CougCenter: All Posts by Brian AndersonWhy Washington State? Well that's a stupid question.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47853/fave.png2022-09-01T09:03:17-07:00https://www.cougcenter.com/authors/brian-anderson/rss2022-09-01T09:03:17-07:002022-09-01T09:03:17-07:00Breaking down WSU’s 2022 schedule, game by game
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<img alt="Washington State v Washington" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/56y6TSyVDhwm2ZvoQfJMBYPoItA=/0x0:4040x2693/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71312621/1356641283.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Here’s how the Cougs’ schedule unfolds and how it might influence the prospects for the season.</p> <p id="TniAOE"><em>This is the next installment in our series of stories previewing the 2022 </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/"><em><strong>Washington State Cougars</strong></em></a><em> football season. Other installments can be found </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2022-wsu-football-preview-series"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="xJ5Wgy">
<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="TKSQpM">You’re only guaranteed to get 12 of these a year so we might as well get excited about all of them. Here’s a look at where the Cougs fall in their opponent’s schedule. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="FcnPbE">
<h1 id="yGlWzl">Idaho Vandals</h1>
<h2 id="sVyMxx"><strong>Saturday, September 3rd, 6:30 PM PT (PAC-12 NET)</strong></h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 11 Idaho at Indiana" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o25RYZSY18MVWq9ulZbDMoC5adg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986920/1235251638.jpg">
<cite>Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="2JdcBF">It seems like only yesterday <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2013/9/22/4757824/mike-leach-paul-petrino-handshake-video">Paul Petrino and Mike Leach were shaking hands and dog-cussing each other</a> on the field after a fairly uneventful Battle of the Palouse blowout. </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/81Tk9mBMRLKeMOZ28ugVb4j_EP4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986550/LEACH_F_U.gif">
<figcaption>“good game neighbor!”</figcaption>
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<p id="EKetYz">Time marches on. </p>
<p id="NgcxIs">Idaho parted ways with Petrino before its season finale win over rival Idaho State, an accomplishment <a href="https://www.college-sports-journal.com/2022-big-big-sky-football-conference-preview/">listed on a website</a> alongside other 2021 season highlights such as a “close loss to UC Davis 27-20” and having “Beat Simon Fraser (D2) and Southern Utah by three scores each.”</p>
<p id="EjKion">Jason Eck was hired away from the Offensive Coordinator position at South Dakota State to be the new Vandals head coach last December. This is a return to the Palouse for Eck, who coached the Vandal offensive line under Nick Holt (’04-’05) and Dennis Erickson (’06). Eck and WSU head coach Jake Dickert even shared time on staffs at a couple of spots; Minnesota State (’14) and South Dakota State (’16). </p>
<p id="Tj4RZP">His offense helped the Jackrabbits to the 2021 national championship, with FCS Top 10 rankings in most passing and rushing statistics, including eighth in scoring. Eck’s offenses can typically run the ball very well. If anything can give a quick read on how the trip to Wisconsin may go, pay attention to the interior line play. WSU’s edge rushers have gotten the preseason publicity they’ve rightly deserved, but the test over the next couple weeks will likely come inside.</p>
<p id="2fevlc">Rejoice for the return of Cougar Football Saturday, great weather, and two teams just having a lot of fun out there. Doing their best. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="UgIySk">
<h1 id="lZXBrs">At No. 18 <a href="https://www.buckys5thquarter.com">Wisconsin Badgers</a>
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<h2 id="gB2gPt">
<strong>Saturday, September 10</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 12:30 PM PT (FOX)</strong>
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<img alt="Nebraska v Wisconsin" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/y4wdKTCOO1bCWMAmX_qfLDmcS6k=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986924/1394430062.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="Q5NAhq">The Badgers start the season ranked and will likely stay that way after a tilt with the Illinois State Redbirds of the Missouri Valley Football Conference in Week 1. That game could be an appetizer for you on Saturday — the broadcast is on FS1 at 4 PM PT. </p>
<p id="SO0Nwg">After the Cougs, Wisconsin hosts New Mexico State before heading to Columbus. </p>
<p id="mVni9B">Head Coach Paul Chryst returns quarterback Graham Mertz, who is very much a Wisconsin quarterback, and running back Braelon Allen, who is very much a Wisconsin running back. Mertz didn’t really elevate his play the way fans hoped be might last season and had a solidly average sort of year, completing near 60% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Allen became the workhorse for the offense and racked up 1300 yards at 6.8 per attempt with 12 TDs. </p>
<p id="OSRTI9">This will be an awesome contrast in styles.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="dzho5c">
<h1 id="CLe7AR">Colorado State Rams</h1>
<h2 id="2AbeiG">
<strong>Saturday, September 17</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 2:00 PM PT (PAC-12 NETWORK)</strong>
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<img alt="Colorado State Spring Football Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1HJQMV_2zdyqs77ReAhM3oIdqHU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986926/1393879821.jpg">
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<p id="ehSFa1">It’s nearly a decade later, and I’m still genuinely upset by <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/new-mexico-bowl-2013-tv-schedule-odds-wsu-football-colorado-state/2013/12/21/5233850/new-mexico-bowl-2013-final-score-recap-records-Connor-halliday">what happened in the New Mexico Bowl</a>. </p>
<p id="wBRJnB">First year CSU head coach Jay Norvell was lured away from Nevada by a Colorado State program eager to show it’s better than a rehab stint for a dismissed Power Five coach. The Rams have made a serious investment in football recently and an innovative, high-powered offense such as Norvell’s reflects the excitement they want in their program. </p>
<p id="aQ0pUt">They’re calling it #FortAirRaid. </p>
<p id="9X01Wk">They didn’t just get Norvell from Nevada. Wide receivers Tory Horton and Melquan Stovall, accounting for roughly 110 receptions and 1300 yards last season for the Wolf Pack, made the move with him. So did CSU’s presumptive starting quarterback Clay Millen. And a bunch of other people who should make the Rams immediately better than their projections would suggest. </p>
<p id="Y9l6CM">Whatever sitting on their hands the secondary and pass rushers got to do in the first two weeks, they’ll get to make up for it here. </p>
<p id="WDXSO1">CSU will ease you into the Week 1 weekend slate right after GameDay, playing Michigan at the Big House on ABC at 9 AM. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="SoDpX9">
<h1 id="e0711D">No. 11 <a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com">Oregon Ducks</a>
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<h2 id="TFPhXT">
<strong>Saturday, September 24</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
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<img alt="Oregon Spring Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u0OHEyrebt5VzOUQsPy-NjeWdME=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986929/1393239034.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="kj4ATs">The Ducks lost Mario Cristobal to Miami and replaced him with a guy who’s never been a head coach and only became a hot name after winning a national title coordinating a defense that had the most NFL talent ever put on a college football field. Will it work in Eugene? Maybe? </p>
<p id="H0XMh1">Cristobal tried to make the mix of tough and flashy work, and it sort of did, until they had to play an actual tough team like Utah. </p>
<p id="I7Yic1">Another defensive-first guy that is <a href="https://twitter.com/samuel101ts/status/1564666115799883776?s=20&t=7j8Wjpx2LpoFsewU4k20xg">sewing slogans like “toughness” and “discipline” into the collars</a> of ornate, innovative Nike jerseys will always feel out of touch to me. Violates the notion of Know Thyself. </p>
<p id="3PgGnD">However, they did lure transfer portal quarterback Bo Nix from Auburn to Eugene and he’s basically anthropomorphized #PAC12AfterDark. Always a give and take with college football. </p>
<p id="Rom5pq">Oregon has one of the showcase games of Week 1, facing off against Georgia in Atlanta. Head coach Dan Lanning against his former team will be the main storyline with the B-plot being a litmus test for the entire Pac-12 conference. Few people doubt the Ducks will have a formidable defense; even fewer people are confident they know the offense will be any good. </p>
<p id="rBvlvb">After Georgia, the Ducks host Eastern Washington, then No. 25 <a href="https://www.vanquishthefoe.com">BYU</a> before making the trip to the Palouse. Depending on if BYU lives up to some of their hype, that could set WSU up in a nice little let-down spot. </p>
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<h1 id="iswG1h"><a href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">California Golden Bears</a></h1>
<h2 id="oTSy1P">
<strong>Saturday, October 1</strong><sup><strong>st</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
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<img alt="USC v California" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tfJuOnV1wgbRBC-hszkMmGtxsm0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986930/1357246456.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Michael Urakami/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="n2LLzJ">Justin Wilcox and his Cal Bears open the season softly with UC Davis and UNLV at home in Berkeley before heading to North Bend to play the Fighting Irish at 11:30 AM on NBC (9/17). They get Arizona at home the next week before coming to Pullman. And a trip to Boulder follows the week after. </p>
<p id="TqB3Sh">That Arizona game would terrify me if I were a Cal fan. </p>
<p id="0ZQLLV">Cal is a weird team in that way. I absolutely expect them to clip someone good, and with just as much certainty, lose to Arizona at home. </p>
<p id="vvNb8R">Wilcox is replacing most of his offensive skill positions, but it’s not like Cal’s offense was a reliable, known entity anyway. I would expect more of the same from them — a few lucky breaks and they win seven or eight games with a solid defense, or, more normally, bad things happen and they win five. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Ivw012">
<h1 id="Qj50Np">At No. 14 Southern California Trojans</h1>
<h2 id="S8S4g2">
<strong>Saturday, October 8</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
