Cougars looking to shake of sting of first loss, bounce back vs. Cal
With the sting of letting a potential second win over a ranked opponent slip away in the final minutes last week, Washington State now looks to bounce back in conference play from that heartbreaking loss to Oregon as the Cougars host Cal in Pullman on Saturday for homecoming.
Cal (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) relies on its ground game, led by true freshman phenom Jaydn Ott, who delivered the most impressive rushing performance of the college football season last week with 274 yards and 3 TDs vs. Arizona. Ott already has 463 rushing yards (on 8.3 yards per carry), 63 receiving yards and 6 total touchdowns through his first four career games.
That should be a concern for Washington State (3-1, 0-1), which allowed 624 yards (albeit most of it -- 446 -- through the air) to Oregon in a game it led by 12 points with less than 4 minutes to play before losing 44-41.
Injury update
Cougars coach Jake Dickert talked about strong safety Jordan Lee and his potential availability after missing the last two games for the Cougars, being ruled as a “game-time decision” in both contests. Dickert said that there “could be moments” where Lee can fit in Saturday’s game against Cal.
“We’re getting there,” Dickert said. “We’re starting to get [Lee] into the team sessions. … There’s definitely moments in this game that fit him.”
Both defensive back Chau Smith-Wade and wide receiver Renard Bell were a little injured after the Colorado State game, but both had considerable playing time last week vs. Oregon. Alongside Smith-Wade and Bell, linebacker Travion Brown also made his return to the rotational depth in the linebacker corps, which means the Cougars are getting healthier.
Dickert did mention that tight end Billy Riviere III was “not 100 percent” last week vs. Oregon, which is why freshman Andre Dollar saw a considerable amount of snaps.
Offensive attack vs. Cal
Offensive coordinator Eric Morris talked about how this team needs to be more vertical offensively and with quarterback Cam Ward finding “other reads” while pressure in his face.
“We would like to stretch the field a little bit better and it not be a gimmicky play when we do stretch the field,” Morris said. “Hopefully we can stretch the field this week, and for the coming weeks.”
Morris talked about developing the run game, after only collecting 53 total yards on the ground last week vs. Oregon. He said it starts with winning the one-on-one battles.
“We’re just getting beat at the point of attack,” Morris said. “Technique’s gotta be better and we need to win our one-on-one matchups.”
Morris talked about Ward’s development throughout the season and he attributes time and comfortability as reasons the QB has improved from his Week 1 performance against Idaho to putting up a show against Oregon last week with 375 passing yards, 2 TDS, 2 INTs and a rushing TD.
“I think it’s just him settling in,” Morris said. “I think too as these kids play more and more together on Saturdays that they become more comfortable with each other.”
Defensive bounce-back opportunity
EDGE rusher Quinn Roff said the consistency of sacks the defense collects per game all is correlated with the effort in practice.
“It starts with a mindset,” Roff said. “I think it all starts with how we practice throughout the week.”
The success of the pass-rush this season has been something the defensive line prides itself on and how each of player brings a different skill set to the table.
Roff said that special skill set of each member of the defensive line rotation is what makes this defense so dangerous.
“We have so many guys that can do so many different things,” Roff said.
The Cougars didn't get a sack vs. Oregon, which hasn't allowed any all season, but they stopped Oregon four times in the red zone, leading to three field goals and an eventual pick-six for linebacker Francisco Mauigoa.
Roff said that to just prevent points on the board, everyone has to do their job to get the needed stop.
“Even if it isn’t the big play or no superhero stuff … just go line up and do your job,” Roff said. “I think we’re doing that really well these first couple of drives.”
The Cougars open up as a 4-point favorite against Cal this Saturday with an over/under of 53 points.
Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. PST from Martin Stadium and the game can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks.