First look: Coming off major road victory, Washington State returns home to face Colorado State, familiar coaching staff
Spokesman-Review
by Colton Clark 9/12/2022
What is it? Coming off a memorable upset
victory over ranked Wisconsin on the road, Washington State (2-0) is returning
home to close out its nonconference slate against Colorado State (0-2), which
has been routed twice to open its first season under coach Jay Norvell.
Where is it? The Cougars will host the Rams at
Gesa Field in Pullman.
When is it? Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Where can I watch it? The Pac-12 Network will carry the
broadcast.
Who is favored? A rising program in the Pac-12,
WSU opened as a 17-point favorite over Colorado State – a Mountain West
Conference bottomfeeder for the past several years.
How did they fare last week? First-year WSU
coach Jake Dickert returned to his home state and the Cougars secured one of
their most significant nonconference victories in program history, outmuscling
the heavily favored Badgers for a 17-14 win in front of 80,000 fans at Camp
Randall Stadium.
“We
believed we could do it,” Dickert said. “This wasn’t some upset of a lifetime.”
WSU
got a resilient effort from its defense, which limited big plays and fared well
in containing Wisconsin’s powerful ground game. The unit forced a key turnover
late in the game.
“It
was a physical football game, and I know our guys are feeling that today,”
Dickert said Monday. “We just kept throwing things at them. You can never do
just one thing against a good run team. … I’m so proud of our run defense. To
not give up a huge, explosive run – which is something their offense really depends
on – is important.”
The
WSU offense struggled to sustain possessions against a strong Badger defense,
but the Cougars found a few cracks – just enough to slip ahead as their defense
held the line. First-year WSU starter Nakia Watson, a former Wisconsin running
back, scored twice.
The
Cougars offense saved its best drive for last, draining the final five minutes
of the clock with a 10-play possession.
“That
is, again, going to be one of the best defenses in the country,” Dickert said
of Wisconsin. “I don’t think you can always measure success by scoring a ton of
points. Yes, we want to be better. Yes, we need to be cleaner. Yes, we need to
execute and not turn the ball over. … But at the same time, to run five and a
half minutes off the clock the way they did, in that environment, it’s
impressive.”
Asked
to assess his offense’s performance, Dickert commended quarterback Cameron
Ward’s poise and acknowledged that the team’s new Air Raid system is still
early in the process of developing. The coach is looking for improvements in
the Cougars’ downfield passing game.
“We
need to continue to shape this offense to the strengths of what our guys can
do,” he said. “It’ll be a continued project.”
WSU
squeaked past FCS Idaho in Week 1 in a 24-17 nail-biter. In Week 2, Dickert saw
better energy and fortitude from his team.
“Last
week, on Tuesday after practice, I really challenged our mental toughness,” he
said. “When you have a good, mature team that wants to compete, they respond to
challenges.”
Colorado
State stumbled out of the gates and fell into a 34-point hole in the third
quarter at home against Middle Tennessee State. The Rams tried to mount a
comeback, but an ugly first half was too much to overcome in a 34-19 loss.
CSU,
playing with a shorthanded offensive line, surrendered nine sacks and finished
the game with minus-10 net rushing yards. The Rams committed four turnovers and
dropped their seventh consecutive game, dating back to last season. CSU
suffered a 51-7 loss at Michigan in Week 1.
Why WSU will win: The Cougars boast an exceptional
defensive front. The group has impressed in WSU’s first two games. Meanwhile,
the Rams’ offensive line has had a woeful start to the season.
CSU
has surrendered 16 sacks – the most in the nation (by five). The Rams lost one
of their starting tackles to a season-ending injury during practice last week.
Their other tackle exited the lineup early in Saturday’s game with an injury.
CSU’s offensive line was already the team’s weakness before those injuries,
according to local reporters.
So,
expect the Cougars’ star-studded defensive line to shine and rattle redshirt
freshman CSU quarterback Clay Millen.
“(The
Rams) specialize in passing and I think we have to take advantage of our
defensive line,” Dickert said. “We gotta find ways to be aggressive and we
gotta disrupt their quarterback, who – to his credit – has stood in there and
taken a lot of shots this year and kept going.”
It’s
a small sample size – and one of their games was against a top-five opponent in
Michigan – but the Rams seem to be in the midst of a rebuilding season under
their first-year coaching staff. They haven’t done much to convince their
supporters that this campaign will be better than their three-win 2021 season.
CSU
lacks a ground game and its passing attack is severely hampered by protection
issues. When Millen is given time to throw, his options appear to be limited –
receiver Tory Horton has 255 yards and four touchdowns, and the rest of CSU’s
pass-catchers have combined for 138 yards and no scores.
The
Rams were drubbed at home by Middle Tennessee State, which lost 44-7 the week
before against James Madison – a first-year FBS program.
