WSU Football notebook: As ‘Air Raid’ system finds rhythm, Cougar offense leaning on ‘effort’
By Colton Clark of
Spokesman-Review of Spokane/Inland Empire 9/13/2022
PULLMAN
– Washington State’s Air Raid hasn’t operated with much consistency early this
season. The Cougars are still searching for rhythm as they sharpen up the
technical details and communication in their freshly installed system.
It’ll
take time and experience for a new offense to settle into form. Until then,
WSU’s players are leaning on the intangibles, maintaining consistent energy to
offset the growing pains that come with the Air Raid’s development process.
“The
crazy thing about it is we’re 2-0, winning off of straight effort,” WSU
receiver Lincoln Victor said Tuesday when asked to assess the Cougars’ offense
through two weeks. “Once the execution piece comes in, it’s going to be really
scary.
“We’re
literally winning games – and big games – with just effort, and not even
technique or execution. Once those phases of the game come, it’s going to be a
sight to see.”
That
effort was particularly evident Saturday on a key play, a late-game “hustle
play” that turned the tide in the Cougars’ favor and allowed them to pull off a
17-14 road win over Wisconsin.
Trailing
by four midway through the third quarter, WSU advanced the ball to midfield
before the Badgers forced back-to-back incompletions, setting up a
third-and-10.
Cougars
quarterback Cameron Ward was hammered in the backfield as he threw a pass
intended for Victor down the near sideline. Wisconsin cornerback Jay Shaw
stepped in front of the off-target toss and intercepted it. Victor was shoved
out of bounds, but he didn’t give up on the play.
“The
guy who was covering me ended up falling down,” Victor said. “All I was
thinking was, ‘Shoot, I hope (Shaw) comes to the sideline, because I’m going to
get back in this play and go for the ball.’ ”
WSU
receiver De’Zhaun Stribling wrapped up Shaw’s legs, and Victor came flying in.
“I
saw the ball flapping around,” he said. “It was just no fear, give it
everything I got. I didn’t really strip the ball out with my hand. I really
just put my whole shoulder into it, my whole right side, made sure my head was
out of contact and put every ounce of my body into that hit.”
Victor
laid out for a blind-side blow on Shaw, jarring the ball free. Three Wisconsin
players were nearby and appeared well-positioned to pounce on it, but WSU
center Konner Gomness rumbled upfield and launched in between the Badgers.
“Great
hustle,” Victor said of Gomness, who secured the fumble and gave the Cougars a
fresh set of downs.
“When
a moment like that happens, you can’t flinch,” Gomness said of the play on
Tuesday after practice at Rogers Field. “You just gotta think about the team
and put ourselves in the best position. So, me getting on that ball would have
helped, and I was gonna do that by any means.
“I
had tunnel vision. I only saw that ball.”
Six
plays later, WSU scored the go-ahead touchdown – which proved to be the winner
– when Ward connected with running back Nakia Watson on a check-down pass that
went for 31 yards .
“It
was good to see the effort come full circle,” Victor said.
The
persistence Victor and Gomness showed on that drive-saving play – perhaps the
game-saving play – epitomized WSU’s identity, according to coach Jake Dickert,
whose program is built on the pillars of effort and energy. The Cougars haven’t
been exceptional on offense, but they have responded well to adverse situations
– rebounding after slow starts and pushing through sloppy stretches of play.
WSU’s
defense denied Wisconsin late in the game with another hustle play. Edge rusher
Quinn Roff tracked down Badgers tight end Clay Cundiff about 10 yards up the
field in the red zone and lunged from behind to knock the ball free. Cougars
safety Sam Lockett III collected the fumble with about 5 minutes to play, and
WSU’s offense milked the rest of the clock.
“I
think everyone that watched that game could see so much grit and determination
that we play with,” edge rusher Brennan Jackson added. “That’s gotta scare any
team looking at film.
“The
biggest thing is the effort. I go back to that play, Quinn at the end of the
game, just hustling down and punching at the ball. … That was one thing I was
really excited about – everybody was playing with so much effort out there in a
hostile environment.”
