John
Blanchette: Washington State keeps closer eye on national scoreboard with each
passing week
By John Blanchette, Spokane S-R Sun., Nov. 4, 2018, 12:21 a.m.
PULLMAN
– It’s been established: The Pac-12 can’t get out of its own way. So maybe try
this, fellas: Get the hell out of Washington State’s.
Oh,
wait. It pretty much has.
Now the
big question: Will the rest of college football oblige?
The
early returns: not so much.
Then
again, the Cougars still have some work to do in that area themselves.
Make
that considerable work.
But the
thrills go on. After spinning their wheels in gumbo for nearly the entire
evening Saturday, WSU found traction in the final 160 seconds and beat pesky
Cal 19-13 – cardiac stress that surely must have agitated all the dads in the
Martin Stadium sellout.
The big
fun for the Cougars and their constituency through the first two months of the
season has been reveling in the team’s mostly unforeseen excellence, some
clutch finishes and the anointing of a real, live folk hero: quarterback Gardner Minshew II. Call him
Two, or Too – as in too much. Or too cool for school.
But now
there’s a bonus: scoreboard watching. No, really.
This
has always been mostly Saturday filler at Wazzu, something for a tailgater to
do between trips to the keg or the cooker. West Virginia’s winning?
What league are they in now, anyway?Attention to other outposts until now
was token at best – unless Washington was losing, of course. Then it was
Schadenfreude Uber Alles until the Cougs game kicked off.
And
then the College Football
Playoff rankings came out this week and, lo, there were the Cougs at No. 8.
Number 8.
Not in
some piddly writers’ poll, or a vote of sports information directors – er,
coaches, sorry. This is the algebra that’s going to produce the four heavies
who will settle the national championship when the clock turns winter, and
right there in the sweepstakes is Washington State.
Four
steps away.
Now, yes,
those four steps could well be the equivalent of hopscotching through the Milky
Way. But the deciders are saying there’s a chance.
And so
suddenly it matters what everyone else is doing.
OK, not
Alabama so much. The Tide are on another plane if not another planet. And maybe
not Notre Dame or Clemson unless the Tigers sleep through their alarm for the
ACC championship game.
So
maybe the chance is for one spot, and the crowd ahead of the Cougars isn’t a
bunch of slappies.
Only
LSU among the top seven lost on Saturday, and that to Alabama, which makes it
sort of a loss with an asterisk. Oklahoma had a bit of a wrangle, but that was
about it. Michigan and Georgia both handled victims in the CFP’s top 15.
And the
Cougs? Well, they certainly didn’t handle Cal. They
merely survived.
But,
man, they survived with style.
This
time, it took a steely drive of 69 yards that began with 2:39 remaining on the clock,
and included spectacular falling catches by Jamire Calvin and Easop Winston,
before the Cougars’ fabulist zipped behind Cal’s Josh Drayton and collected a
Minshew pass for the winner with 32 seconds remaining.
This
one does not go in the steadily improving column, no. Steady nerves, yes.
Because
the Cougars had to overcome assorted gaffes and giveaways mostly of their own
making, and in the kind of volume that in other seasons has produced the
killing. A Minshew interception that led to Cal’s only touchdown. Willie
Taylor’s brilliant pick that was undone by his fumble out of the end zone.
Eighty yards in penalty pratfalls. And the maddening abandonment of the run,
which on a drizzly night helped limit the Cougs to just 17 nonkick snaps during
a 29-minute stretch in the heart of the game.
But
here in the Conference of Toes for Target Practice, there’s always another team
around to one-down you. This night, it was Cal, which had the go-ahead
touchdown in its sights with less than 8 minutes to play before being done in
by a case of coaching cute.
Married
to inserting run specialist Brandon McIlwain at quarterback at odd times for
starter Chase Garbers, offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin tried
it on first down at the WSU 12 – only to have McIlwain wildly overthrow Patrick
Laird on a rollout, allowing the Cougs’ Skyler Thomas to intercept in the end
zone.
Baldwin
pulled many a rabbit out of his hat with his play calling as Eastern Washington
head coach – even against WSU. This time he pulled out a live hand grenade.
The
Cougs themselves needed two tries to produce their magic – the first ending in
a missed 30-yard field goal. But they solved Cal’s stubborn defense when their
reputation and ranking on the line.
The
Pac-12’s rep, too. Gad, only the Huskies are within a game
of Wazzu in the loss column.
Good
thing there’s some scoreboard watching to keep us occupied.
:::::::::::::::::::
Football Cougs
dodge a Bear trap
QB Minshew
leads WSU to winning TD in final minute
By Dale
Grummert, Lewiston Tribune, Nov 4, 2018
PULLMAN -
Pullman isn't Berkeley. This year isn't last year. But, oh, lightning tried to
strike twice anyway.
This time,
though, the Cougars escaped a game against upstart California with all their
dreams intact.
Gardner
Minshew tossed a tie-breaking 10-yard touchdown pass to Easop Winston Jr. with
32 seconds left Saturday night, offsetting a litany of missed opportunities on
a rainy night at sold-out Martin Stadium to give the Cougars a 19-13 win over
the Bears.