Blue
Raiders QB Chase Cunningham passed 31 of 39 for 266 yards against CSU last
weekend. That kind of efficiency bodes well for Ward and WSU’s Air Raid passing
game.
The
Cougars have home-field advantage and momentum at their backs after pulling off
an upset on the road against a Big Ten notable.
Why Colorado State will win: Horton could be
a favorable matchup for the Rams and their pass-happy offense. It’s uncertain
whether WSU’s secondary will be playing at full health this weekend.
Derrick
Langford Jr., the Cougars’ top cornerback, sustained an injury in the second
quarter against Wisconsin and spent the second half on the sideline in street
clothes and a walking boot. Safety Jordan Lee exited the lineup with an injury
late in the third quarter. Dickert didn’t have an update Monday when asked
whether those two players will be available Saturday.
The
Rams’ defense is solid up front. Linebackers Cam’Ron Carter and Dequan Jackson
and edge rusher Mohamed Kamara are All-Mountain West candidates. Kamara leads
the conference with four TFLs.
WSU
played an emotional, physically demanding game last weekend. CSU is hoping to
catch the Cougars off guard on the heels of their grueling victory in Madison.
What happened last time? WSU and CSU have met once before
– a game Cougars fans would like to forget. WSU gave up 18 points in the final
three minutes to lose 48-45 in a stunning season finale at the 2013 New Mexico
Bowl. The Cougars, under second-year coach Mike Leach, were playing their first
bowl game in a decade. They led by as many as 22 points but were outscored
25-10 in the second half.
Things to know:
1.
WSU and CSU have a number of coaching connections. First-year Cougars defensive
coordinator Brian Ward was the DC at Nevada for the past two years under head
coach Jay Norvell, who was hired to lead the Rams in December after five years
in Reno. At Nevada, Ward also worked alongside CSU offensive coordinator Matt
Mumme, offensive line coach Bill Best and wide receivers coach Chad Savage. CSU
DC Freddie Banks played at North Dakota State in the late-2000s under Ward and
Dickert, both of whom were assistants in the Bison secondary. Banks shares
defensive philosophies with Dickert and Ward. “It’s like playing a reflection
in a mirror this week,” Dickert said of the Rams’ defense. CSU linebackers
coach Adam Pilapil played LB at Wyoming during Dickert’s time as a Cowboys
assistant. Having spent three seasons coaching in the Mountain West (2017-19),
Dickert is familiar with Norvell’s style of offense. WSU defensive analyst
Trent Greene and grad assistant Jack Ray were support staffers for Norvell at
Nevada.
“You
always worry, ‘Do they have our signals? Do they know our techniques? Do they
know what hurts us?’ There’s a game I imagine both sides are playing right now
in the meeting rooms,” Dickert said. “So, that’s an interesting dynamic.”
2.
Seven players followed Norvell this offseason, transferring to CSU out of
Nevada. They will face a couple of their former Wolf Pack teammates on Saturday.
Standout WSU linebacker Daiyan Henley and strong safety Jordan Lee both
transferred to the Pullman school out of Nevada after the 2021 season. Henley
was a part of Norvell’s first recruiting class at Nevada. Lee joined the Wolf
Pack a year later, in 2018.
3.
With a win, Dickert can become the ninth head coach in WSU history to start his
first full season 3-0, and the first since Mike Price in 1989. A victory
Saturday might be enough to earn the Cougars their first AP Top 25 ranking
since early in the 2019 season. WSU received 30 votes in the Week 3 poll – No.
10 among teams in the “receiving votes” category.
:::
Washington State left tackle Jarrett Kingston, return
man Renard Bell earn weekly Pac-12 awards
By Colton Clark of Spokesman-Review 9/12/2022
PULLMAN – Left tackle Jarrett
Kingston anchored an offensive line that gave Washington State a solid effort
against Wisconsin’s stout defensive front. Return man Renard Bell gave the
Cougars a spark after halftime.
For their work in the Cougars’ 17-14
road win over the Badgers, the two received weekly honors Monday from the
Pac-12 Conference. Kingston was named offensive lineman of the week and Bell
took home the conference’s special teams player of the week award.
Kingston, a junior and third-year
starter – and a first-year starter at tackle – didn’t allow any pressure on the
Cougars’ 50 offensive snaps. He set the pace for an O-line that stood tall at
the end of the game, helping WSU’s offense stay on the field for a 10-play,
43-yard series that spanned the final 5:14 of the contest.
Bell weaved through traffic for a
73-yard kick return to open the second half. The Cougars scored a field goal on
the ensuing possession – a much-needed lift out of the locker room after a
tough first half for the offense.
“Renard’s kickoff return changed
that game, changed the momentum, changed the feeling,” WSU coach Jake Dickert
said Monday. “That was a special-teams gamebreaker we were searching for.”
Bell, a seventh-year receiver, added
49 yards on two receptions. He broke off a 43-yard reception on a screen pass
on the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage.
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