It sure was a Battle: WSU Cougs doe what it needs to in escaping the Idaho Vandals
By Stephan Wiebe Lewiston Trib Sept 4, 2022
PULLMAN — For the first time in almost two decades, the Battle
of the Palouse was, well, a battle and not a slaughter.
Idaho
held its own against its Power Five, cross-border rival and gave Washington
State a scare Saturday at Gesa Field all the way down to the final seconds.
The
Cougars, who trailed by 10 early, eventually calmed down and used a devastating
pass rush, methodical passing game and last-second interception to beat the
Vandals 24-17.
“Hats
off to Idaho,” first-year WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “They were prepared,
they were ready to go, they played their tail off, they took all the shots,
they played aggressive and it was a hard-fought win.”
Here
are three Cougar takeaways from the first Battle of the Palouse in six years:
Down to the wire
After
Idaho held WSU at the 1-yard line and saw Dean Janikowski’s 23-yard field goal
sail wide left, the Vandals had 53 seconds to tie or take the lead, trailing
24-17.
Freshman
quarterback Gevani McCoy piloted the scrappy Vandals all the way to the Cougar
28-yard line.
Then,
McCoy launched a pass toward his favorite target, Jermaine Jackson, at the goal
line only for WSU linebacker Daiyan Henley to step in front of the ball for a
game-ending interception with 12 seconds left.
The
Cougars kneeled down for the final play and sealed their 10th straight win in
the series.
It was
an MVP night for Henley, a senior transfer from Nevada, who tallied team highs
of eight tackles and three tackles for loss. He also added a sack.
“Daiyan
always brings the energy, no matter if it’s a game or a practice,” said WSU
cornerback Chau Smith-Wade, who also had an interception. “That’s nothing new
for him. He’s going to go out and ball. … I wasn’t very surprised.”
Is the rivalry back?
It’s no
secret the border battle has been a lopsided affair in recent history.
In the
last two contests in 2013 and 2016, the Cougars outscored the Vandals a
combined 98-6.
First-year
Idaho coach Jason Eck brought some excitement back to Moscow in the offseason,
but have he and the Vandals also brought some excitement back to the rivalry
game?
Idaho
scored the game’s first points on a 45-yard fumble return by cornerback Marcus
Harris and led 10-0 after the first quarter courtesy of a 27-yard Ricardo
Chavez field goal.
Quarterback
Cam Ward and the Cougar offense settled in the second quarter to tie it at 10
in the second quarter, then WSU took its first lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass
from Ward to wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling for a 17-10 lead after the extra
point.
You
could almost hear a sigh from the 25,233 in attendance, most of which were clad
in crimson.
“It’s
good to get a win and not live up to the standard you’re expected to play to,”
Dickert said. “We’ll learn from all that. There’s a lot of ‘learns’ at this
stage. Obviously (they) made it really interesting at the end of the game but
to not really execute in a lot of phases, I think we’ll give a good hard week
of practice and then get back to work.”
Much of
the postgame presser centered around WSU winning despite the valiant effort
from Idaho, which entered the game as a 28-point underdog.
Dickert
was quick to remind everyone that a win is a win.
“We’re
going to respond to this and we won the game, we won the game — I understand
all these questions, but we won the game,” Dickert said, emphatically,
generating chuckles from the media room.
Stats don’t tell the story
Despite
the close score, WSU excelled in all the facets it was expected to going in.
WSU’s
pass rushers and run-stoppers wreaked havoc on the Vandals and Ward’s
quick-passing game, a signature of the Air Raid offense, produced long drives
and three touchdowns.
Just
looking at the stats and not the score, you might think it was more of a
blowout.
Here
are a handful of key stats on defense:
Held UI
to 1.8 yards per rush;
Sacked
UI’s quarterbacks seven times; and
Had two
interceptions.
And a
couple on offense:
Ward
was 25-of-40 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns and completing passes
to nine separate receivers;
Running
back Nakia Watson rushed for 117 yards on 6.5 yards per carry.
Idaho
just made some big plays and key drives when it needed to and it almost was
enough to cause an upset.
“This
test that we got today is going to help us throughout the season,” Dickert
said. “We got to see a little bit of what we’re made of, things weren’t going
our way … but I think our guys want to play better and execute better.”