"I
thought it would be a war, and it was," WSU coach Mike Leach said.
The game
was far more dramatic than the Cougars' 37-3 loss last year at Berkeley, Calif.
But the football again took some strange bounces, and the elements - a steady
rain this time, rather than smoke from wildfires in northern California - again
added an unpredictable blend of variables.
This year,
the No. 10 Cougars (8-1, 5-1) weathered it all, staying atop the Pac-12 North
standings and in the hunt for a prestigious bowl bid or a spot in the four-team
national playoffs. As players had made clear in recent weeks, they distinctly
remember Cal sullying their unbeaten record halfway through the 2017 season.
The
winning touchdown capped a 69-yard drive that included an amazing 24-yard play
by Winston as he fell backward to snag a back-shoulder throw by Minshew.
As for the
TD, "It was just a fade," Winston said. "I practice that every
day. For me it was just making a routine play."
The
Cougars won their 12th straight home game over two seasons and extended their
overall winning streak to five games, with three regular-season contests left
on their schedule.
Rated
eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Cougars aren't likely to
climb much higher this week. Of the teams ahead of them, the only one to lose
Saturday was Louisiana State, against top-ranked Alabama.
With the
score tied 13-13 in the fourth quarter, the Cougs squandered a golden
opportunity when Willie Taylor intercepted Cal quarterback Chase Garbers but
fumbled into the end zone, where teammate Jahad Woods couldn't secure the ball.
It skittered out of bounds, meaning an apparent WSU touchdown turned instantly
into a Cal possession at the 20.
"If
he's going to keep intercepting balls, we'll have to get Willie in
ball-security drills," Leach said.
The Bears
then drove downfield for a game-tying 46-yard field goal by Greg Thomas.
After a
WSU punt, a pass-interference penalty on Hunter Dale and a roughing-the-passer
call on Dillon Sherman kept a Cal drive alive, but safety Skyler Thomas made an
end-zone interception of a Brandon McIlwain overthrow with 7:34 left.
The Cougars
then drove to the Cal 13-yard line, stalled, then watched in amazement as Blake
Mazza went wide-right on a 30-yard field-goal attempt with 3:31 remaining. But
the Bears went three-and-out, mustering only 3 yards, and were forced to punt
with 2:43 on the clock.
Wazzu's
kicking-game problems continued after the decisive TD when the PAT snap sailed
through Trey Tinsley's hands and Mazza dived on the ball.
Minshew
passed 35-for-51 for 334 yards, one touchdown and one interception, finding
James Williams 10 times for 59 yards and Winston seven times for 92.
In the
first half, Mazza kicked two field goals, including a 36-yarder with a second
left before intermission to create a 13-10 lead.
The Cougs'
only touchdown of the half came on a bullish 5-yard run by Max Borghi to cap a
nine-play drive that included four rushes for 29 yards. Minshew passed for more
than 200 yards for the half but both he and his receivers seemed to struggle at
times with the wet ball.
"Cal
may have the best defense in the conference," Leach said.
Evan
Weaver, a Cal linebacker from Spokane, intercepted a tipped Minshew pass to set
up the Bears' only TD drive before halftime, a 1-yard toss to 290-pound
fullback Malik McMorris.
California
0 10 3 0 - 13
Washington
St. 3 10 0 6 - 19
First
Quarter
WST-FG
Mazza 29, 10:35
Second
Quarter
CAL-McMorris
2 pass from Garbers (G.Thomas kick), 11:00
WST-Borghi
5 run (Mazza kick), 6:47
CAL-FG
G.Thomas 42, :36
WST-FG
Mazza 36, :01
Third
Quarter
CAL-FG
G.Thomas 46, 2:04
Fourth
Quarter
WST-Winston
10 pass from Minshew (kick failed), :32
CAL WST
First
downs 21 23
Rushes-yards
36-112 15-79
Passing
179 334
Comp-Att-Int
18-33-2 35-51-1
Return
Yards 34 65
Punts-Avg.
4-34.0 3-44.33
Fumbles-Lost
0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards
2-25 7-80
Time of
Possession 31:19 28:41
INDIVIDUAL
STATISTICS
RUSHING-California,
Garbers 11-67, Laird 18-40, Wharton 1-7, McIlwain 6-(minus 2). Washington St.,
J.Williams 5-34, Borghi 6-33, Minshew 4-12.
PASSING-California,
McIlwain 3-7-1-52, Garbers 15-26-1-127. Washington St., Minshew 35-51-1-334.
RECEIVING-California,
Wharton 4-47, Laird 4-38, Ways 3-46, Bunting 3-26, Remigio 2-18, McMorris 1-2,
Je.Hawkins 1-2. Washington St., J.Williams 10-59, Winston 7-92, Patmon 3-43,
Borghi 3-33, Harris 3-30, C.Jackson 3-27, Sweet 2-17, Calvin 1-23, Bell 1-5,
Harrington 1-4, Martin 1-1.
MISSED
FIELD GOALS-California, G.Thomas 47. Washington St., Mazza 30.
:::::::::::::::
WSU
FOOTBALL = Recap and highlights: Washington State beats Cal 19-13 with
last-second touchdown
By Theo Lawson
of Spokane’s Spokesman -- Sun., Nov. 4,
2018, 12:55 a.m.