WSU offense looks for breakout game
The
Cougars’ offense slumped for two extended stretches during a season-opening win
over FCS Idaho. WSU’s Air Raid showed just a few flashes of its potential in
the debut – the ground game and quick-passing attack were productive enough for
the Cougars to erase an early 10-point deficit and control a second-half lead
while the team’s defense dominated .
The
Cougars’ offense had trouble sustaining possessions against the Badgers. WSU
found a few cracks in a strong defense – just enough to slip ahead as the
Cougars’ resilient defense kept the Badgers off the scoreboard in the second
half.
On
23 possessions this season, WSU’s offense has compiled seven scoring drives and
three more series that were productive, but didn’t yield points. The Cougars
have gone three-and-out seven times.
“It’s
definitely important to put that confidence in our offense, as well as Cam,”
Victor said. “For the defense, too – those guys have been battling their tails
off. We want to be able to give them a breather or two, and be able to have
them relax and know, ‘We’re working for you guys, too.’ ”
WSU
hopes to boost its offensive production this weekend against Colorado State
(0-2). The Cougars host the Rams at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Ward
kept his composure in a difficult atmosphere last weekend and exhibited poise,
especially in the second half. He spread out the touches and made mostly safe
decisions against one of the nation’s notable defensive units. Through his
first two WSU games, Ward has completed 62% of his passes for 428 yards and
four TDs against two picks.
“Cam
is the ultimate competitor,” Dickert said Monday. “I love that he’s not
satisfied. I saw a great growth in his leadership (on Saturday), I saw a great
growth in his body language. He didn’t make all the sexy plays, but there were
some times that he got us out of negative plays … scrambling around and
navigating the pocket and even throwing things away is a sign of growth.
“There
are things around him that we need to continue to get better at, and Cam needs
to continue to keep his eyes down the field as we keep working.”
The
Cougars’ longest passing play this season is a 43-yarder to slotback Renard
Bell, but that came on a bubble screen. The longest pass Ward has thrown
downfield is a well-placed shot down the sideline to tight end Billy Riviere
that went for 38 yards, setting up a TD run in the second quarter against
Wisconsin.
“When
we had that four-play drive (sparked by Riviere’s catch), that’s how our offense
wants to be all the time,” Gomness said.
The
Cougars have mostly settled for short and intermediate passes.
“Our
guys are working and our staff is working to make sure we’re still having the
ability to stretch the ball down the field,” Dickert said. “I think that’s the
No. 1 thing we’ve gotta be able to show capabilities of doing.”
Each
of WSU’s four starting receivers has accumulated more than 60 yards. Each of
Ward’s TD passes has gone to a different target. Outside receiver Donovan Ollie
leads the group with 101 yards on 12 catches. Victor said he’s proud of the
receiving corps for its “selflessness.”
“The
receivers played a lot better in this football game,” Dickert said. “They
played hard and tough and were physical down the field.”
WSU’s
new-look offensive line was shrouded with uncertainty this offseason, but the
group has had a respectable start to the season and performed admirably against
the Badgers’ stout defensive front. WSU’s O-line allowed two sacks. The big men
shined during a 10-play, 43-yard series that drained the final 5:14 off the
clock.
“I
think the offensive line has done a solid job, but there are some times where
we need to firm up the pocket,” Dickert said.
Watson
and Jaylen Jenkins are the Cougars’ only two tailbacks with carries this year.
The O-line opened wide lanes against Idaho and Watson posted a 100-yard day.
The holes were far less frequent on Saturday. Watson and Jenkins totaled 61
yards on 16 attempts as WSU opted to get the ball out of the backfield quickly
with its up-tempo passing game.
“We’re
starting to glue better and better each week,” Gomness said. “We kinda have
this little misfit offensive line and I think it’s awesome. We’re growing
together and I just love this group and love playing with them.”
::::
Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Cougars
proved they’re the real deal
By Stephan Wiebe, Lewiston Trib Sports
9/13/2022
It was
a scene reminiscent of Washington State’s Apple Cup victory nine months earlier
on a brisk November evening in Seattle.
Cougar
football players rushing the field with helmets and hands held high, a beaming
WSU coach Jake Dickert embracing his father and his three children, animated
postgame interviews and dog piles on the field.
The
only thing understandably missing from WSU’s 17-14 upset victory against No. 19
Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison was the planting of the Ol’
Crimson flag at midfield — an infamous action of former Cougar quarterback
Jordan de Laura after that Nov. 26 victory against bitter rival Washington.
Perhaps
a sprinkling of the famous Cougar Gold cheese on the Wisconsin logo would have
sufficed instead.
The
Apple Cup win — WSU’s first in the rivalry series since 2012 — was the game
that promoted Dickert from interim coach to Wazzu’s 34th head coach at just 38
years old.
Saturday’s
win against Wisconsin in his home state was the game that proved Dickert’s
Cougars are the real deal. There might just be something to the coach’s
preseason rants about the “New Wazzu.”
The
most encouraging thing for the Cougars, outside of the final score, was they
excelled in all three facets against a fundamentally sound Big Ten powerhouse.
This
was no fluke win. The Cougars outplayed and “out-physicaled” one of the most
physical teams in college football.
On
special teams, there was Renard Bell’s 73-yard kickoff return to start the
third quarter that set up a 26-yard Dean Janikowski field goal — the margin of
victory in the final scoreline.
On
defense, the Cougars generated three turnovers, held Wiscsonsin and its
high-powered run game scoreless for three quarters and limited All-American
running back Braelon Allen to fewer than 100 yards for just his second time in
11 games.
On
offense, WSU got timely first downs, executed in the red zone and milked five
long minutes off the clock to seal the victory. Sophomore quarterback Cam Ward
was patient, going 17-28 for 200 yards with one touchdown and two
interceptions.
WSU
even played cleaner football despite being the road team; the Cougars had five
penalties for 50 yards compared to 11 for 106 yards for the Badgers.
It
truly was a storybook victory for WSU.
Dickert,
a first-year coach born in Waukesha, Wisc., about 65 miles east of Madison, won
in front of more than 200 friends and family on a field he used to sneak onto
as a kid.
Former
Badger running back Nakia Watson scored both WSU touchdowns at his old stadium.
He had a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter for the team’s first
points and a spinning, go-ahead receiving TD for 31 yards in the third quarter.
And the
Cougar fans witnessed their first regular-season victory against a ranked
nonconference foe on the road since 2003.
“The
emotions of that locker room is what this game’s all about,” Dickert said after
the game. “They played for each other and we knew we had to go in there and
just play for the man to our left and our right and they fought for 60 minutes.
They never wavered — they always believed that we could do it.”
If the
Cougars can keep that up, it will be a fun season in Pullman.
:::::
SCRIBER ONLY
Pac-12 survival: Amazon’s Thursday night NFL broadcast
could be a peek into the Pac-12’s future
The digital media giant is a potential
partner for the conference
By Jon Wilner, San Jose Merc
News 9/13/2022
Fourth in a series examining
the Pac-12’s fight for survival following the planned departures of USC and
UCLA in the summer of 2024 (links below) …
One of the most important games of the Pac-12
season is scheduled for Thursday night, doesn’t involve Pac-12 teams and, in
fact, isn’t even a college matchup.
The NFL’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ makes its
debut on Amazon with the Chargers facing the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Amazon has streamed the NFL in previous
seasons, those were simulcasts of the FOX broadcast. This week marks the first
regular-season NFL game with Amazon as the exclusive rights-holder. It will
produce the game and serve as the sole national distributor.
Expect Pac-12 executives and key campus
officials to be glued in.
By this time next month, the conference and
Amazon could be partners.
Multiple sources in the sports media industry
— none of them affiliated with the Pac-12 office or the campuses — have told
the Hotline that commissioner George Kliavkoff is serious about a media rights
agreement with Amazon.
“George is focused on digital,” a source
explained recently — and it wasn’t a reference to ESPN+.
Kliavkoff hinted at that possibility during
the Pac-12’s preseason kickoff event in late July, explaining that a deal with
one of the major digital media companies was “highly likely.”