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<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: APR 23 USC Spring Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7i1oUZrexR60wBbF1rnKXmMSh3U=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986934/1240219163.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="QQqSl9">The back-clapping among conference peers didn’t last too long after USC hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. “Finally!” We thought. USC decided to be USC again. After spending half a decade paying Clay Helton for unknown reasons, the Trojans realized they’re the standard-bearer for the conference and decided to pony up for one of the best in the game. To try to sniff the Top 10 for only the second time in a decade. </p>
<p id="l4sZDt">10 years, one Top 10 finish. From the flagship program in the conference. </p>
<p id="ex5lHV">You have to go back to 2008 for the last time they finished in the Top 5. Imagine the SEC if Alabama did that over the last ten years. Would it be positioned where it is today? Would the Big Ten be if <a href="https://www.landgrantholyland.com">Ohio State</a> did? Would either of them be pulling West Coast recruits the way they are now? </p>
<p id="MXoFHL">USC was that to the PAC-12. Then they bailed on a situation their own incompetence enabled. </p>
<p id="zc2WTE">Anyway, they’ll have an All-Star caliber flag football team on offense and who knows what on defense. We do know defensive coordinator Alex Grinch well enough to guess it’ll be feast and famine. The Trojans are predicted to finish anywhere from bowl eligible to playoff eligible. Both them and Oregon are fun mysteries that way. </p>
<p id="iQotDl">The Trojans can take their time easing into the season. They open with Rice, then at Stanford, and home against Fresno State. The Bulldogs, once again under Jeff Tedford, could be pretty good this year and provide a sneaky tough game for Troy. </p>
<p id="wgPSW4">USC then goes to Corvallis, still to be determined if Riley knows that’s a cursed road trip or not, and hosts ASU at home before WSU comes to town. A trip to Salt Lake City waits on the other side with a convenient bye week following it. </p>
<p id="IFYs7q">This is one of the more favorable USC conference schedules in recent memory. <a href="https://www.buildingthedam.com">Oregon State</a> will likely give them the toughest test ahead of the Cougs’ trip to LA. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="hR8ZRO">
<h1 id="SfBOY9">At Oregon State Beavers</h1>
<h2 id="x1AnXW">
<strong>Saturday, October 15</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
</h2>
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<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 18 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl - Oregon State v Utah State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ePOt899-LjJaVXwuuNF7gbkPjXQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986937/1237346841.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="xgn0gJ">Oregon State’s schedule is front-loaded. The Beavs have the ESPN late night honors this Saturday with <a href="https://www.obnug.com">Boise State</a>, where they’re currently favored by 3. If you have a second screen, that should be on it. Then they go to Fresno State before opening conference play with USC at home, followed up with Utah on the road. That’s a brutal stretch. They go to the Farm for a breather the week before hosting WSU and have Colorado in town the week after. </p>
<p id="9JebAi">Jonathan Smith has a lot of people confident in the direction of the Oregon State program, and for good reason. They went to a bowl last season for the first time in seven years and appear capable of replicating all-Pac-12 running back B.J. Baylor’s production with some monsters on the offensive line and a deep rotation of backs. And the secondary could be one of the best in the conference. It wouldn’t be that crazy if this OSU team won eight or nine games. </p>
<p id="grm0Cl">A bye week sits on the other side for the Cougs. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="lbYEWL">
<h1 id="ksEvYD"><a href="https://www.blocku.com">Utah Utes</a></h1>
<h2 id="Dwdxei">
<strong>Thursday, October 27</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 7:00 PM PT (FS1)</strong>
</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X - Ohio State v Utah" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-sRtRhvD_hQ7ZKjh-7Z694sI44c=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986948/1362313968.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="9bAL6j">We mentioned Oregon against Georgia being a game the national audience would use to judge the entire Pac-12. The Utes don’t carry any less conference weight in Week 1, and arguably carry more. Utah plays Florida in The Swamp at 4 PM PT on ESPN. This will set the tone for Utah’s - and the conference’s - entire season from a national perspective. </p>
<p id="5XqJgC">The Cougs catch Utah after the same bye week they have. Heading into that bye though is a tough stretch of home against Oregon State, at <a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com">UCLA</a>, and home for USC. Utah could be a fringe playoff team by that point or out of the Top 25 entirely. </p>
<p id="NAhEGL">Utah’s always been most dangerous as a disrespected underdog. This is a prove it year to show they can be frontrunners too. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="EzzyZP">
<h1 id="UY0Ddo">At <a href="https://www.ruleoftree.com">Stanford Cardinal</a>
</h1>
<h2 id="NocSyw">
<strong>Saturday, November 5</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: APR 09 Stanford Spring Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QlL6q9boc_alD3bZ278pvfnA2Eo=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986953/1239874466.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="Q1sRck">David Shaw is entering his 12<sup>th</sup> year at Stanford. In his tenure, there has been back-to-back Rose Bowls, double-digit win seasons, Heisman finalists, and eight consecutive years of bowls. There was also last year, where they beat No. 14 USC and No. 3 Oregon — winning three of their first five — then lost every game left on the schedule. The last four by blowout. </p>
<p id="bCVfmx">They should still be a decent, mid-level team. Nothing looks <em>that</em> different from what they’ve been doing in the past. It should be fine. It wasn’t last year. If they can figure out why, maybe they’ll be back to challenging the top-end of the conference but no one is expecting that from them this season. </p>
<p id="ZyiKqd">Stanford gets the Cougs at home, sandwiched between trips to Pasadena and Salt Lake City, with The Big Game following that Utah match-up and BYU to close out the season. Couldn’t blame a team for overlooking Wazzu in that spot. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="iAijPO">
<h1 id="6Ggh7I"><a href="https://www.houseofsparky.com">Arizona State</a></h1>
<h2 id="N0892W">
<strong>Saturday, November 12</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Arizona v ASU" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I8F7NyzW22wsiabFYAo5IdlxL6M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986954/1355931675.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="PmFD1c">Now in his fifth season, <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2022/02/23/herm-edwards-arizona-state-football-investigation-ncaa-recruiting-violations">surprisingly after all that’s happened</a>, Herm Edwards is facing the challenge of low expectations. The giant amount of roster turnover doesn’t really afford predictions, positive or negative, and maybe that’s best for ASU this year. </p>
<p id="09Nzaw">The Sun Devils have an interesting match-up in Week 2, when they head to Stillwater to face No. 12 <a href="https://www.cowboysrideforfree.com">Oklahoma State</a>. The Pokes are thought to be contenders in the Big 12 and this game should pretty clearly answer where ASU sits in the CFB pecking order. After a date the next week with Eastern Michigan, the Sun Devils open conference play by hosting Utah and going to USC. </p>
<p id="IJH6rj">The November trip to Pullman is situated between ASU home games with UCLA and Oregon State. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="YtKBNP">
<h1 id="q6WKGd">At <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com">Arizona Wildcats</a>
</h1>
<h2 id="H9xbih">
<strong>Saturday, November 19</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: APR 09 Arizona Spring Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yW1z1xS2axv9W-fv-YvIMvJtbOY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986957/1239988312.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="VWHx0C">It’ll be interesting to hear how the players address this game in the media. Whether they openly admit to it or play it off as a business trip, there’s no doubt some of the roster — if not all — had it circled months ago. Quarterback Jayden de Laura led the Cougs to an uncommon Apple Cup domination before all-but-no-showing a bowl game and transferring to Tucson shortly after. </p>
<p id="EdtKHh">Head coach Jedd Fisch has named de Laura their starter, while acknowledging there’s been some growing pains learning the offense. </p>
<p id="o1AWlR">Not much is expected of Arizona this season and the Cougs catch them at the end of a gauntlet. They host USC on October 29<sup>th</sup>, then play at Utah and at UCLA before hosting WSU the week before the Territorial Cup. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="pKhNJj">
<h1 id="EagcHI">Apple Cup</h1>
<h2 id="WgDq9P">
<strong>Saturday, November 26</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, TBD</strong>
</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Washington State v Washington" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fqMLygwjddmbw9rQEErq4CRAoYs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23986959/1356641485.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="VwBY2N">Do it again. </p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2022-wsu-football-preview-series/2022/9/1/23331714/wsu-cougars-2022-football-schedule-breakdown-analysisBrian Anderson2021-09-02T19:11:15-07:002021-09-02T19:11:15-07:00Breaking down WSU’s schedule, game by game
<figure>
<img alt="Washington State v Utah" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jBihD74jxjDcUInmj_FVGFNcYZ4=/0x0:4643x3095/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69811820/1230216723.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A quick look at each team the Cougs will play, as well as opponents’ scheduling factors that could have an impact.</p> <p id="TniAOE"><em>This is the next installment in our series of stories previewing the 2021 </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/"><em><strong>Washington State Cougars</strong></em></a><em> football season. For other installments, </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2021-wsu-football-preview"><em>click here</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="BPG1XV">
<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="z68BR6">There’s more to trying to figure out where the Cougs’ record will end up 2021 than simply, “Can they beat (that team)?” There are all sorts of factors that come into play over the course of a season that can impact the winnability of any given contest.</p>