PULLMAN –
The nation’s 10th-ranked team did it the ugly way Saturday night – and that may
even be an understatement considering everything that happened in a 60-minute
window at Martin Stadium – but the Cougars will head into the 11th week of the
college football season still with just one loss and the clear-cut leaders in
the Pac-12 North.
On an
off-night for WSU’s Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, Gardner Minshew
dialed up a late scoring drive for the Cougars, completing four passes before
throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Easop Winston Jr. to lead the Cougars past a
gritty California team, 19-13, in front of a sellout crowd in Pullman.
WSU, No.
10 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 8 in the College Football Playoff
rankings improved to 8-1 and 5-1 in the Pac-12, with its fifth consecutive win
and 12th straight at Martin Stadium. The Cougars go on the road for the final
time this year next Saturday when they visit Colorado (5-4, 2-4) in Boulder.
The Golden Bears dropped to 5-4 and 2-4, squandering an opportunity to claim
their first postseason berth under second-year coach Justin Wilcox.
WSU and
Minshew moved down the field at a brisk pace on the game’s opening drive, but
the Cougars were stuffed three times when they got down to the 9-yard line and
redshirt freshman kicker Blake Mazza was brought on for a 29-yard field goal
that made it 3-0.
It didn’t
get much better for the WSU quarterback after that – until the final drive of
the fourth quarter, that is. Minshew finished 35-of-51 passing with 334 yards,
one touchdown and one interception.
Minshew’s
interception came before his touchdown as Evan Weaver, the Spokane native and
Gonzaga Prep grad, hauled in a tipped pass late in the first quarter – Weaver’s
second pick in as many games after the Cal linebacker notched the first
interception of his career last week against Washington.
The Golden
Bears executed a slow, methodical drive to score their first points of the game
and four minutes after Weaver’s interception, Cal quarterback Chase Garbers
found fullback Malik McMorris wide open in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown.
Cal’s lead
held for all of four minutes before WSU responded with its first touchdown. Max
Borghi set up his own touchdown, taking the first two carries of the drive 19
yards, and the freshman running back kept his legs churning on an 11-yard
reception that put the Cougars on the 5-yard line. Borghi took it the rest of
the way, pushing his way into the end zone for a rushing touchdown that made it
10-7.
Courtesy
of two personal fouls on the Cougars – an out of bounds hit from safety Jalen
Thompson and a targeting call on Rush linebacker Dominick Silvels – the Golden
Bears were able to move into field goal range on their last offensive drive of
the first half and Greg Thomas tied the game at 10-10 with a 42-yard kick.
Had it not
been for Travell Harris’ kick-returning savvy, 10-10 could’ve been the score
going into the half. The redshirt freshman receiver returned the kickoff 46
yards and a 28-yard pass from Minshew to Winston set up a 36-yard field goal
from Mazza that give the Cougars a three-point lead at the break.
The Cougars
could’ve extended their lead to 10 points early in the third quarter, but a
bizarre sequence of events transpired when Willie Taylor III jumped a passing
route to intercept Garbers near the right sideline. Taylor III returned the
ball 37 yards to Cal’s 3-yard line, but lost control of it before he could
cross the plane. Jahad Woods tried to pounce on the fumble as it dribbled into
the end zone, but the ball rolled through the back of the end zone for a
touchback.
Shortly
after squandering the pick-six, WSU conceded a 35-yard pass from Brandon
McIlwain to Moe Ways that set the Golden Bears up for a game-tying 46-yard
field goal.
Mazza had
an opportunity to put the Cougars up front in the fourth quarter, after Skyler
Thomas intercepted McIlwain’s jump pass into the end zone, but the kicker’s
first miss of the night went wide right, keeping the score at 13-13.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cal at WSU
football game 11/3/2018
Difference
makers: Easop Winston Jr. flourishes with 92 receiving yards, game-winning TD
Sun., Nov.
4, 2018, 12:51 a.m.
By Theo
Lawson of Spokesman-Review
Easop
Winston Jr.
Winston
Jr. was Washington State’s most dependable wide receiver Saturday night and for
the second time this season, the redshirt junior hauled in a game-winning pass
late in the fourth quarter. With 32 seconds to play, Winston Jr. got a step on
cornerback Josh Drayden and hung onto a 10-yard touchdown pass from Gardner
Minshew to seal the Cougars’ 19-13 win. When all was said and done, Winston Jr.
had seven receptions for a team-high 92 yards.
Skyler
Thomas
Washington
State’s defense was reeling when the free safety from southern California came
up with a game-changing interception midway through the fourth quarter. With
first down on WSU’s 18-yard line, the Golden Bears could’ve taken a lead on
Brandon McIlwain’s jump pass into the end zone, but the quarterback’s ball flew
over the intended target and into the hands of Thomas. The redshirt sophomore
finished fourth on the team with six tackles, as well.
Evan
Weaver
Cal’s
junior inside linebacker was in the middle of most everything the Golden Bears
did on defense. The Spokane native who graduated from Gonzaga Prep broke up a
Minshew pass in the first quarter, then intercepted WSU’s quarterback on the
very next play for his second pick in as many games. Weaver finished with a
team-high nine tackles – seven of which were unassisted.
