessing all afternoon, running
for two touchdowns in the first half before hitting the century mark on the
ground in the third quarter. Huntley finished with 88 net yards on 17 carries
and while he didn’t pass much, he was usually precise when he needed to be,
completing 12-of-20 throws for 118 yards.
::::::::::::;
TV Take:
Gardner Minshew draws heaping portion of praise in Washington State’s win over
Utah
UPDATED:
Sat., Sept. 29, 2018, 7:27 p.m.
By Vince
Grippi Spokane S-R
If there
is a star of the Pac-12 Networks’ football’s coverage, it may just be Yogi
Roth.
And to
think, unlike the star of its basketball coverage, Bill Walton, he didn’t play
in the conference. Or talk about the Mayan calendar or the reproductive cycle
of the honeybees.
All Roth
does, whether it is in the studio or as a game analyst, is explain the game.
That skill was on display Saturday afternoon during Washington State’s 28-24
homecoming victory over Utah at Martin Stadium.
What they
saw …
A late
fourth-quarter 89-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Easop Winston Jr.
was the difference. Leave it to Roth to explain what happened between Winston
and Utah defensive back Julian Blackmon, who Roth referred to often as one of
the Pac-12’s best.
“It’s an
easy read and look at the throw, it’s exactly how you coach it up,” Roth said.
“And then look at the finish is just brilliant. … That’s just a little bit
better of an athlete running downhill.
“And how
about his release?” Roth asked before explaining how Winston kept his leverage
on the sideline.
But what
would you expect? That’s what Roth does.
Early in
the game, Utah’s Tyler Huntley faked a handoff, started to run and then threw a
pass. Throughout the first part of the season, an acronym, “RPO” would have
been thrown out by the analyst.
Not this
time.
Roth, the
former Pittsburgh receiver and USC assistant coach, described the “run/pass
game.” And later, when he talked of it again and used the RPO acronym, he
followed up with “run/pass option” again.
If you
didn’t know what the term before the game, you did after.
You also
knew this one was a contrast in styles.
Roth and
veteran play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson pointed it out before the game and,
every time the offensive statistics popped up on the screen, mentioned it
again.
In this
case, it was a bit of overkill. Which goes well with some hyperbole that wormed
its way into the booth after halftime.
Robinson,
who has done everything from Grand Slam tennis to San Francisco 49ers radio
play-by-play, was praising Minshew’s outstanding first half – 22 of 37, two
touchdowns, 286 yards – but went a bit overboard.
“That’s
about as impressive of a half from a quarterback, and there have been some good
ones here, that’s as impressive as I can recall,” Robinson said coming into the
third quarter.
It was
less than a year ago that Tyler Hilinski threw for 440 yards in the second half
against Arizona. Connor Halliday threw for 397 in the second half against
California four years ago.
Then
again, Robinson and Roth were right to harp on a series of Cougar pass drops
that reached six in two possessions sandwiching the first half. It killed
momentum and may have contributed to WSU’s offensive struggles throughout the
second half. And harp on them they did.
Talk about
contributing to offensive struggles, Utah had an injury that did. To her
credit, sideline reporter Jill Savage did her job early in the second half when
she noticed it. Center Lo Falemaka was helped to the sidelines and then to the
locker room with a knee injury. He didn’t return. Neither did the Utes’ running
game.
What we
saw …
One of the
best parts of the broadcast occurred even before the first snap. The Pac-12
Networks’ pregame show set up camp across Stadium Way from Martin Stadium, the
Cougar statue over Evan Moore’s right shoulder.
The
football talk was in-depth, as you might expect from Moore, a former Stanford
tight end, and Nigel Burton, whose most recent coaching stop was at Portland
State.
The
highlight? It was Burton, a former defensive coach, explaining the Cougars’
shifts, or “stemming,” and their purpose.
Then Roth,
who was on set for the segment, pointed out the penalties called last week,
adding, “It’s the umpire who makes that call. It’s a judgment call. If you
believe the defense is drawing the offense offsides, then you’re going to throw
the flag.”
Moore’s
following comment, however, was a little off base, talking about the calls the
defense makes prior to the shift.
“The
offensive players are waiting for a sound,” Moore said. “(They react to) the
first sound they hear.”
The
logical conclusion? The defense couldn’t talk. That isn’t true.
But the
strength of the pregame show is the off-field features.
Ashley
Adamson, the only member of the crew without a Pac-12 connection prior to
joining the conference’s network, gets the best assignments. Not only is she
the host, she had the opportunity to host Mike Leach’s first trip to
Ferdinand’s, Washington State’s ice cream store.