<p class="p-large-text" id="iZ2JPI">Let’s explore some of those factors.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="5MHOhP">
<h1 id="1yK1Wz">Home: Utah State Aggies</h1>
<p id="V8GwqC"><strong>Saturday, September 4</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 8 PM PT</strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Arkansas State v Kansas State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vidbbeN6DiSlUlUwop7jCp31tjQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824295/1272523657.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Blake Anderson</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="YWL8Yq">2020 was a challenging year for every collegiate athletic department. The Utah State Aggies got blown out in their first four games by a combined score of 149-to-45 then fired head coach Gary Andersen. Who also maybe kind of wanted to quit? It was a weird situation at the time but perhaps fitting for a guy who walked away from a perfectly fine job at Wisconsin to coach at <a href="https://www.buildingthedam.com">Oregon State</a>. </p>
<p id="WyPNPK">In comes Blake Anderson from Arkansas State, who had one of the most emotionally impactful stories in college football a couple of years ago. Coach Anderson is thought of highly in the G5 ranks, taking the Red Wolves to a bowl six seasons in a row, every season in his tenure, before 2020. </p>
<p id="AlJWYH">There’s hope and promise he can turn Utah State back into a <a href="https://www.mwcconnection.com">Mountain West</a> contender. Just not this year. The Aggies are projected to rank 112<sup>th</sup> by Football Outsiders and will be consistently low on whatever ranking system you look up. </p>
<p id="i4SMN5">This is less a game for Wazzu and more a smell test to make sure the program hasn’t spoiled. The Cougs are favored by 16 points and it shouldn’t be near that close if WSU considers itself a bowl team. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="JSqCbD">
<h1 id="Cwi16a">Home: Portland State Vikings</h1>
<p id="fIcZTY"><strong>Saturday, September 11</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 3 PM PT</strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Portland State v Idaho State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kPRaT68O98NYeLNT9xyCKdCXSGA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824297/1178681846.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="852VCd">Hello darkness, my old friend. </p>
<p id="lQlGKU">Portland State lost the only game they played in the 2020 season, a 10 AM date on April 17<sup>th</sup>, 2021 with the Montana Grizzlies in Missoula. It wasn’t competitive (7-48). </p>
<p id="Mvevvb">The Vikings fly to the islands take on Hawaii the weekend before coming all the way back to the Palouse. </p>
<p id="NeaHsP">…this can’t happen again, right? </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Zji4ts">
<h1 id="pyP1aF">Home: <a href="https://www.conquestchronicles.com">USC Trojans</a>
</h1>
<p id="d0JIkt"><strong>Saturday, September 18</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong>, 12:30 PM PST</strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="USC Trojans defeated the UCLA Bruins 43-38 during a NCAA Football game at the Rose Bowl." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fCmuBTsoi0wctLZDdMFB0PBErmk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824303/1290966143.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Kedon Slovis</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="MaJNeP">The No. 16 Trojans are highly rated, relative for the Pac-12, and are once again entering a season where everyone outside the program wonders, “this has to be enough talent to overcome Clay Helton?” USC finished strong last season, clawing back in a few games to earn a spot in the championship against <s>UW</s> Oregon. </p>
<p id="5zfftn">Kedon Slovis returns at quarterback for his third season. At tailback, the Trojans are stacked with Vavae Malapeai back as a super senior and Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram. Ingram had 67 receptions for the Longhorns last year and will be a tough handle in USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s Air Raid. </p>
<p id="MIiSXY">Todd Orlando oversees a very aggressive defense, adept at takeaways and loaded with young pass rushers like Korey Foreman. </p>
<p id="c8pimL">They deserve every bit of the hype they’re getting. </p>
<p id="x9dTVW">USC opens their season at home against San Jose State before hosting Stanford the next weekend. After the trip to Pullman, the Trojans return home to host Oregon State. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="kmoEVb">
<h1 id="QUEjge">Away: <a href="https://www.blocku.com">Utah Utes</a>
</h1>
<p id="KZpyoz"><strong>Saturday, September 25</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Weber State v Utah" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Tb_V6PPlkXMeMGXCMf0QTUbiGIw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824314/1235021535.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Kyle Whittingham</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="8jnvj5">The Utes ended their three-year streak of South division titles last season, dropping their first two games to USC and Washington before beating OSU, Colorado, and Wazzu. They open this season with Weber State, who lost in the first round of the 16-team FCS playoff this past Spring, before taking on <a href="https://www.vanquishthefoe.com">BYU</a> in Provo. The Utes travel to San Diego State after the Holy War before hosting the Cougs. </p>
<p id="rHj9i5">No. 24 Utah has only gathered more hype as the season got closer, when a lot of people looked up and realized they weren’t the only ones who thought the Utes were underrated – they’re easily the most popular “Pac-12 sleeper” pick among media types. </p>
<p id="2Nbjz1">The Utes go to the Coliseum to face USC the week after and have a home date with ASU the week after that. This sits the Cougs right before the two toughest, most important South division games on their schedule, and two weeks removed from a rivalry game. </p>
<p id="o5O1Rh">Utah on-boards a 3,000-yard passer in Baylor graduate transfer Charlie Brewer. Brewer was part of that 1-11 to 11-1 turnaround under Matt Rhule over three seasons. Brewer is one of the more talented quarterbacks Utah has had recently and has experience winning at a high level. They return their whole offensive line and Utah’s defense being good is one of the more consistent things in the PAC-12. </p>
<p id="5FIVqt">It’s not exactly ideal to play two South division contenders back-to-back in September before you’ve worked all the kinks out. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ZNeuNM">
<h1 id="tF72WL">Away: <a href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">California Golden Bears</a>
</h1>
<p id="y38K5W"><strong>Saturday, October 2</strong><sup><strong>nd</strong></sup></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oregon v California" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pOh1P1nC4_Fwend2YvzEOrgvHB8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824318/1289656566.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="no3UZF">Cal, now in the fifth year under Justin Wilcox, is a fairly well-defined team. You know what you’re getting with Cal. A good, perhaps borderline great, defense and an offense that scout teams don’t envy. Chase Garbers is back at quarterback with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who was the OC for the Oakland Raiders in 2015-16 and <a href="https://www.milehighreport.com">Denver Broncos</a> in 2017-18. </p>
<p id="yUZrbr">The offense had little time to work with Musgrave before the 2020 season and a Cal optimist would think huge jumps in competency are possible in 2021. </p>
<p id="sqQDOj">The Bears open their conference slate at Washington the week before hosting Wazzu and get a bye the week after the Cougs are in Berkeley. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="fy63X9">
<h1 id="kADkyS">Home: Oregon State Beavers</h1>
<p id="Wnkiay"><strong>Saturday, October 9</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Oregon State Spring Scrimmage" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ARfLOAq6z0APv8nYSsumorBI-wY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22807836/1317044981.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Avery Roberts</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="T0QJwW">Rivalry Week! OSU head coach Jonathan Smith and Nick Rolovich have had beef ever since Rolovich accused the Beavers of tampering with recruits when he was at Hawaii. The Beavs are entering their fourth season under Smith, who started with a 2-10 season and climbed to 5-7 before 2020 appeared to be another step back, or at least sideways. </p>
<p id="AABdhT">Oregon State does not have an easy conference schedule. They open at USC, then get Washington at home before coming to Pullman. A bye week followed by Utah waits on the other side, and they close the season with <a href="https://www.houseofsparky.com">Arizona State</a> in Corvallis and the Civil War in Autzen. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="dTs809">
<h1 id="xDrqyQ">Home: <a href="https://www.ruleoftree.com">Stanford Cardinal</a>
</h1>
<p id="PWmTMk"><strong>Saturday, October 16</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Stanford v Washington" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wimYnBy2bDC0NwtqjF-VA2vdMcA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824324/1289973029.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>David Shaw</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="s5T06c">Stanford hasn’t been picked to be a division bottom dweller very often under David Shaw but that’s where they find themselves on more than a couple prediction lists this year. Stanford returns only 55% of its offensive production and is replacing David Mills at quarterback and wide receiver Simi Fehoko. </p>
<p id="LMIUAV">Santa Clara County laid some difficult logistics on the Cardinal during the 2020 season, forcing Stanford to be away from home for a whole month. Practices, game preparations, traveling, all were more challenging for Stanford than nearly anyone else and the Cardinal still rattled off four nail-biter wins to close the season. </p>
<p id="W3dcJU">Washington State sits right smack dab in the middle of some remarkably unfortunate scheduling for Stanford. The Cardinal open the season with Kansas State, then play away games at USC and Vandy before their first game back home on Sept. 25<sup>th</sup> against sneaky decent <a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com">UCLA</a>. </p>
<p id="JTTLTN">Stanford then hosts No. 11 Oregon, goes to Tempe on Friday night to play No. 25 ASU, comes all the way up to Pullman the week after, then plays host to No. 20 Washington and No. 24 Utah on the following Friday. This is one of the tastier let-down, look-ahead sandwiches you’ll see schedule makers come up with. </p>
<p id="SYnBRC">You have to play the four best teams in a row. Wait, also go to Pullman in the middle of that. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="bkCgk0">
<h1 id="mDgQpB">Home: BYU Cougars</h1>