:::::::::
Football
game TV Take: It took until the end, but ESPN’s swooning over Gardner Minshew
pays off in Washington State win
UPDATED:
Sat., Nov. 3, 2018, 11:52 p.m.
By Vince
Grippi of the Spokesman-Review of Spokane/Inland Empire
➤Saturday, Nov. 10:
Washington State at Colorado Buffaloes, TBA TV: TBA
If there
is one thing you can count on the past few weeks watching Washington State
football, it is the announcing crew is going to gush over quarterback Gardner
Minshew.
Oh, and
his mustache. And his Cougars having a chance to play in the college football
playoffs.
Though
maybe we can put that last one on the back burner.
After all,
WSU struggled with middle-of-the pack California before scoring late – on a
Minshew-to-Easop Winston 10-yard touchdown pass with 32 seconds left – and
pulling out a 19-13 victory before a Dad’s Weekend crowd at Martin Stadium.
What they
saw …
The
Cougars are 7-0 when anyone else besides Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom
Luginbill comprise the broadcast team. They are 1-1 with that group, as they
were also the trio that brought us the 39-36 loss at USC.
Which is
too bad. The trio is at the top of the game, even if the Minshew mania stuff is
starting to sound a bit cliché-ish.
Pasch
keeps the play-by-play moving quickly, McElroy adds insight as a former
quarterback should and Luginbill, though on the sidelines, acts as the third
member of the booth. And the group has fun.
There was
little they missed, either, though if they did, ESPN’s paucity of replays at
times made us want for more.
There were
a couple of great catches that seemed to disappear into the past without a
second look. There was the occasional questionable call that begged a replay.
And there were one or two ball marks that we would have liked to see again.
For
example, there was an early play in which it looked as if Spokane’s Evan Weaver
may have grabbed a facemask taking Winston to the turf.
Pasch
said, “That was a clean tackle.”
Maybe, but
without a replay we didn’t know for sure.
However,
the greatest invention since fire – the DVR – allows the viewer at home to be
their own director.
That was
especially important on Weaver’s second interception in two weeks.
McElroy
dissected it well, pointing out the tip at the line of scrimmage – one of four
Minshew passes that was hit – and Weaver being in the right place. But, by
using the DVR’s rewind function, you could see receiver Tay Martin stop his
route, taking away any chance Minshew had of completing the throw.
And midway
through the third quarter, with WSU trying to convert a third-and-4, Minshew’s
pass bounced in front of Travell Harris. McElroy tried to point out how Harris
was held as he tried to come back to the ball, but the replay was so quick as
to be almost impossible to see if he was right.
What we
saw …
There may
be horses for course, as your grandfather might have said, but there are also
defenses for the Air Raid offense. And Justin Wilcox, since taking over at
California as head coach, seems to have figured out Mike Leach’s offense.
More than
anything, Wilcox’s scheme made the Cougars’ offense a bit pedestrian – and
boring.
And that
might be the cardinal sin.
No, that
would be what happened last year, when Luke Falk threw five interceptions.
Or maybe
it is making an interception and what would have been a game-changing touchdown
in the third quarter. That’s what Willie Taylor did, leading to California’s
then game-tying field goal.
“If it’s
20-10 Washington State, given Cal’s struggles on offense, that might be
enough,” was Pasch’s view. Instead, seven plays later the game is tied.
One aspect
that the group didn’t seem to focus upon enough was the steady rain that seemed
to affect Minshew’s ability to consistently make his usually accurate throws –
and may have played a role in Taylor’s fumble along with Jahad Woods’ inability
to corral the loose ball.
But as
McElroy said following a Skyler Thomas fourth-quarter interception that kept
Cal from the end zone, “Momentum is a remarkable thing in college football.”
The last
change went WSU’s way.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::
California
linebacker Evan Weaver makes early impression on Washington State football fans
in return to the Inland Northwest
UPDATED:
Sat., Nov. 3, 2018, 10:04 p.m. - Spokesman-Review
By Thomas
Clouse
PULLMAN –
It didn’t take long for Spokane’s Evan Weaver to make an impression on the
partisan crowd.
The former
Gonzaga Prep star and now junior linebacker for California caught Washington
State receiver Easop Winston crossing over the middle with about 6 minutes left
in the first quarter on Saturday at Martin Stadium.
It
appeared that Weaver, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker, used an illegal
horse-collar tackle to get Winston down for a gain of only two yards.
The crowd
in Martin Stadium rained boos down on the field after watching a replay.
Weaver’s reaction: He held up both hands and waived back at the boos.
Weaver
followed up his tackle with an interception of WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew
with a minute remaining in the opening quarter.
The
Spokane native scored the only touchdown in last week’s 12-10 win over then No.
15 Washington.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Notebook:
Key plays kept #Pac12AfterDark from consuming Cougs
By JACKSON
GARDNER Cougfan.com
CONNOR
HALLIDAY AND his 2014 Cougars would cringe at such a low-scoring affair against
California like Washington State’s 19-13 win Saturday, but what was important
is the Cougars walked away victorious, advance to 8-1 and still sit atop of the
Pac-12 North. Indeed, Wazzu is the only Pac-12 team with fewer than three --
yes, three -- losses. For a moment it looked as if #Pac12AfterDark would
consume the Cougars, but a few plays at the right time prevented a horrible
hypothetical from coming to fruition, let’s take a look at each.
With less
than three minutes to go, Gardner Minshew’s offense needed to travel 69 yards
to find the end zone, and he did just that in brilliant fashion. His first
20-plus yard reception to Jamire Calvin was a splitting image of the exact same
play in the second quarter where Calvin dropped a low, but wide open sliding
grab across the middle of the field, but when it was crunch time Calvin brought
it in.
Then
Minshew went to his go-to-guy in man coverage Easop Winston Jr. for 24 yards on
a go route over Winston’s right shoulder and into the red zone. Winston made a
great adjustment on the catch. Then on the ensuing play, Minshew found Winston
again on the exact same route in the exact same fashion but for a 10-yard
game-winning touchdown.
PLAY OF
THE GAME
All the
previous were delightful plays in their own right, but CF.C’s play of the game
coincided with the player of the game and it was none other than Skyler Thomas
who saved the Cougars from surrendering critical points to California late in
the fourth quarter with an interception of an overthrown ball in the end zone
by Cal QB Brandon McIlwain. Had Thomas not made that play and the Bears put up
three points – or worse, seven points – we could be looking at a different
outcome.
Although
the Cougars fought through what seemed to be outrageous infractions at times,
penalties were a constant theme throughout the game. WSU tallied seven
penalties for 80 yards, three of which extended California drives on the third
down in the fourth quarter alone. At first glance, it looked like the Cougars
should have fared better with 120 more yards of total offense, but when you
account for the 80 yards Pac-12 officials awarded to California, it gets a
little tighter.
KEY STAT
As if
there were any doubt, Peyton Pelluer led the way for Cougar tacklers yet again
posting another double-digit tackling effort including 1/2 sack. Pelluer
advanced himself in to a tie with Billy Newman (1998-01) as the seventh
all-time leading tackler for WSU. Pelluer needs just needs to walk on to the
field one more time in a Cougar uniform to be tied with Gabe Marks and Daniel
Ekuale as WSU’s leader in games played (51).
:::::::::::::::::::
'I thought
it would be a war, and it was,' Leach says
ByJORDAN
FOX
Cougfan.com
MIKE LEACH
said Saturday night he knew before the game that Washington State was in for a
challenge against an improving Cal team. He was right, with the No. 8 Cougs
needing a late red zone interception and another Gardner Minshew game-winning
drive to escape the unranked Bears 19-13.
"I
think Cal's been playing really good lately, and as the season's gone on they
have gotten better and better," Leach said. "I thought it would be a
war, and it was. Proud of our guy for sticking in there and finding a way to
win when it's tough."
Leach had
a lot of praise for Cal, which entered the game with the nation's No. 33
scoring defense. The Bears are in their second year under the defensive-minded
Justin Wilcox.
"I
thought they did a good job of keeping us out of rhythm (on offense), but we
did make plays," Leach said. "We did make quite a lot of plays.
They're one of the best defenses in the conference."
His own
defense made plays, though one was taken off the board when Willie Taylor
intercepted a pass but fumbled the ball out of the end zone on the return,
giving Cal a touchback. The Bears would kick a field goal on the ensuing drive,
a 10-point swing against the Cougs.
"If
he's gonna keep intercepting balls," Leach said, "we'll have to get
Willie in ball security drills."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Story
below from BEFORE Cal at WSU football game 2018
WSU
FOOTBALL
Starting
cornerback Sean Harper Jr. misses third consecutive game for Washington State
UPDATED:
Sat., Nov. 3, 2018, 9:36 p.m.
S-R of
Spokane
PULLMAN –
An upper body injury kept starting Washington State cornerback Sean Harper Jr.
out of his third consecutive game Saturday night as the 10th-ranked Cougars
hosted California at Martin Stadium.
Harper
Jr., a senior from Hartwell, Georgia, started in WSU’s first six games
alongside Darrien Molton but suffered an undisclosed injury after the Cougars’
Oct. 6 game at Oregon State and missed subsequent games against Oregon and
Stanford.
It’s coach
Mike Leach’s policy not to address injuries and the nature of Harper’s injury
is unknown, but the senior defensive back was pictured wearing a sling on his
right arm in a Lewiston Tribune photo taken earlier this week.
In place
of Harper Jr., the Cougars have gone with junior Marcus Strong at the corner
position opposite Molton since the game against Oregon. Sophomore George Hicks
III, who’s listed as Harper’s backup on the WSU depth chart, has also seen an
uptick in playig time as a result of his teammate’s injury.
Molton and
Strong had a few lapeses in coverage last week against Stanford, drawing two
pass interference penalties each while struggling to contain Stanford’s big
wide receivers. The Cougars gave up 323 passing yards to Stanford, but the
corners also came up with a few pivotal plays toward the end of the game.
The Golden
Bears are also shorthanded tonight and will be without redshirt junior wide
receiver Kanawai Noa, who hurt his shoulder in Cal’s 12-10 win over Washington
last week. As Cal’s backup “X” receiver, Noa has caught 28 passes for 326
receiving yards and two touchdowns this year.
::::::::::::::
COMMENTARY:
Clutch Cougs? No 'Couging it' on this WSU squad
By Stephan
Wiebe Moscow Pullman Daily News Nov 4,
2018
PULLMAN -
Washington State football fans are all too familiar with the phrase
"Couging it," which infamously is used to describe the team's
blunders late in games over the years.
So what
about this nationally eighth-ranked 2018 Wazzu team that is pumping out clutch
win after clutch win?
There's no
Couging it for this Cougars' unit (knock on wood) - these are the "clutch
Cougs."
One week
after WSU (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) toppled Stanford on a game-winning field goal, and
four games since a homecoming haymaker lifted the Cougs over Utah, Washington
State did it again Saturday at Martin Stadium.
A 10-yard
fade from WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew to wide receiver Easop Winston Jr.
gave the Cougars the lead with 32 seconds left. Washington State traveled 69
yards in two minutes on the go-ahead drive en route to a 19-13 victory and its
12th straight win at home.
When asked
about the Cougars' constant late-game heroics, WSU coach Mike Leach answered in
typical Leach fashion.
"It's
something you'd like to see in the first, second and third quarter too,"
he said. "(But) if you only get one quarter of it, it might as well be the
fourth."
Against
Stanford and Utah, Washington State's results were similar.
Cougars
kicker Blake Mazza nailed a 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds to beat the
then-24th-ranked Cardinal. And a Minshew-to-Winston 89-yarder put Washington
State ahead of Utah in the final five minutes of a 28-24 WSU win in September.
The only
blemish on the Cougars' schedule is a 39-36 loss to USC, but that was before
the magical three wins mentioned above.
These
battle-tested Cougs seem to be getting better and better in tight games. That
can only benefit Washington State heading into its final three games of the
regular season, including the much-anticipated Apple Cup against Washington in
the season finale.
Urbandictionary.com
defines "Couging it," as "The uncanny ability of the Washington
State University football to team to, despite all odds, lose football games at
the last possible moment in a spectacular display of giving the football to the
other team."
The phrase
might need a new definition if these Cougars have anything to say about it
(again, knock on wood).
"I
think it's good as far as sticking in there and being tough, I think those are
huge assets," Leach said. "I think especially for a team like ours,
where if you look at the roster we're really pretty young, (there's) a maturity
there as far as hanging in there that's really good to see."
::::::::::::::::::
For these
Cougars, every day is Dad's Day
Judging by
their jerseys, Cougars rank high when it comes to honoring Pops
By DALE
GRUMMERT of the Lewiston, Idaho, Trib
Nov 2,
2018
PULLMAN -
Sure, the Washington State Cougars are 10th in the Associated Press poll and
eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings.
But they
rate even higher in a slightly more obscure pecking order: the generational
suffix list. Since it's Dad's Day in Wazzu football this week, let's call it
the Honoring Dad and Grandpa List.
If you
scan the rosters of all 65 members of the Power Five conferences, the Cougars
rank No. 4 in the number of names that include generational suffixes such as
Jr., II and III.
Miami tops
the list at 14 and is followed by Kansas at 13, West Virginia at 12 and
Washington State at 10. And the Cougars are the Pac-12 champions by this
reckoning, defeating USC 10-7.
By
traditional standards, all these numbers are strikingly high. In recent years,
for whatever reason, football players have begun referencing fathers,
grandfathers and other family members in the names that appear on team rosters
and - more to the point - on the backs of their jerseys. Surely some of them
have touted the suffixes their entire lives, but most appear to be making them
more prominent as their own careers are becoming more prominent.
In a story
last year, ESPN pointed out the trend in the National Football League and
attributed it to the influence of Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who
in 2012 became the first NFL player ever to have a Roman numeral on his back.
But the
trend is even more noticeable in college football. On Power Five online
rosters, there are 256 generational suffixes - mostly Jr. and III but also the
occasional IV or V. Two players even allude to sons by adopting a Sr.
And those
are just official rosters, which typically are not of great concern to players.
More important to them is getting that family shout-out on their jerseys.
In a
hastily arranged chat this week with eight of the 10 Washington State players
who use suffixes in their names, all said they use them to honor their fathers,
some of whom will be in attendance when the Cougars (7-1, 4-1) play California
(5-3, 2-3) in a Dad's Day game on ESPN on Saturday night.
Kickoff is
7:45 p.m. at Martin Stadium in Pullman.
At the
head of the WSU Fighting Suffixes is their star quarterback, Gardner Minshew
II, the national passing leader. Newspaper stories often exclude the II because
it's typographically problematic, but the suffix appears on both the WSU roster
and Minshew's jersey.
His
father, a general contractor in Mississippi, goes by his middle name, Flint,
but his real first name is Gardner. His son is also named Gardner Flint
Minshew, punctuated with a II, and he first started using the suffix on his
jersey when he played for East Carolina prior to transferring to WSU this year.