Maybe
he’ll head there Monday to celebrate the win.
:::::::::::::::::
Analysis:
One long pass from Gardner Minshew to Easop Winston Jr. salvages victory for
Washington State
UPDATED:
Sat., Sept. 29, 2018, 10:12 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson
S-R of
Spokane
PULLMAN –
Gardner Minshew and Kyle Sweet entered the postgame press conference wearing
slick aviator shades and wide grins.
It very
nearly was another look for Washington State’s quarterback-receiver duo on this
night.
WSU’s
offense woke up from a deep second-half slumber with 4 minutes to play in the
fourth quarter and after six empty drives that included five punts, Minshew and
Easop Winston Jr. hooked up for an 89-yard touchdown pass to secure a 28-24 win
over Utah on Saturday at Martin Stadium in front of a homecoming crowd that
numbered 30,088.
The
Cougars extended their home winning streak to 10 games and improved their
season record to 4-1 and 1-1 in Pac-12 Conference play. Utah, coming off a bye
week, dropped to 2-2 and 0-2 in league play. WSU can move one game shy of
postseason eligibility by beating Oregon State (1-4, 0-2) next week in
Corvallis.
“This game
was all about resiliency,” said Minshew, who had his third 400-yard passing
game in a Cougars uniform and finished with 445 passing yards, three touchdowns
and one interception. “There was a time there when our defense was kind of
struggling and (the offense) was playing OK, and then it kind of flipped. At
the end we both had to make big drives, (the offense) had to make a big drive
and (the defense) had to make a big stop. I’d say I am super proud of this team
for its resiliency.”
In the
first half, the Cougars were throwing and catching the ball with relative ease,
playing their version of basketball on grass as fluidly as they had all season.
No team on Utah’s schedule had scored more than 21 points against the Utes in a
game this year, but the Cougars sprinted to that total by the 9:03 mark of the
second quarter.
For
reference, Utah’s acclaimed defensive secondary had conceded 37 pass completions
in three games this season. Minshew dealt 22 complete passes in the first half.
But in an
instant, the Cougars’ Air Raid offense went from highly operative to hardly
existent. The Utes finally provided some resistance in the defensive backfield
and some pressure up front that led to Minshew being sacked for the fourth and
fifth time this season.
“I think
we’re still fighting consistency, part of it, they’re a really good defense,”
WSU head coach Mike Leach said. “One of the top defenses in our conference and
in the country, they’re going to get you out occasionally.”
So when
the Cougars got the ball back on their 7-yard line with 5:07 left in the fourth
quarter, and trailing 24-21, they certainly didn’t look like an offense capable
of stringing 10 to 15 positive plays together, covering 93 yards of ground and
pulling off a come-from-behind win.
Maybe they
had one big, explosive play left in the tank, though.
On
second-and-6 from the 11-yard line, Winston ran past cornerback Julian Blackmon
and Minshew floated a pass perfectly into his arms. Winston broke Blackmon’s
shoestring tackle and made a savvy juke move that led safety Corrion Ballard to
the middle of the field while the receiver went right. Winston booked it down
the sideline to finish off the longest WSU touchdown reception since Vince
Mayle’s 90-yarder against California four years ago.
“I saw a
one-on-one with a guy that’s pretty much unguardable one-on-one, so I just gave
him a chance and he just made it work,” Minshew said.
Winston,
who’s caught five touchdowns in five games for the Cougars in his debut season,
finished with four catches for 115 yards.
“That was
just another play I had to win my one-on-one matchup and Gardner threw a
beautiful ball,” he said. “I was able to kind of stack the corner and the rest
was just playing ball after I caught it.
“The crowd
was roaring and everything, I just had to get it into the end zone. That’s all
I saw in front of me. Just get there.”
The
homecoming crowd bellowed for the Cougars’ defense, too. It managed to keep WSU
in a one-possession game for the entirety of the second half, holding the Utes
to three points in the third and fourth quarter.
Sixth-year
senior linebacker Peyton Pelluer came up with a momentum-swinging sack in the
final period that caused the Utes to lose 14 yards at a pivotal point in the
game. The Cougars lured Utah into two costly penalties – a false start and a
hold – as the Utes were marching downfield in the game’s final minutes.
“It was
big, and protecting our home is one of our big things that we value in the
locker room,” defensive lineman Will Rodgers III said. “And so the crowd coming
out aggressive, hyped up, we were just as hyped up as them and we just rolled
together.”
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