<p id="A4SqKt"><strong>Saturday, October 23</strong><sup><strong>rd</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl - BYU v Central Florida" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mieW-eNnjO9nVnqkdzUWtceRKHE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824327/1293054091.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="tT4YU0">The other Cougars went 11-1 in 2020 behind quarterback Zach Wilson, beating UCF by 26 points in the Boca Raton Bowl. That offense finished third nationally in scoring and likely won’t be replicated by whatever offense BYU puts on the field this year. </p>
<p id="MWkL3B">BYU goes to Baylor the week before coming to Pullman and gets Virginia at home the week after. By the time we see BYU in Martin Stadium they will have played Arizona, Utah, ASU, and Utah State. Wazzu should have a real good idea who they are by then. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="cKLvWU">
<h1 id="CHHHMv">Away: Arizona State Sun Devils</h1>
<p id="MOfJWq"><strong>Saturday, October 30</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: MAR 28 Arizona State Spring Scrimmage" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eT0QdtfaDq53M9TMjudpAWdFsYY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824328/1231995490.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Jayden Daniels</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="R0Ru77">Arizona State has a roster loaded with talent. Unrelatedly, they are under serious NCAA scrutiny for potential recruiting violations. Assistant coaches Chris Hawkins, Prentice Gill, and Adam Breneman have all been placed on leave while the NCAA investigates allegations around hosting recruits on-campus during the dead period from March 2020 to June 2021, extended due to the pandemic. </p>
<p id="6KH6fg">The Sun Devils brought in Zak Hill from <a href="https://www.obnug.com">Boise State</a> to be the new offensive coordinator after the 2019 season. The run game excelled in 2020, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt, and the passing game was explosive, if inconsistent. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of nine returning offensive starters, and the whole defense is returning. </p>
<p id="2RRmyx">WSU again finds itself in another sandwich. No. 25 ASU plays at No. 24 Utah the week before hosting the Cougs. The Sun Devils get to look ahead to hosting No. 15 USC the weekend after and going to Seattle for No. 20 Washington the week after that. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="7ZnaQM">
<h1 id="RTL5sh">Home: BYE</h1>
<p id="m7Ygao"><strong>Saturday, November 6</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: California at Washington State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0wHdrDZUEkffUfuOlaCaPdAY3Y4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824333/usa_today_15305856.jpg">
<cite>James Snook-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
<p id="hZW4RU">Better late than never? </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="uED1JS">
<h1 id="yHXkUJ">Away: <a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com">Oregon Ducks</a>
</h1>
<p id="RIkmZ4"><strong>Saturday, November 13</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Syndication: The Register Guard" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UKH7opqO2Pj6pEgeH6YUTgnQQCk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824342/usa_today_16567453.jpg">
<cite>Dana Sparks via Imagn Content Services, LLC</cite>
</figure>
<p id="46Qsmh">The Ducks, after filling in for a UW team that couldn’t play, beat USC in the championship game last season and lost to <a href="https://www.widerightnattylite.com">Iowa State</a> in the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/fiesta-bowl">Fiesta Bowl</a>. That was without several studs on defense. Oregon re-upped with a Top-10 recruiting class that includes 5-star freshman quarterback Ty Thompson. </p>
<p id="OaqmLC">Oregon is every bit the conference show pony at the moment. The defense is nasty and full of <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl-draft">NFL draft</a> picks, the offense is fast and explosive, and they’re recruiting at a much higher level than just about everyone in the conference. </p>
<p id="Iq4ban">The Ducks continue the sandwich theme for Wazzu, playing at Washington the week before and at Utah the week after. The heat check for the Ducks is week two in Columbus against <a href="https://www.landgrantholyland.com">Ohio State</a>. That game alone will level-set the whole conference in the eyes of people outside the West Coast. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="aJYlsg">
<h1 id="8NejNm">Home: <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com">Arizona Wildcats</a>
</h1>
<p id="3p0JAn"><strong>Friday, November 19</strong><sup><strong>th</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Arizona Spring Game" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LCWVkv2y7Z1bCnhs_NGHz98QpZU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824346/1321815232.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Jedd Fisch</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Y4PMYH">The Wildcats sit just below <a href="https://www.onthebanks.com">Rutgers</a> in the Football Outsiders ranking at 103<sup>rd</sup> and that feels about right. New head coach Jedd Fisch takes over after Kevin Sumlin’s tenure sort of fizzled out to an 0-5 season in 2020. Fisch has now coached at every single professional and collegiate institution. That’s barely an exaggeration. </p>
<p id="awaLuj">The Wildcats will look more like a pro-style offense than during the Sumlin years but no one has any real expectations for them this season. Former WSU quarterback Gunner Cruz transferred down after 2020 and will split time with Will Plummer in their opener against BYU. </p>
<p id="Rsnm5E">Arizona gets to play the beloved mid-November Pullman game after having spent the last month hopping between Arizona and California. If it’s not cold on Oct 16<sup>th</sup> in Boulder or rainy on Sept 25<sup>th</sup> in Autzen, this Pullman game is likely the only time the Wildcats see jacket weather all season. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="x7nksu">
<h1 id="yFvkWd">Away: Apple Cup</h1>
<p id="caE8OU"><strong>Friday, November 26</strong><sup><strong>h</strong></sup><strong> </strong></p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 29 Washington State at Washington" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b2XzwoRlxqsZB7w_61gULeexV9I=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22824349/1185528313.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Christopher Mast/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="raoAiJ">You know what it is. </p>
<p id="BFrnVL"></p>
<p id="oTWa7L"></p>
<p id="8zsjx5"></p>
<p id="l2B8gv"></p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2021-wsu-football-preview/2021/9/2/22653548/wsu-cougars-football-schedule-previewBrian Anderson2020-11-07T09:59:58-08:002020-11-07T09:59:58-08:00The Pre-Snap Read: Spread ’Em and Shred ’Em
<figure>
<img alt="NCAA Football: Hawaii at San Diego State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cqpMa89TCAo6-iFxae7TnP2y4zE=/0x0:4021x2681/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67753401/usa_today_11729952.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s time to roll with the Run and Shoot.</p> <p id="lcuSOj"><em>This is the latest installment in our series of stories previewing the 2020 </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/"><em><strong>Washington State Cougars</strong></em></a><em> football season. For other installments, </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2020-wsu-football-preview"><em><strong>click here</strong></em></a><em>.</em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="32WEbQ">
<p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="0mSDJL">On the first Sunday in January 1993, the Houston Oilers played the <a href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/">New York Jets</a> in the regular season finale. This was their first home game since clinching the division in Pittsburgh two weeks prior, losing record-setting quarterback Warren Moon to broken ribs in the process. </p>
<p id="N4uJoi">Backup Oiler QB Cody Carlson trotted the offense out to their own 17-yard line with a little less than 10 minutes left in the first half. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride called a masterful 16-play, 8-minute march that had the Jets – and their defensive coordinator Pete Carroll – completely flummoxed. The drive was capped by TD to wide receiver Ernest Givens on a post, from a Trips set running wheel to the boundary. The Jets only had 10 men on the field. </p>
<p id="cpizFv">1 minute and 53 seconds of game time later, Gilbride’s defensive coordinator punched him in the face. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="M5KiA3">
<p id="sofCt4">Gilbride and the Oilers were one of the first to bring Tiger Ellison’s Run and Shoot offense into the NFL. It had percolated in the college ranks at Portland State with Mouse Davis (’74-’80), South Carolina (’86-’88), and Houston (’88-’92) for around a decade and immediately became one of the most productive offenses in the NFL. In that 1990 season, Warren Moon threw for over 4,000 yards with 33 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. With Gilbride, the Oilers never finished outside the top 5 in scoring. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="WdViOu"><q>”That’s what the Run-and-Shoot is all about. Going out there, having fun, and watching those little guys run all over the field.” - Jim Kelly (1985) </q></aside></div>
<p id="x3oWkP">Gilbride and Moon again had the Oilers rolling in 1992. They went on an 11-game win streak to close the season and faced a Jets team that was fighting to make the playoffs. </p>
<p id="QPUvNc">About a minute after they kicked off to the Jets following their 16-play scoring drive, defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan engineered a sack-fumble of quarterback Boomer Esiason. The Oilers got the ball back on their own 33-yard line with less than a minute to go in the half and a two touchdown lead. </p>
<p id="fKam5J">Gilbride immediately calls for a bomb to <span>Tony Jones</span>, which just misses. The next play, Carlson again drops back but the left tackle gets whipped inside by the defensive end, who punches the ball loose and recovers for the Jets. </p>
<p id="bP8n66">Nothing eventful happened for the Jets after that turnover – or the rest of the game for that matter — but the <a href="https://www.nfl.com/videos/a-football-life-tragedy-arguments-rock-the-oilers-279309">Oilers had themselves a kerfuffle</a>. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-Ww_0BGJj3vSMq4Vo_U25EosYcU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22020480/BuddyRyan_KevinGilbride.jpg">
<figcaption>Buddy Ryan swings on offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="ISO0si">Buddy Ryan thought the offense should sit on their lead and take it into half. Kevin Gilbride wanted points. </p>
<p id="SBIzo5">The Shoot has always been an aggressive offense. It is in the DNA of the coaches that developed it and is embodied by new <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com">Washington State Cougars</a> head coach Nick Rolovich too. </p>
<p id="CT6tLW"><em>*Buddy Ryan, when asked about the incident a few days later said, “Kevin Gilbride will be selling insurance in a few years”. Gilbride went on to coach another 20 seasons and won two Super Bowls with the Giants. </em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="zzJaTr">