"Having
it on my jersey is a tribute to him," the quarterback said of his father,
who has attended seven of the Cougars' eight game this season and will be here
Saturday. "He's made so many sacrifices for me to play ball. It's just a
way to pay him back."
Another
member of the Cougars' suffix club is one of Minshew's favorite receivers, the
uniquely named Easop Winston Jr.
"My
middle name is my grandpa's first name, Lavelle," Winston Jr. said.
"My grandma named my dad, and my dad just wanted me to be a junior. He and
my mom came to the consensus that's what it would be, so here I am."
Also in
the club are receiver Calvin Jackson Jr. and four members of the WSU defensive
rotation: Sean Harper Jr., George Hicks III, Will Rodgers III and Willie Taylor
III. Rounding out the list are punter Oscar Draguicevich III and young
defenders Chad Davis Jr. and Ron Stone Jr.
Draguicevich's
father, who will also be in attendance Saturday, is a Texas native who played
pro soccer for a decade, including three years in the MLS. By including III in
his name, the WSU punter is expressing admiration for Dad's work ethic.
"He'll
bust his ass for anything just to get it done," he said. "Make it
happen - that's the quote he always tells me. Make it happen no matter
what."
In the
general population, the use of generational suffixes has declined in recent
decades, according to English professor Grant Smith of Eastern Washington
University, citing studies by a colleague, Cleveland Evans of Bellevue
University in Nebraska. Both men are past presidents of the American Name
Society.
"Now,
in male athletes, you have a little more testosterone flowing maybe, or
something like that," Smith said. "It doesn't surprise me at all that
there'd be a higher percentage of juniors and other lineage markers.
"The
main thing to realize is that this comes and goes," he said. "It's
just like names in general. There are names that rise in popularity and then
decline. And that shifting around is constant. It's a question of popularity
and popular culture, and popular culture is always bubbling around."
Name
experts also point out that it's sometimes the mother, not the father, who
initiates the idea of giving a family name to a son.
That was
the case with Gardner Flint Minshew II, according to his father.
"Gardner
is my mother's maiden name, and Flint is my grandmother's maiden name,"
the elder Minshew said by phone Thursday. "And actually my wife, when he
was born, that's what she wanted to name him.
"And
she didn't want him to be a Junior," he added, "because down here in
Mississippi, if you're a Junior, you're probably either called Junior or Bubba.
So that's why she wanted it to be II."
Hmm. Maybe
that's where the Cougar roster is still lagging. Not a single Bubba.
:::::::::::
Coug
Football
‘All Gas’
mantra fueling Washington State’s highly productive backfield this season
Originally
published November 2, 2018 at 12:52 pm Updated November 2, 2018 at 6:06 pm
Gardner
Minshew may be getting the national attention, but the mantra Eric Mele has
brought to his trio of running backs has an unheralded group making strides
over last season.
By Theo
Lawson/ The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN –
Amid all the shuffling that took place this offseason for Washington State’s
coaching staff, Mike Leach made a few in-house moves, elevating defensive
quality control assistant Darcel McBath to full-time cornerbacks coach and
reappointing longtime aide Eric Mele, who’d served three years as the team’s
special teams coordinator, to the running backs.
It wasn’t
long after Mele inherited his new title that the fourth-year WSU assistant
conducted a full audit of the previous season, skimming through the numbers,
reviewing game film and jotting down things he felt needed correction.
Under Jim
Mastro, the running backs were coming off their second straight 1,000/1,000
season – rushing for 1,096 yards and receiving for 1,073. They concluded the
year with 14 all-purpose touchdowns – more statistical evidence indicating how
Mastro, who’s now at Oregon, revived the position in six seasons on the
Palouse.
But a
coach is nothing if not nitpicky, and while reviewing the numbers from 2017,
Mele came across one that didn’t sit so well with him. Fourteen times last
year, the Cougars failed to gain positive yardage or even make it back to the
line of scrimmage.
They spent
too much time going backward.
“One of
the big things kind of watching film from last year was we had quite a few
negative plays, negative runs,” said Mele, an offensive quality control
assistant at WSU for 2 1/2 years who coached the running backs at Wingate
(North Carolina) University before that. “We wanted to eliminate those and make
sure everything is getting downhill right now.”
With the
sheer volume of passes thrown in Leach’s Air Raid offense, the Cougars are
usually less committed to the run than any other team in the country. That was
especially true in 2017, when their 303 rushing attempts were a distant last.
The next-lowest team was UTEP, which ran the ball 346 times.
That’s to
be expected, but Mele wasn’t pleased to see the running backs, who averaged
16.1 carries per game in 2017, finished the year with just six rushing
touchdowns and 14 negative plays, which amounted to 27 lost yards. The running
backs logged negative plays in nine of the 13 games, had three negative plays
in two separate games and lost a whopping 8 yards on a single James Williams
run in their 34-point loss to Cal.
Mele’s
task this offseason? Get WSU’s running backs thinking positive.
“So even
when the play’s not ideal, we need to fall forward for at least 2, 3 yards,”
Mele said. “Even if it’s not blocked up great. So that’s kind of where it
stemmed from. We’re not hitting the brakes, ever. It’s just, step on the gas
pedal, make the right cut, get up the field. Not a bunch of flashy moves, but
you can make those in the second level when you get into space.”
Mele was
responsible for introducing the “Special Forces” tagline while he was the
special teams coordinator and decked out his specialists in camouflage apparel
branded with the motto. He wanted their ethos and values to resemble those of
the U.S. Military special forces.
Mele
launched a similar campaign to drive home the lessons he’s preaching to the
Cougars’ running backs this season: “All Gas.”
“I can
coach them to get to 5 yards, because I can kind of run that myself if it’s
blocked up right,” he said. “But after that, it’s your show – if you want to go
ahead and throw a spin move on somebody, you can do that. But hit the gas.”
Mele’s
“All Gas” initiative has taken on a life of its own. The running backs no
longer gather to watch film in a meeting room – they meet in the “gas station.”
Williams, Max Borghi and Keith Harrington – the team’s three primary backs –
enjoy ribbing each other about who has supreme gas, who has diesel and who has
unleaded. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the “Earth, Wind and Fire” nicknames
bestowed on Harrington, Jamal Morrow and Gerard Wicks three years back.
On Sept.
13, Mele unboxed a shipment of retro gas station shirts that underscore the
group’s motto. The navy tops have each player’s name on one side and a “WSU
RBs” patch on the other. Williams, Borghi, Harrington and fullback Clay Markoff
wear the shirts on game days now.
“Then it
just kind of morphed from there, so they’re ready to go to work every week and
when their time’s called, we’ve gotta hit the gas,” Mele said.
The
running backs may have spent too much time in reverse last season, but they
aren’t struggling with their sense of direction in 2018.
Following
a season in which they had more negative rushes than rushing touchdowns, the
tailbacks have crossed the goal line 13 times in eight games and they’ve lost
yardage on just eight plays. On those eight plays, they’ve lost only 12 yards.
“I think
the running backs are running up the field harder. I think they’re doing a
better job of hitting it, rather than trying to sort stuff out and guess and
trying to read the defense’s minds, which is a bad habit,” Leach said. “And
then I think it’s taken some time to break that. So the biggest thing, we’ve
got to hit the hole harder.”
The
Cougars are still last in the country when it comes to rushing attempts – by a
wide margin – as the only FBS team with fewer than 200. But they’ve been
opportunistic and have 15 rushing touchdowns on the season – 13 for the backs
and two for quarterback Gardner Minshew. That number places WSU in the top 60
in the nation.
“There’s
been a few more zero runs, but like I said, we don’t want those negative-3,
negative-4 (yards) in the backfield plays where you’re putting the offense
behind the chains,” Mele said.
He’s also
proud to point out that his backfield has scored more points than any other in
the Pac-12 through eight games. Williams and Borghi are responsible for 19
touchdowns – 13 on the ground and six more in the air. By comparison, it took
Williams, Morrow and Wicks 13 games to reach 14 touchdowns in 2017.
Williams’
tendency to dance in the backfield occasionally kept the Cougars behind the
chains last season, but the junior refined his running style in the offseason
and is seeing the dividends. His 11 all-purpose touchdowns rank second best in
the Pac-12 and are tied for eighth in the country. The Cougars have five more
games at minimum, and Williams needs only six more touchdowns to tie the
single-season school record, set by Steve Broussard and Jerome Harrison.
“I used to
have a problem with bouncing things out when I shouldn’t have,” he said. “That
comes with experience, so I’m just trying to be better on that, on my part, and
just trying to teach Max not to do it too.”
Borghi,
the rookie sensation who’s getting more Christian McCaffrey comparisons by the
week, should be aiming for WSU’s single-season freshman TD record. He’s rushed
for five touchdowns and caught three more for a total of eight, and needs four
more to match the mark Deon Burnett set in 1999.
Williams
said Borghi’s physical, blue-collar running style has been infectious. The
fourth-year junior is often a mentor to his younger teammate, but Williams has
picked up a thing or two from watching Borghi as well.
“He hits
the holes real well, probably better than I did when I was a freshman,”
Williams said. “He runs real hard and I see that, too, so I run as hard as I
can, too.”
:::::::::::
WSU
FOOTBALL LORE ON MAIN
-Story
from Whitman County (Colfax) Gazette 11/1/2018
The WSU
football flag display in front of Colfax Body Repair on Main Street is mounted
on the former rolling cage which once housed a live Butch the Cougar on the
Washington State University campus.
At one
time, the university actually housed a live cougar on the campus near the
present location of the Butch statue outside Martin Stadium.
On game
days, Butch was transferred into the trailer, and he was towed around the stadium
by the WSU Butchmen after Cougar touchdowns.
Al
Kirkpatrick of Colfax, a 1975 WSU grad, served as one of the Butchmen and at
one time helped care for the animal. He believes the live Butch remained on
campus for three to four years after he departed.
The unused
trailer was purchased by Gary Libey and restored and stored by Scott Pittman of
Colfax Body Repair.
Pittman
noted he actually has a Cougar which was stuffed by a taxidermist, but it is
too big to place inside the cage. At one time he placed the stuffed Cougar on
top of the cage, and that generated a lot of attention on Main Street.
#
