Washington State is vying to become bowl eligible once again for the second straight season under coach Jake Dickert, needing just one more win as it welcomes Arizona State up to Pullman on Saturday.
The Cougars are coming off their most dominant win over the season, 52-14 on the road at Stanford, controlling the game on the ground offensively and forcing four fumbles defensively in their most complete performance.
Washington State (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) snapped a three-game losing streak with that win and now has a good opportunity to punch its bowl ticket while hosting an Arizona State team (3-6, 2-4) in flux after the mid-season firing of coach Herm Edwards.
But the Sun Devils (3-6, 2-4 Pac-12) are still playing competitive football under interim coach Shaun Aguano, going 2-2 over the last four games with wins over a ranked Washington team and Colorado.
The key for the Cougars against the Sun Devils is going to be scoring early and fast, with ASU allowing 31.1 points per game (tied for 106th nationally) and 419.9 yards per game (102nd). For a Washington State team that finally found some rhythm on offense last week, it's a prime opportunity to start building a little momentum.
ASU is a similar team to the Stanford team the Cougars faced last Saturday, with an offense that can and will compete hard but a very vulnerable defense.
Injury update
Dickert said Monday that Washington State starting left tackle Jarrett Kingston will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a lower leg injury against Stanford late in the second half.
Dickert added Kingston will be replaced by either redshirt freshman Christian Hilborn, redshirt senior Grant Stephens or redshirt junior Jack Wilson. He provided no further update after Wednesday's practice.
Dickert mentioned redshirt freshman DT David Gusta has missed some recent action with a lower leg injury and will be a game-time decision for Saturday but will be ready for next week.
Dickert said there is hope that true freshman running back Jaylen Jenkins will make his return this week after going down early against Utah a couple weeks ago.
“We’re hoping for full clearance this week. We’ll see how he goes through practices, but right now, we’re hoping he comes back for a full game here on Saturday,” Dickert said.
Dickert also talked about senior wide receiver Renard Bell, who has been sidelined for the past three games with an injury, and how Bell is progressing to a return soon.
“In the next week to two weeks we’re going to start getting him back in a return-to-play protocol …. That’s all very, very encouraging. Trust me, his motivation is through the roof,” Dickert said.
The Cougars were happy to have starting running back Nakia Watson back last week at Stanford, after missing a month’s worth of time, as he rushed 16 times for 166 yards and a TD. He looks good to go again this week.
Offensive attack vs. shaky ASU run defense
True freshman wide receiver Leyton Smithson talked about the resurgence of the offense last week, as the Cougars emerged for 42 first half points at Stanford after struggling to score more than 41 points total in the last three games prior.
Smithson said it’s a confidence booster for this offense to finally find the end zone with consistency after struggling for so long, but now the challenge is sustaining that level of production.
“We can’t let up in practice and be satisfied with what we did last week,” Smithson said.
Dickert said the receiving corps had a change in the rotation with no one playing at an elite level, and the change proved to be successful.
Redshirt freshman Orion Peters emerged to lead the team with 3 catches for 50 yards and a TD
“We challenged those guys a bit,” Dickert said. “I think when you give some guys opportunities, I think they practice harder, they’re more focused and I think the guys in front of them never get settled.”
Defensive mindset vs. Sun Devils’ offense
Redshirt senior DB Armani Marsh talked about how ASU runs a balanced offense while talking up the Sun Devils' talent.
“We’re going to have to stop the run and we’re also going to have to play well in the back end and stop the pass,” Marsh said.
Redshirt freshman DB Jaden Hicks talked about how the defensive effort against Stanford gave this defense a big momentum boost and a good energy flip.
“It just pumped us up even more, we’re even more hungry, looking for another dub this week,” Hicks said.
Sophomore EDGE rusher Quinn Roff highlighted what the EDGE rotation is doing this season to maximize the unit, with some help from defensive coordinator Brian Ward on the week-to-week plan.
“I think everyone on the defense has bought into the plan and trusts what Coach Ward is trying to do,” Roff said.
Game info
The Cougars open up as an 8-point favorite against the Sun Devils after beating Stanford in dominant fashion and with ASU coming off a bad defensive effort in a 50-36 loss to UCLA.
Kickoff from Gesa Field at Martin Stadium is set for 12:30 PT and will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