<p id="4KPESL">When the Cougs brought in Coach Rolovich, they committed to an offensive system for their second consecutive head coaching hire. This is particularly notable for how surprisingly rare it is in a college football landscape trending toward “CEO” types, and former defensive coordinators, that can swap out <em>en vogue</em> offensive staffs as needed. </p>
<p id="aqvTtO">Committing to an offensive system means you accept certain realities that come with being specialized. First, that it will take time to build a roster that can run that system and second, whatever offense comes next will need time to completely change the roster to fit what they need. For Wazzu, swapping out the Air Raid for the Run and Shoot is less a transformation and more a transition — and a throwback of sorts to <span>Mike Price</span>’s single-back offense he popularized in the mid-90s. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="RS1LIZ"><q>“The biggest misconception about the run- and-shoot is that it’s a totally passing offense. It’s really not. It’s a one-back, spread offense, but it’s not a passing offense completely.” - Bill Parcells (1995)</q></aside></div>
<p id="FyPYr6">Both the Air Raid and Shoot are spread passing-attack offenses with similar formations and can have very similar looking patterns but they have fundamentally different approaches to their execution</p>
<p id="RSPdY6">The Air Raid by design challenges a defense horizontally. The central premise is that a defense cannot defend all 53 yards in the width of a football field on any given play. Someone will be open and it’s on the QB to locate that person. Emphasis is on execution and playing fast. </p>
<p id="xxH5gk">Air Raid plays are the ‘one size fits all’ cap that is practically agnostic toward defensive coverage. It is a progression offense. If the first read wasn’t open, move to the next one, then on down the line because somebody was going to be open. </p>
<p id="sfcvxL">Shoot plays are a real-time reaction to what a specific defense is doing, becoming the right play for the situation. Both the quarterback and the receivers identify specific coverages after the snap and many of the routes in the offense have multiple options built into them. </p>
<p id="28HfTx">Coach Mike Leach once criticized <span>Connor Halliday</span> for playing the position with a little too much “streetball”, meaning improvisation. The Shoot is designed to be organized streetball, which favors mobile and creative quarterbacks, and probably gave true freshman starter Jayden de Laura a little bit of an edge in the quarterback competition. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="8OVu56">
<p id="yXdsRX">The Cougs were consistently one of the most efficient and prolific offenses in college football under Mike Leach but never truly explosive. Connor Halliday and <span>Anthony Gordon</span> worked the ball downfield more than most of their fellow Air Raid quarterbacks at Wazzu, still the Cougar offense thrived in that intermediate range and the quick game. </p>
<p id="11m1kE">The Shoot will attack vertically. A lot. It’s an aggressive and opportunistic counterpuncher of an offense that always looks for knockouts. </p>
<p id="u9KHuf">Here’s a fun example of that from Hawai’i last year against Oregon State. </p>
<p id="ruZ6sK">The Rainbow Warriors bring a kick out of the endzone to the Beavs’ 35-yard line. Facing 2<sup>nd</sup>-and-5, Oregon State loads 6 in the box and shows Cover 4 to the trips side of the field. The safety is initially cheating off his hash and the boundary corner is in press coverage. This immediately triggers a deep shot to the isolated wide receiver on the boundary for a touchdown.</p>
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<p id="7hoK0k">While short down-and-distance is always a great opportunity for a deep shot, the Shoot will take it anytime they get it. This puts defending the vertical at the forefront of a defense’s mind simply by having it always be present. To always be willing to go deep. And the Cougs’ have a litany of fast and talented receivers.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="AVAji9"><q>“It was like walking through a minefield. We could play them again next week and give up 500 yards. If everything’s clicking in that thing, it’s hard to stop.” - Richie Pettibon (1991)</q></aside></div>
<p id="DcNfmT">This means inside receivers will be much more involved in the vertical passing game, unlike how we’ve watched them become underutilized at the H position in the Air Raid over the years. Whenever there’s leverage to drive a route deep, the Shoot inside receivers can take it. That flexibility is built into the offense, which is a little different than the more strict routes of the Air Raid, designed to create space as a concept rather than adjust to space as an individual route. </p>
<p id="8Y61tU">Defenses won’t be able to “shell” this offense by dropping safeties and corners back and flooding underneath zones. Shoot passing concepts are geared toward eating that strategy alive…not to mention the increased running threat, which we will definitely touch on another time. </p>
<p id="w74TUd">A great example of this difference between Shoot and Air Raid is in Y-Cross. </p>
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<p id="4Djp3C"><span>Brandon Arconado</span> lead the Cougs in receiving last year and there’s a good chance 75% or more of his yardage came on this one play. <span>River Cracraft</span> made hay doing the exact same thing before him. Coug fans have watched Y-Cross become nearly an automatic move-the-chains route over the years. Every opponent on the field and fan in the stands knew Wazzu would run this play on third down and still no one could defend it. </p>
<p id="magtoU">The Cross from Y (inside receiver to the right) was backdoored by a post from Z that would sit in open areas underneath the zone coverage. X (outside receiver to the left) had essentially a run-off route that barely got looked at and H ran a similarly disregarded option route that served its purpose to hold a linebacker underneath. </p>
<p id="yBeUfh">Now consider a Run and Shoot functional comparable, Streak. </p>
<p id="XAooxb"><em>*Note* Streak is more equivalent to Verts in the base routes but we can look at the functionality of how it attacks the middle of the field here, like Cross. </em></p>
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<p id="wZp5jM">When put into the same formation, this play has a lot of the same characteristics. The outside receivers are pushing vertical with options to break off a bench (right) or post (left) that don’t require a tag on the playcall. </p>
<p id="I2uaLy">The inside receiver to the left now has an insane amount of freedom. If the flat defender drops too deep, he can break outside or inside, crossing their face. If the safety bails to the middle of the field or jumps the boundary, he can push up the seam, and if that safety mirrors him up the hash he can sit in a hole in front of him. </p>
<aside id="g7LrJs"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Run and Shoot Primer: Snag, Screens, and the RPO","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/2020-wsu-football-preview/2020/11/5/21550482/wsu-football-rolovich-run-and-shoot-primer-snag-screens-rpo"},{"title":"Run & Shoot Primer: The “Go” Concept","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/2020/5/6/21224217/run-and-shoot-go-concept-washington-state-nick-rolovich"},{"title":"Run & Shoot Primer: The Seam Read and the \"Choice\" Concept","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/2020/7/5/21250069/run-and-shoot-primer-wsu-rolovich-seam-read-choice-concept"},{"title":"Run & Shoot Primer: Levels and Streak","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/2020/8/31/21408505/wsu-football-run-and-shoot-primer-levels-streak"}]}'></div></aside><p id="BEhd50">The inside receiver to the right still has all the options of Y-Cross available to him, if he wants, plus a vertical up the seam if the safeties roll coverage to take away the middle of the field. </p>
<p id="IwM0QG">That series of if/thens might be a little much on the first read through but it essentially covers an adaptation to any kind of coverage the defense could throw at them. The options here are more than just sitting in an open area — the receivers and the quarterback are simultaneously reading coverage on the fly and attacking the weakest spots of a defense. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="BI5xDZ"><q>“A lot of it has to do with being able to let the receivers have a lot of different options. And making those decisions based off of coverage, and quarterbacks being able to have all the answers built into every play”. – Craig Stutzman</q></aside></div>
<p id="erG5AS">The easiest first step to take in understanding this offense is understanding MOFO. </p>
<p id="CezgvL">Is the Middle Of the Field Open (MOFO) or closed (MOFC)?</p>
<p id="WjY5X7">The reads for the players in the offense are a little more complicated than that but it’s a solid starting point for fans watching a broadcast. Looking at the defensive alignment before the snap; two high safeties mean the middle of the field is open. A single high safety means the middle of the field is closed. </p>
<p id="sozn1T">Or the middle field read could open based on coverage during the play, if a safety rolls to the flat for instance. That MOFO or MOFC read will dictate a lot of what the receivers do on any given play. When it opens, expect someone to dart in there from somewhere. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Pmi00t">
<p id="ZUAO8g">Welcome to Schrodinger’s Season. Wazzu has a new head coach with a new offense, big question marks all over the defense, and a true freshman starting at quarterback. Coug fans should feel awesome about another season with <span>Max Borghi</span>, especially in an offense that will highlight his ability, and really confident about the receivers and offensive line. </p>
<p id="UHp0jU">Everything else is a little bit of a mystery until we open that box in Corvallis on Saturday and see what kind of cat is in there. </p>
<p id="q6oMlZ">Cougar Football Saturday is BACK. </p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2020-wsu-football-preview/2020/11/7/21553829/wsu-cougars-football-run-and-shoot-nick-rolovichBrian Anderson2019-09-19T19:54:41-07:002019-09-19T19:54:41-07:00Pre-Snap Read: Washington State Cougars vs. UCLA Bruins
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<figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Chip Kelly is post-Blur and the good people in Westwood probably didn’t hire him for that.</p> <p id="MuVtau">The No. 19 <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> welcome the <a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com/">UCLA Bruins</a> into an anthracite-laden Martin Stadium to open Pac-12 play on Saturday night. The Cougs are coming off a victory over the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/houston-cougars">Houston Cougars</a> that was statistically much more dominant than it felt, with the defense performing an absolute heel-turn in the second half as the entire team adjusted to the faster game speed of a tougher opponent. </p>