The comment was vague enough that it could
have been taken as a reference to ESPN’s digital arm. Or to Peacock (NBC) or
Paramount+ (CBS). And Kliavkoff hasn’t uttered a public peep about his media
strategy since then.
But six weeks later, some clarity has
emerged: A multi-year partnership with Amazon is under consideration.
“It’s smart,” a second source said. “They
could get more money relative to their real media value with Amazon.”
It’s unclear where the Pac-12’s media
negotiations stand. The conference revealed in early July, following the announced departures of USC and UCLA for the Big
Ten, that Kliavkoff would begin negotiating a media rights agreement.
As the Pac-12’s existing partners, ESPN and
Fox were permitted an exclusive 30-day negotiating window. But no timeline was
given for the start of the exclusive window and, at the time, the two networks
were immersed in negotiations with the Big Ten.
If Fox, ESPN and the Pac-12 agreed to delay
the exclusive window until the Big Ten completed its deal, the clock would not
have started until the second half of August — and be coming to a close this
week or next.
The exclusive window gives ESPN and Fox a
chance to lock up the Pac-12’s rights for another contract cycle, either
separately or in combination.
If no agreement is reached, the Pac-12 would
take its inventory to the marketplace and negotiate with other companies,
including Amazon.
The digital media giant attempted to secure a
piece of the Big Ten’s inventory and made what industry sources described as a
strong bid. But the Big Ten was hesitant to sign with Amazon due to concerns
over visibility.
Amazon Prime is not a mainstream distributor
of live sports. It’s not an easy click away for many fans who plop down on the
couch and grab the remote. It’s not a natural football viewing destination
for 17-year-old recruits who want to watch on their phones.
But that doesn’t mean Prime won’t be
mainstream in a few years.
The Pac-12’s next contract cycle is scheduled
to begin in the summer of 2024 and could, in theory, run through the end of the
decade.
Any partnership with Amazon would come with
the underlying presumption that multiple years as the sole national distributor
of the NFL’s Thursday package would turn Amazon into a mainstream outlet — if
not at the start of the Pac-12’s next contract cycle, then at least by the
middle.
In other words, the conference could be
taking the approach that it’s better to be early than late to Prime’s
mainstream move.
“It’s a risk,” a source said.
Which brings us to Thursday’s debut of the
NFL exclusively on Prime. Will the production value reach the NFL’s usual
standards? Will the audience come close to matching a typical Thursday
broadcast on FOX?
Clearly, the viewership component is a
longer-term play. It could be years before the viewership numbers on Prime
match those on cable, much less over-the-air television. And they might not get
there during the sweep of the 11-year agreement with the NFL.
But visibility is only one piece of the
Pac-12’s calculation. The other is cash, and Amazon has plenty of that. It’s
paying $1 billion annually for the NFL’s Thursday package and, with a market
cap of $1.3 trillion, possesses the wherewithal to make any problems go away.
It could buy the rights to every Power Five
football game for a decade by mistake.
A media-rights deal that split inventory
between ESPN and Amazon could give the Pac-12 the combination of cash and
exposure it craves. But would ESPN agree? That’s one of many unknowns.
From the standpoint of demographics, a
partnership with the Pac-12 seems ideal for Amazon. The Seattle-based
company views the affluent, tech-savvy West Coast as its target audience. It
wouldn’t buy college football broadcast rights to broadcast college football.
It would take the plunge as a pathway to access credit cards and sell toilet
paper.
And it would pay the Pac-12 as the middleman.
If serious negotiations were to take place,
the conference probably wouldn’t agree to a Thursday broadcast window on Amazon
following the NFL game. That would require 8:15 p.m. kickoffs — too late for
the campuses and fans.
But a Friday night package makes sense:
Amazon could promote the Pac-12 game during its NFL broadcast on Thursday and
would have a competition-free window at 7 or 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Could we see Pac-12 primetime broadcasts on
Prime Video?
While far from certain — the media
negotiations could go any number of directions — it’s emerging as a distinct possibility.
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