WSU 24,
Idaho 17
Stars
of the game
Linebacker
DAIYAN HENLEY led Washington State in tackles (8), tackles for loss (3) and had
a sack, but none of those plays were bigger than his interception at the 1-yard
line with 12 seconds left to seal the win.
Idaho
receiver JERMAINE JACKSON racked up 114 yards on six catches, including two
long receptions on fourth-down plays for 42 and 35 yards.
Key
plays
Marcus
Harris scooped up a Donovan Ollie fumble and returned it 45 yards for a
touchdown in the first quarter.
Dean
Janikowski missed his second field goal of the day from 23 yards out, to give
the Vandals one final gasp on offense.
Gevani
McCoy connected with Jackson from 28 yards out to put the Vandals in good field
position with 53 seconds left. Two plays later, Henley got the pick.
Up next
The
Cougars next play at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Wisconsin, and Idaho next plays at
5 p.m. the same day at Indiana.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
WSU Football: ‘This is not going to steal our joy’: Washington State opens season with ugly win over Battle of the Palouse rival Idaho
By Colton Clark Spokesman-Review 9/3/2022
PULLMAN
– Washington State enjoyed considerable advantages in speed, size and overall
skill against its lower-level neighbors from across the border.
But
that talent gap never really translated to the scoreboard.
WSU was
given a tougher-than-expected test from the pesky Idaho Vandals throughout
Saturday’s Battle of the Palouse at Gesa Field.
Eventually
– in the fourth quarter – the heavily favored Cougars fashioned a bit of
separation, then held on, denying their farmland foes on a last-ditch drive to
seal an ugly 24-17 win.
“We’ll learn from every part of this,” WSU
coach Jake Dickert said. “We want to execute better. We know we can play better.
But we won the game, and that was the one mission coming in.
“You
learn who you are. Our guys didn’t quit, they didn’t panic. … When we watch
film Monday morning, there will be a lot to learn from. This is not going to
steal our joy.
WSU
avoided an embarrassing opener for its first-year coach against a new staff at
Idaho, led by Dickert’s friend and former coworker in Jason Eck. The Cougs
weren’t able to create any breathing room until early in the fourth quarter,
when touted transfer quarterback Cameron Ward found true freshman Jaylen
Jenkins on a quick pass for a touchdown to open up a 14-point lead.
The
Vandals, who were mostly contained by WSU’s star-studded defensive front,
answered with their most effective drive of the night, marching 75 yards in
eight plays to cut WSU’s lead to one score.
The
Cougs couldn’t put the game away on their final series, a methodical drive that
spanned 68 yards on 11 plays.
Dean
Janikowski’s 23-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, and Idaho had late
life. Taking over from their own 20 with less than two minutes left, the
Vandals started rolling fast and moved more than 50 yards as the clock wound
down. Idaho QB Gevani McCoy threw a 25-yard pass toward the goal line, but star
WSU linebacker Daiyan Henley jumped the pass with a game-clinching
interception.
The
Cougar defense – spearheaded by one of the top defensive lines in the Pac-12 –
tallied seven sacks and four tackles for loss in the run game, dominating
Idaho’s Big Sky offensive line for much of the night. Idaho recorded just 29
yards on 17 plays across its final three possessions of the first half managed
only 45 net yards over the first five series of the second half. The Vandals
averaged 1.8 yards per carry and went three-and-out five times.
“They
definitely kept us in the game,” Ward said of the WSU defense.
The
Cougar offense – a new version of the Air Raid, installed this offseason – started to find a touch of rhythm in the
second quarter after a sloppy first period. WSU coughed up fumbles on its first
two possessions, one of which was returned 45 yards for a touchdown by UI
cornerback Marcus Harris.
“Bad
play all around,” Ward said. “We gotta take ownership in that. We can’t have
turnovers on offense. That holds this offense back. … Once we get that
corrected, you’re going to see a different offense, for sure.”
Ward
passed 25 of 40 for 215 yards and three touchdowns against no turnovers in his
Cougar debut. He connected with seventh-year senior Renard Bell for a short TD
late in the second quarter to get WSU on the board, then hit standout De’Zhaun
Stribling for a wide-open 13-yard score midway early in the third quarter.
Outside receivers Stribling and Donovan Ollie led the Cougs’ pass-catching
corps, combining for 115 yards on 14 grabs.
WSU
outgained Idaho 223-87 in the first half, but the score was tied at 10 after an
interception from Chau Smith-Wade set Janikowski up with a 34-yard field goal.
The Cougs struggled to sustain drives in the first and third quarters and
showed clear jitters, yet their sparse flashes of consistency were enough to
outdo the Vandals’ largely listless offensive attack.
Cougar
running back Nakia Watson posted an impressive day, recording 117 yards on 18
carries, but he lost a fumble early in the fourth quarter – that didn’t hurt
WSU, as edge rusher Brennan Jackson and nickel Armani Marsh logged sacks on the
ensuing drive.
“I
thought there was some times that we kinda lagged on offense,” Eck said.
The
Cougars improved their winning streak over Idaho to 10 games since 2000.
WSU’s
schedule doesn’t get any easier next week. Far from it. The Cougars will travel
to Madison to take on 18th-ranked Wisconsin. The Vandals will meet Indiana on
the road in another guarantee-money game.
:::::::::::::::::
Daiyan
Henley’s interception preserves win for Washington State against Idaho
Sept. 3, 2022 By Theo
Lawson Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN
– Washington State erased a 10-0 first-quarter deficit and overcame three
fumbles to squeak out a 24-17 win over longtime rival Idaho in the 92nd edition
of the Battle of the Palouse Saturday night at Martin Stadium.
Making
his first start for the Cougars, transfer quarterback Cameron Ward completed 25
of 40 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Junior running back Nakia
Watson had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, totaling 117 yards on
18 carries.
Nevada
linebacker transfer Daiyon Henley spearheaded an impressive effort from WSU’s
defensive front, which finished with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Henley recorded a team-high eight tackles, had three tackles for loss and
sealed the win with an interception inside the final 15 seconds.
The
Cougars own a 73-16-3 all-time record against Idaho in the rivalry series that’s
been played regularly since 1894.
The
Cougars (1-0) now prepare for their biggest nonconference test, traveling to
play No. 18 Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison .
The
Vandals (0-1) also have a trip to Big Ten country on tap Saturday, playing
Indiana in Bloomington .
WSU
didn’t take the lead until midway through the third quarter when Ward led the
Cougars on an eight-play, 58-yard drive capped with a 13-yard touchdown pass to
De’Zhaun Stribling, who was left open in the back-right corner of the end zone.
The
Cougars gave themselves a cushion early in the fourth quarter, making it a
24-10 lead on Ward’s 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaylen Jenkins.
The
Vandals closed the deficit to seven points less than 5 minutes later when
redshirt freshman quarterback Gevani McCoy hit Jordan Dwyer for a 23-yard
touchdown. McCoy set up the scoring play with a 35-yard toss to Jermaine
Jackson on fourth-and-8 from Idaho’s 27-yard line.
After
entering as 28-point favorites, the Cougars sealed a seven-point victory
despite Dean Janikowski’s missed 22-yard field goal with 54 seconds remaining.
McCoy
completed four passes, moving Idaho’s offense to the 28-yard line before his
final attempt was attempted by Henley.
With
first-year coaches patrolling both sidelines, it was Jason Eck’s Vandals who
took an early lead on Jake Dickert’s Cougars, forcing two WSU fumbles inside
the game’s first 4 minutes.
Idaho
couldn’t capitalize on the first – a Jenkins fumble – but cornerback Marcus
Harris scooped up Donovan Ollie’s fumble on the next possession, returning it
45 yards for a Vandal touchdown.
Idaho
extended its lead to 10-0 on Ricardo Chavez’s 27-yard field goal. McCoy sparked
the Vandals’ drive with a 42-yard pass to junior receiver Jackson.
Eck
didn’t publicly announce his starting quarterback prior to Saturday’s game, but
McCoy got all but one snap behind center in the opener, completing 21 of 32
passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Jackson
led Idaho’s receivers with five receptions for 110 yards.
Former
Washington State linebacker Fa’avae Fa’avae had 11 tackles for the Vandals and
forced a fumble.