<aside id="sf3L38"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Monday After: Right on schedule","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football-houston-preview-recap-stats-score/2019/9/17/20865705/wsu-vs-houston-cougars-football-recap"}]}'></div></aside><p id="lqysma">The Cougs are now 3-0 for the third consecutive season, something that hasn’t happened in any measure of history recent enough to matter. The Bruins are 0-3, and haven’t been showing any signs of trending up in head coach Chip Kelly’s second season at the helm. </p>
<p id="2aLWSZ">Wazzu is favored by somewhere around 18 points and Bill Connelly’s SP+ projects a 38-21 final score in favor of the Cougs. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="fIOEEL">
<p id="YQDvC9">Kelly was hired as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007. Two years later he took over as the head coach and was college football’s standard bearer for one thing that is now ubiquitous in the sport: <em><strong>tempo</strong></em>. Prior to Kelly, the Ducks had been to seven major bowls and had four 10-win seasons in their entire school history. </p>
<p id="VwxCJ7">They went 44-7 under Kelly and averaged roughly 45 points per game. During his tenure, the Ducks went to two Rose Bowls, two Fiesta Bowls and a BCS National Championship game. </p>
<p id="wZT0TS">They were the face of the Pac-12. Not only were they good, they felt cutting edge. </p>
<p id="G2eWra">In 2010, they won every game by double digits except for two, a weird 15-13 win at Cal — because all games at Cal are weird — and the BCS National Championship against Auburn. </p>
<p id="NwOx4U">They called his offense <em>The Blur</em>. It was a level of tempo no one in Division 1 was really doing. They didn’t just not huddle, they sprinted to the ball as soon as the ref could spot it and often even faster than that. </p>
<p id="oscraB">They held up stoplight signs on the sidelines telling the offense how fast to push it. They’d get one first down and the green light would go up and you just knew, whatever personnel the defense had on the field had to stay there until they quit from exhaustion or the Ducks scored. And the Ducks scored <em>fast</em>. </p>
<p id="2IY2Lr">It pissed Nick Saban off, back in 2012.</p>
<blockquote><p id="ij4ja5">It’s a tremendous advantage to the offense. So I don’t blame any offensive coach for wanting to do it, and taking advantage of it, deceiving the defense with the pace of the game, whatever you want to call it. But I just think that someone should examine: is this where we want this to go for player safety? </p></blockquote>
<p id="RJUXIR">Alabama rode an up tempo spread-running offense with <span>Jalen Hurts</span> to the Championship four years later. Pieces of Kelly’s offense are everywhere now, like the Air Raid but unlike Mike Leach, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2019-09-16/chip-kelly-oregon-ducks-offense-ucla-bruins-football-evolves">Chip Kelly has zero interest in running the scheme he invented just a decade ago</a>. </p>
<p id="5lQaQp">Kelly left Oregon for the NFL right before the NCAA levied sanctions against the Ducks for recruiting violations in 2013. He produced a couple 10-win seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and wore out his welcome by week 16 of a mediocre-but-not-awful six win season. The next year he had a terrible outing in San Francisco that ended the NFL’s interest in him.</p>
<p id="5z1v1g">If the UCLA administration knew that they were hiring Chip Kelly the guy and not Chip Kelly’s Offense, the fans didn’t. After 15 games, they don’t go to home games in one of the greatest venues in the sport and have serious questions about why Kelly isn’t running his offense. What used to be <em>The College Offense</em>. An offense that has infiltrated the sport to some degree at nearly every program. </p>
<p id="FP2b1Z">“Oregon was a long time ago,” says Kelly, “They had a lot of success with the single wing in the 1930s, too, but people, football evolves and things evolve so maybe drop that take, to be honest with you. I never said when I came in here that we were going to run the offense that we were running at Oregon, so I don’t know why that continues to come up as a question.”</p>
<p id="crKtyk">Only Rice, Texas State, and New Mexico State rank lower than UCLA in scoring offense this season. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="hgVbzy">
<p id="UmeB6t">The Bruins are still figuring out who they are a little bit offensively. They’ve played with various tight end personnel groupings, pistol, single back, four wide receivers, and pre-snap motion, while not doing any one thing exceptionally well. The offense goes how sophomore quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson goes. </p>
<p id="h2Kg2Y">Their 263 yards per game is good for 129th nationally and their 4.1 yards per play is 130th (or last). </p>
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<p id="U2OWng">The majority of what UCLA does starts with a zone read. Expect to see a heavy dose of that on Saturday. Out of this 2x2 set the Bruins love this pop-pass, especially on short yardage downs. The play has a zone read middle iso and an option route from their inside receivers. SDSU is showing six in the box and playing at least five yards off the receivers on a short 2nd-and-3. </p>
<p id="FjRq7Z">Robinson is reading the left defensive end (highlighted) and handed the ball off to his running back, who was stopped around the line of scrimmage. </p>
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<p id="V3cOm0">He just struggled with these reads throughout the game against SDSU. The Oklahoma game had some improvement, helped out by some motions to get the defense adjusting on the fly but it didn’t fare a whole lot better. His offense is outnumbered in the box with A-gap pressure and his defensive end is sucked in to the line, and he still gave up the ball. </p>
<p id="3SRsps">On a key drive late in the fourth quarter they ran this same play twice on short yardage, with Robinson missing reads both times and handing the ball off to a running back that had no chance. They failed to convert a fourth down and effectively ended the Bruins chances at a win. </p>
<p id="ojhiFF">This is one of those things where if he decides to be a runner, or make plays himself rather than handing it off, the Bruins could be drastically better offensively overnight. That’s a tough ask for a young quarterback with more than a few confidence-decimating plays under his belt.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">UCLA moved the ball into the Red Zone but then...... <a href="https://t.co/nqNBgfrAfk">pic.twitter.com/nqNBgfrAfk</a></p>— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) <a href="https://twitter.com/NCAAFNation247/status/1167215052988014592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2019</a>
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<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="fd4v4T">
<p id="H8leJA">UCLA defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro hitched his wagon to Kelly in 2009, joining the staff at Oregon as the defensive line coach. Prior to Oregon, Azzinaro was a highly successful defensive line coach in the Northeast — spending time at Boston College, UMass, Syracuse, and New Hampshire (2007) — that really struggled whenever given total control of the defense. He was a co-DC at Duke for three seasons in the mid-2000s and won a total of three games. His teams ranked 100th, 89th, and 105th in defense during that stretch from 2004-06. </p>
<p id="nPBfCf">Azzinaro followed Kelly to his NFL stops in Philadelphia and San Francisco, serving as defensive line coach at both spots. </p>
<p id="a6CTaF">He didn’t have another shot at Defensive Coordinator until Kelly gave him the role at UCLA 12 years later. </p>
<blockquote><p id="m4Kgdj">Wearing a long-sleeve white shirt and olive shorts, the Bruins’ defensive coordinator cast a striking silhouette. His white beard, glasses and stocky build complete with a belly that spilled over his waistline made him look like a shopping-mall Santa Claus. — Ben Bolch, LA Times</p></blockquote>
<p id="us5smf">The Bruins <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/la-sp-ucla-report-20180815-story.html">had hopes to make the switch to an aggressive 3-4 defense this season</a>, using a bulky nose tackle to eat up lineman in the middle and fire athletic linebackers through gaps. This has not happened. UCLA looks a lot like WSU did in their 3-4 before Alex Grinch, failing in run fits with players being asked to control two-gaps and linebackers that fly themselves out of position half the time they stunt. </p>
<p id="Dq94He">And it hasn’t provided any measure of pressure on the quarterback. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="OeFViq"><q>If you’re going to be slightly undisciplined and out of position, at least raise some hell while you’re doing it.</q></aside></div>
<p id="XhofIf">If you’re going to be slightly undisciplined and out of position, at least raise some hell while you’re doing it. Cougs are familiar with what that looks like too — increased havoc from the defensive line was the first thing that really signaled a defensive turnaround on the Palouse. </p>
<p id="hilC5P">In coverage, UCLA will happily play their quarters and cover 2, and mix in cover 3 when they stunt multiple backers. They went super aggressive against Oklahoma’s wide receivers in the first half, electing to play man with either a single to two-high safety shell and got absolutely smoked.</p>
<aside id="sdJfRs"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Reading the defense","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2013/2/18/4001870/air-raid-playbook-offense-mike-leach-defense-coverage"},{"title":"Defensive coverages in action","url":"https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2013/2/21/4012102/air-raid-playbook-defensive-coverage-in-action"}]}'></div></aside><p id="rWMSHk">Somehow, they didn’t account for Sooner quarterback Jalen Hurts in their man coverage underneath and he damn near walked the ball up the field untouched. That got shored up with a QB spy and they had a little more success as the game progressed when they weren’t trying to man-up that receiving corps. </p>
<p id="buftsJ">Linebackers still had issues with backs out of the backfield and intermediate crossing routes were typically wide open whenever the safeties played soft over the top. The communication in their underneath zones hasn’t quite been to level it needs to be to stop passing offenses that attack that part of the field. WSU should be relentless here. </p>
<p id="37myb5">I wouldn’t expect much press man out of them this week after the whipping Oklahoma put on that secondary ... but coaches are stubborn.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="3XkQxJ">
<h3 id="8b89Ls">Quick Hitters</h3>
<ul>
<li id="4QJnxq">
<span>Dorian Thompson-Robinson</span> has a massive problem with pressure. When faced with it, if he’s not outright dropping the ball, he’s scrambling backwards to make a bad play worse. </li>
<li id="xXwTdy">WSU’s defensive front presents a challenge to read-option teams. The stemming along the front changes keys for blocking assignments and reads for the quarterback. This could be an insurmountable challenge for an offense that doesn’t totally know what it wants to do and isn’t very good at the things it’s being asked to do. </li>
<li id="OJVwDQ">UCLA hasn’t pressured anyone and Wazzu is pretty damn good at vertical drop pass protection. This seems like a huge mismatch in the Cougs’ favor. </li>
<li id="lTrpAx">The Bruin secondary is allowing over 71% of passes to be completed for 10.5 yards per pass. This is among the bottom of the barrel for FBS programs. It is also just about what <span>Anthony Gordon</span> is averaging. </li>
<li id="HYaF0A">UCLA hasn’t fully incorporated their tight ends into what they do offensively and that’s sort of a missed opportunity at the moment. Especially with USC transfer Devin Asiasi. He’s a big-bodied pass catching threat that could provide a nice target at intermediate yardage. </li>
</ul>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="RKIC5b">
<p id="eTFCNB">The big thing in this game is to jump out to a lead. If WSU could get a possession or two ahead of the Bruins in the first quarter, that all but eliminates UCLA’s ability to run middle isos and hitches up and down the field like they enjoy doing. The further ahead the Cougs can push a lead in the first half, the more they can force UCLA to be more aggressive on offense. </p>
<p id="xJaTjr">And neither their head coach nor quarterback want to be doing much of that. </p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-ucla/2019/9/19/20873568/washington-state-cougars-vs-ucla-bruins-previewBrian Anderson2019-09-12T12:36:45-07:002019-09-12T12:36:45-07:00One Awesome Play: Easop Winston is an expert in the red zone
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Northern Colorado at Washington State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_YO_25ufTYAoIoCaShi8Egd-D6I=/0x0:2777x1851/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65234571/usa_today_13324445.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>James Snook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>How to put a DB in a no-win situation. And Four Verts is a goal line play.</p> <p id="KJC4yW">The <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> started hot again last Saturday afternoon, amassing 208 yards on their first 16 plays during three drives that all ended in touchdowns. Through two games, the Cougs are averaging a jaw-dropping 9.62 yards per play and quarterback <span>Anthony Gordon</span> (11.9) is averaging around five yards per pass more than Gardner Minshew (7.2) and <span>Luke Falk</span> (6.7) in their last seasons. Despite the caveat of competition, that’s still off-the-charts impressive. </p>
<p id="HYeN9w">Yards mean nothing if you don’t score, and the Cougs have been doing plenty of that too. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="O9RPum">
<p id="ykItzQ">Northern Colorado won the toss — against the best efforts of new, <a href="https://sports.mynorthwest.com/694218/new-wsu-captain-renard-bell/">solo coin flip captain Renard Bell</a> — and elected to receive, moving the ball four yards in six plays before punting it away. </p>
<p id="QqL3co">The Cougars took over on their own 38-yard line and moved into the red zone on three plays. Wazzu lines up in their 3x1 “<a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2013/3/12/4070202/air-raid-playbook-offensive-formations-mike-leach">Early</a>” formation and motions running back <span>Max Borghi</span> to the trips side with the snap. No one follows him. </p>
<p id="Ouxg17">The highlighted defensive back is the entire read for this play. If he sits and muddies the interior, no one is shadowing Borghi. If he crashes in on Borghi’s swing route, Winston just needs to beat his man inside or <span>Harris</span> roast his DB on a wheel. The other safety is guarding against a backside post from X receiver <span>Davontavean Martin</span>. </p>
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<p id="j2z4W5">The two outside defensive backs (top) are locked in man-coverage, facing a wheel-post combination from WSU’s H receiver, <span>Travell Harris</span> and Z receiver, Easop Winston. Brandon Arconado runs a curl from Y. </p>
<p id="Z8sTSM"><span>Gordon</span> has his eyes on the defensive back from the snap. The back’s given a choice here and Gordon is essentially playing the role of a counter-puncher, reading the hips and reacting to whichever way the back plays it. </p>
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<p id="1f87ML">After a moment or two of being enticed by Arconado’s curl route, the lightbulb goes off and he breaks for Borghi’s swing. Leaving just enough space for Gordon to thread the needle off his back hip. </p>
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<p id="zZKH17">Winston climbs the ladder and hauls it in. Perfect pocket, perfect timing, perfect route. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="7vepPz">
<p id="XL8Wgj">Wazzu continued to reverse the trend of terrible third quarters from last year by going 68 yards in six plays to set up first and goal from the 7-yard line — the perfect situational field position to run four verts. </p>
<p id="DtZgdn">No, really.</p>
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<p id="Nc7l5e">The Bears lined up in what definitely should’ve been man coverage with a single free safety. Their defensive backs do a sort of meandering halfhearted attempt at coverage (top) that results in three of them covering an inside seam. </p>
<p id="vsmVd8">Unlike the last play, this highlighted safety is not interested in taking away the backside post and instead floats toward the trips from a spot where he’s not really capable of providing much help unless a route finds him by chance. </p>
<p id="DoK2Vi">Gordon keys him at the snap to make sure Winston is clear in his one-on-one outside. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G8oBr7VSZQgNo61foOlk1u2ZDMw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19192352/02_WInston_2.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="pGUBKO">Winston is facing tight coverage from a corner with outside leverage, not ideal for a fade to the pylon. He delays his release and drifts inside, stacking the corner to take away his leverage. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j6kwoEh5sLKHQYILlSahz6XOzHk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19192354/02_WInston_3.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="FXU8h8">At this point the corner is toast and Gordon knows it. All he has to do is drop it in the bucket. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_vhONLn2TZBnoxVEh_cxaiwT0yU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19192355/02_WInston_4.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="V8C3G4">Long Live Redzone Fades. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="aQXZ2Z">
<p id="FMJqi0">The Cougs aren’t just racking up yards, they’re lighting up the scoreboard too. Their versatility is a large part of what has made them so incredibly difficult to defend in the red zone. It could be <span>Max Borghi</span> up the gut on an inside zone, or quick slants, or in the case for this week’s awesome plays — two route combinations that a more traditional offense would only call at midfield on third down. </p>
<p id="ID5FJq">They’ll hit you with any of it. </p>
<p id="2BlNPs"></p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/air-raid-offense-playbook-mike-leach/2019/9/12/20862172/easop-winston-wsu-cougars-footballBrian Anderson2019-09-05T17:54:24-07:002019-09-05T17:54:24-07:00One Awesome Play: Welcome to the track meet on turf
<figure>
<img alt="NCAA Football: New Mexico State at Washington State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RPXctmKxfMeIXXjG_BnlEIuXXTg=/208x0:3153x1963/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65189146/usa_today_13293816.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>James Snook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rodrick Fisher roasts a corner and Dez Patmon outruns an entire secondary. This team is fast. </p> <p id="i3CikG">The <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> offense started off with a bang on Saturday night in a mostly filled Martin Stadium. The Cougs racked up two touchdowns in their first eight plays to open the game, with both drives ending on plays that put an exclamation point on one attribute — speed. </p>
<p id="L6A3ZO">After seven years, the basic conceit of the Air Raid offense has become a dull hammer blow of repetitive commentary — get the ball to receivers in space. As if any offense would prefer their receivers tightly guarded and tackled immediately. But that point remains, and sometimes space exists simply because the guys in your jerseys are that much faster. </p>
<p id="sBygBQ">Case in point: <span>Rodrick Fisher</span>. </p>
<p id="r3E4VC">Wazzu took possession of the ball on their own 34-yard-line after a nine-play opening drive by the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/new-mexico-st-aggies">New Mexico State Aggies</a> that resulted in a missed field goal. Five plays and two minutes later, the Cougs were celebrating their first touchdown of the season. </p>
<p id="gPDO3w">Sitting on a fresh set of downs at the NMSU 41, Wazzu quarterback <span>Anthony Gordon</span> took his shot. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LTtdsCz9zmpOK4YNI3pmkpOsxvw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171142/01_Fisher_95Y.jpg">
<cite>Brian Anderson</cite>
</figure>
<p id="gDJCXq">New Mexico State is playing a zone coverage but without any real help over the top. The outside backer passes off WSU’s H inside receiver (top) and drifts to the flat. The backer up at the line shadows <span>Max Borghi</span>, while the other two take their respective hook-to-curl zone drops. </p>
<p id="nxmflA">Wazzu Y inside receiver <span>Brandon Arconado</span> (bottom) runs a shallow, which is played by the boundary safety as sort of aimless drifting inside until he spots the in-breaking route by H. That in-route got the attention of both safeties and an inside linebacker, which meant their corner was in a footrace with the fastest player on the field and zero help. </p>
<p id="2BXw68">Play the fight song. </p>
<div id="asZzWY"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/t/kqcz6" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="4VpNNc">
<p id="8ZivWR">New Mexico State responded with their own touchdown drive and the Cougs took two plays to get back into Aggie territory at the 48. </p>
<p id="Rgs6s3">Wazzu runs a hitch/corner combination out of their 2x2 “Ace” formation a lot during a game. Repetitive things can encourage a defense to cheat. Defenses are impatient creatures and anxious to make plays. They love to jump routes, especially when they’ve seen it a handful of times and are bored with it. </p>
<p id="xi4GEq">This tendency is exploitable. </p>