::::::::::::::::::::::::;
Recap
and highlights: Washington State football survives the Battle of the Palouse
with 24-17 win over Idaho
S-R of Spokane
9//2-3/2022
PULLMAN
– The latest installment of the Battle of the Palouse may have been a showing
for what will be a dominant Washington State defense. It could be a statement
that Jason Eck will lead Idaho back to Big Sky prominence.
If
you’re a Cougar fan there’s one thing it wasn’t – impressive.
The
Cougars opened their 2022 season with a 24-17 win over the rival Vandals at
Gesa Field on Saturday. Jake Dickert took the field for the first time since
being promoted from interim coach and WSU’s first two possessions resulted in
fumbles.
Idaho
returned one of those for a touchdown and jumped out to a 10-0 lead. It hadn’t
scored more than six points in the previous two meetings between the two
schools.
The
newly unveiled “Coug Raid” offense with transfer quarterback Cameron Ward
didn’t look the part of the one that put up points with ease under Mike Leach.
WSU’s next two drives went three-and-out. Then a missed field goal.
Late in
the second quarter the Cougars put together a successful drive, easing down the
field for 80 yards over nine plays in 3:13 minutes.
All the
while the WSU defense kept them in contention. A 42-yard heave removed and
Idaho managed 57 yards in the first half. It tallied three sacks and
intercepted Vandals QB Gevani McCoy to set up a 34-yard field goal by Dean
Janikowski to tie the game at 10 points before halftime.
With
Idaho unable to gain much on offense, the Cougars would surly put the Vandals
away in the second half, right?
The
Cougars scored on their first possession of the half, but then went
punt-punt-fumble to give the Vandals the ball at midfield trailing 17-10. WSU’s
defense came up again as Armani Marsh sacked McCoy for a 14 yard loss on a
fourth down attempt.
Though
a series of quick passes and screens freshman running back Jaylen Jenkins
scored his first career touchdown on an 8-yard pass into the flat. But, Idaho
came right back as the Cougars defense warped into a prevent shell and
abandoned the blitz pressure that had been effective for most of the game.
The Vandals
scored on a 23-yard pass from McCoy to Jordan Dwyer with just over six minutes
left.
The
Cougars offense did its part to put the game away this time, bleeding 5:04 off
the clock on 11 plays and setting up Janikowski for a chip-shot 23-yard attempt
from the left hash. He missed wide left.
Back
into a prevent defense, Idaho marched down the field with under a minute
remaining, until Daiyan Henley finally came away with an interception at the
Cougars two-yard-line.
The end
result was a win, but against an Football Championship Subdivision foe, Dickert
and the Cougars won’t be happy with the way they played.
WSU has
plenty of work to do before a Week 2 meeting with the Badgers in Madison,
Wisconsin next Saturday
::::::::::::::::::::
TV
Take: With the return of Washington State football is a reminder that Pac-12
Network leaves much to be desired
By Vince Grippi Spokesman-Review 9-3-2022
College
football is back. Not the same as it left us at the turn of the year – thanks
realignment – but back nonetheless. Which is comforting. Unless, maybe, your
team happens to have its opener on the Pac-12 Network, which was the case with
Washington State on Saturday night.
The
broadcast, with J.B. Long on the play-by-play and former Washington State
quarterback Ryan Leaf as analyst, had no impact on the Cougars’
harder-than-expected 24-17 victory over the visitors from Idaho. But it had a
lot to do with the enjoyment experienced for those watching at home.
At
least the broadcast duo was in Pullman, which isn’t as guaranteed as it once
was. And the two kept the focus on the action, from WSU’s early mistakes, the
Vandals returning the largesse before halftime and the Cougars’ good-enough
second half.
What
they saw
• We
start with the player who everyone connected with Washington State knows well,
from his time as the school’s quarterback through his short NFL career through
his post-NFL demons. In his third act, Leaf has launched a career in
broadcasting.
Though
still learning, Leaf is really good at times. Especially when he breaks down
quarterback play and uses his experience with it to be brutally blunt. He was
late in the first half and the target was first-year Washington State starter,
transfer Cameron Ward.
The
Cougars had tied the game at 10 but squandered an up-to-then rare red-zone
opportunity. One clear opportunity was lost, Leaf felt, because Ward had made a
poor decision to throw and take advantage of the defense and call a run.
That
led to the former NFL No. 2 draft pick to state a bit later there were “a lot
of conversations to be had on the offensive side of the ball” at halftime. At
the center of it? Ward’s first-half performance, which Leaf described as
“incredibly undisciplined.” That’s what the person watching at home needs to
hear and an opinion most watching wouldn’t recognize. But Leaf can, and he can
also explain what’s behind it.
“I felt he got out of rhythm a little bit,”
Leaf said when Long asked about Ward early in the third quarter. “I figure, and
I hope, he’ll be more disciplined in the scheme in the second half.”
•
Leaf’s redemption story is so admirable, any criticism of the quarterback who
led the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl in 67 years isn’t received well around
Pullman. But as an analyst, he is still learning his craft. And it shows.
Like
many inexperienced analysts, something the Pac-12 Network has in abundance, he
relies way too often on clichés, from “young freshman” to “the shoe is on the
other foot” to “the bang for their buck” when describing a play or situation.
And he
occasionally seems to miss the action, as occurred in the second quarter when
Renard Bell was called for a drive-stifling offensive pass interference penalty
on what would have been a 12-yard reception by Orion Peters. Asked about it by
Long, Leaf spent the next half-minute describing why Bell was called for a hold
and not the actual early contact for which he was cited.
Such
issues – including the occasional player misidentification – usually fade as
experience builds, though there are a few Pac-12 analysts who disprove that
theory.
What we
saw
•
Former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott made the decision in 2012 to keep the
conference’s television arm in-house instead of partnering with one of the
major sports networks like ESPN or Fox. Like many of Scott’s decisions, it was
an expensive mistake.
The
network has suffered from the inability to attract distribution platforms, such
as DirecTV, and never had the reach, or payout, of the Big Ten Network or the
SEC’s partnership with ESPN. And there was the expense of having a San
Francisco headquarters and building everything from scratch. There is no way it
will survive in the next round of media rights under discussion right now. At
least not how it is currently built.
When
you can actually find the network, the cost-cutting that has occurred the past
couple of years shows in each broadcast. Midway through the second quarter, the
score line at the bottom of the screen was just gibberish, with letters running
over each other. That doesn’t happen at other networks.
Long,
however, is about as good as the network offers, which is to be expected
considering he’s been with it since the beginning and he’s the radio voice of
the Los Angeles Rams.
• The
game wasn’t Jake Dickert’s first leading WSU, but the first since the interim
tag was removed after last season. It was also Jason Eck’s first as Vandals
head coach. One, Dickert, is a defensive guy. Eck shines on offense. In that
regard, Dickert (and coordinator Brian Ward) got the best of it, as the
aggressive Cougars defense dominated the line of scrimmage most of the game.
WSU had seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, held the Vandals to 4 of 17 on third
down and 269 yards.
But the
UI defense, with its ability to force fumbles (Washington State lost three),
earned at least a draw with Eric Morris’ offense.
::::::::::::::::::::::
>
Difference
makers: Daiyan Henley’s interception seals win for WSUe
Spokesman-Review Sept. 3,
2022
Daiyan
Henley
In his
first game as a Cougar, the transfer linebacker from Nevada had eight tackles,
including three for loss, and made the game-saving interception in the waning
moments. Henley stepped in front of a pass intended for Idaho’s Jermaine
Jackson at the WSU 2 with just 12 seconds remaining.
DEFENSIVE
LINE
Edge
rushers Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson led a WSU defense that came up with
seven sacks (including three from Jackson), and kept Idaho quarterback Gevani
McCoy on the run most of the game.
Nakia
Watson
WSU’s
junior running back gained a career-best 117 yards on 18 carries. Despite a
fourth-quarter fumble, Watson’s second-half bursts helped quarterback Cameron
Ward find his groove late. Ward finished 25 of 40 for 215 yards and three
touchdowns.
Turning
point
Cameron
Ward’s 8-yard scoring pass to Jaylen Jenkins with 10:33 left in the fourth
quarter gave the Cougars a 24-10 lead and some breathing room. Washington State
had a chance to put the game out of reach, but Dean Janikowski’s 23-yard field
goal attempt with 53 seconds went left. Idaho drove the length of the field
before Henley’s interception in the final seconds sealed it for the Cougars.
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