<p id="t9Vlfh">Because other times, that space for a wide receiver is created due to scheme. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/q36rd9PHlc5t8Q50UOCBWHgrSvs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171189/02_Patmon_1.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="vGuqNC">NMSU is bringing heat this play, leaving man coverage to the boundary (top) and a combo coverage to the field (bottom). </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XaLAc22Vdt7cq2edX6negHUgX2M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171199/02_Patmon_2.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="9tilIk">Patmon hitches at the top of Godon’s drop. <span>Gordon</span> is able to spot the only free safety on the field — both defenders to the boundary are locked in man coverage — drifting toward the boundary to get on top of the corner route from Y. The only person in the middle of the field is wearing zebra stripes. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9V-osHBZlbVf1_WmyuN_nHRa3Vk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171205/02_Patmon_3.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="sIXZqf">Patmon dusts the corner in his hip pocket and even outruns a safety with an angle to hit paydirt. Scheme created space and Patmon’s speed exploited it. </p>
<div id="y3rTPD"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/t/gq4uc" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="0vcOTR">If you think that looks familiar...well, the Cougs have been running it a long time. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5mERiAxsnWAvqWdvGQ5qHcTA76M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171223/Wilson_stop_go.gif">
</figure>
<p id="E7hizi">That’d be <span>Marquess Wilson</span> from back in 2012. </p>
<p id="lm8RY6">Patmon housed an easy pitch and catch, which was impressive, but it’s also worth highlighting why that was an easy pitch for Gordon. </p>
<p id="Q3tVQe">NMSU has six men up at the line of scrimmage, two are just outside the frame of the camera below, wide of the Washington State tackles. The right side of the line slides, with the center picking up the backer, the guard taking the defensive tackle and the right tackle drop-stepping to engage the wide defensive end. </p>
<p id="T02lzD">The left side of the line blocks it to put a big on big — the left guard and tackle slide out to take the defensive tackle and defensive end, which are typically bigger players than a linebacker. The backer on the inside shade of the guard is left unblocked to freely shoot the A gap. </p>
<p id="k5FfVO">Notice where running back <span>Max Borghi</span>’s eyes are even before the snap. He knows exactly what his blocking responsibility will be. </p>
<p id="LKzYKc">The result is a picture perfect, clean pocket. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4r2iAQHUNvYOTpnLEb2ws7j0PVs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19171286/03_BorghiBlock.jpg">
<cite>Brian Anderson</cite>
</figure>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="aJjhSZ">
<p id="8xQPWv">Wazzu was getting national attention for having one of the best receiver corps in college football before the season. A lot of that had to do with depth and the fact they were returning, more than the individual talent at each position. While blowing out NMSU is not going to garner too much attention, the collective performance of the wide receiver corps likely turned some heads. </p>
<p id="kcZLdE">This crew is nasty. <span>Fisher</span> has a top-end speed that has to be respected by anyone. Patmon has not only gotten faster but ramped up his physicality — he sought out contact with the secondary and finished runs hard when he wasn’t sprinting past them. We highlighted those two this week but there’s a handful of other names we could talk about that all had great games. </p>
<p id="kQXBua">I mean, <span>Travell Harris</span> can do this now. </p>
<div id="wC1YYy"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/t/s58qq" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="n0hzsZ">Having an offensive scheme that creates space is one thing, but having eight receivers that are legit home run threats from any spot on the field is quite another. This could be the most explosive offense we’ve seen on the Palouse under Mike Leach, and the next two defenses they face aren’t going to be able to do much to disprove that. </p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-new-mexico-state-news-score-schedule/2019/9/5/20851427/wsu-vs-new-mexico-state-football-recap-breakdownBrian Anderson2019-08-30T08:00:00-07:002019-08-30T08:00:00-07:00Cougs vs. Everybody: Breaking down WSU’s 2019 schedule
<figure>
<img alt="Everybody gettin’ beat in Martin" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vhkGsFEIWXmE78zA6r15dQw6_pU=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65143124/1033990362.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Everybody gettin’ beat in Martin | Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Let’s look at the ebbs and flows to try and figure out the hot spots.</p> <p class="p-large-text" id="9R0XNt"><em>This is the latest in our series of stories previewing the 2019 </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/"><em><strong>Washington State Cougars</strong></em></a><em> football season. For other installments, </em><a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2019-wsu-football-preview"><em><strong>click here</strong></em></a><em>.</em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="hu6k31">
<p class="p--has-dropcap" id="ReV4gV">Week one. Where everyone is undefeated and the possibilities are endless. (Unless you’re Arizona or Miami.) The <a href="https://collegefootball.ap.org/ap/poll">Associated Press writers have said who they think are good</a>, or has the best potential to be good, or might finish with the best records — their guidelines range from nebulous to nonexistent, depending on who you ask; and 65 NCAA head coaches, chosen at random, told one of their quality control people to rank a thing about<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fsports%2Fncaaf%2Fpolls%2Famway-coaches-poll%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cougcenter.com%2F2019%2F8%2F30%2F20838027%2Fwsu-cougars-football-schedule-breakdown" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> who they thought was good</a>. </p>
<p id="VrEtBS">Wazzu landed on both these lists! The Cougs are <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2019/8/19/20812320/wsu-cougars-2019-preseason-poll-ap">No. 23 in the AP Poll</a> and were slotted a little higher in the <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/2019/8/1/20750272/wsu-cougars-coaches-poll-pac-12">Coaches Poll at No. 21</a>. </p>
<p id="mTNOhD">No one gets to show how good they are until week one. Or how bad, for that matter. All we really have is a general idea of the direction a program is trending and a keen eye for trap games. </p>
<p id="B62xR6">It’s Cougs vs. Everybody in 2019, so let’s walk through the Washington State Cougars season and see what else is on the schedule for these Everybodys they have to face. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="uUbYLl">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: Arizona Bowl-New Mexico State vs Utah State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tqzRV834iGaBwdmvFBiHajQiNv8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19129775/usa_today_10505964.jpg">
<cite>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
<figcaption>This was only two years ago, but it feels like a lot longer than that.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="LhCPt7">
<strong>WEEK 1: </strong><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/new-mexico-st-aggies"><strong>New Mexico State Aggies</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="8Vjf5a"><strong>Saturday, August 31</strong></p>
<p id="ZZI77v"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="pNrW05">Head coach <span>Doug Martin</span> is entering his seventh year with New Mexico State and 2019 will be the school’s second season as an FBS independent. The Fun Belt booted the Aggies after they hit a high-water mark in 2017 by winning six regular season games and beating Utah State in the Arizona Bowl, NMSU’s first bowl game in 57 years. </p>
<p id="VBuKOa">New Mexico State scheduled … aggressively. As concerned as they may be about their trip north to Pullman, a trip to Tuscaloosa looms ahead the next week. And no one wants to be on the opposite sideline from a Bama team that will probably sleep walk against Duke in a noon game in week one and get yelled at by Nick Saban about effort for five straight days. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="pj9pGM">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: Northern Colorado at Colorado" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HLTkb7gZWRpzIAPTSC2s-vK0RJE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19129782/usa_today_10284431.jpg">
<cite>Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
<figcaption>This picture is two years old, but Jacob Knipp is still the quarterback.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="hQCjWN"><strong>WEEK 2: Northern Colorado Bears</strong></h3>
<p id="8cK2O9"><strong> Saturday, September 7</strong></p>
<p id="MFSwM9"><strong> Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="w3gbwF">The first of the three bear mascot teams WSU will face went 2-9 last year in the Big Sky and got blown out by Eastern 48-13 in November. Head Coach Earnest Collins was fairly candid about their 2019 opener against San Jose State saying, “It’s time to go out and see where we’re at.”</p>
<p id="Di7utK">The Bears return a sixth-year starter at quarterback in Jacob Knipp and have a new offensive coordinator from the Colorado School of Mines. <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fncaaf%2F2012%2F10%2F29%2Fbob-stitt-fly-sweep-colorado-school-of-mines-college-football-offense%2F1659819%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cougcenter.com%2F2019%2F8%2F30%2F20838027%2Fwsu-cougars-football-schedule-breakdown" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Long live the Stitt-sweep</a>. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="K170p7">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="University of Houston Introduces Dana Holgorsen" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AjjTysoeMATewg5BEfx5Vko2rcw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19129868/1089489492.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>All smiles.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="pmPqHP">
<strong>WEEK 3: </strong><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/houston-cougars"><strong>Houston Cougars</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="wG2yte"><strong>Friday, September 13</strong></p>
<p id="u0a82t"><strong>Location: </strong>NRG Stadium (“neutral field”) in Houston, Texas</p>
<p id="LYTOr3">Washington State went 13-1 in the 1907 football season and their basketball team went 12-3. Both of these teams were coached by the same man, John Reinhold “Chief” Bender. After his time at Wazzu and a couple other stops in the college ranks, he became a physical education instructor at the University of Houston in the 1920’s and is credited as their first head football coach. </p>
<p id="xuUyOB">This is only notable because he named that volunteer squad of students the Cougars, after Washington State. In 1928 the student newspaper debuted and took the same name <em>The Cougar</em>. </p>
<p id="xinBIV">The Coogs — that’s how they spell it — fired head coach Major Applewhite after he won the division and got blasted by Army 70-14 in the Armed Forces bowl. Usually a short-sighted move but then again, <a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/UH-president-jokes-that-Major-Applewhite-needs-10787845.php">the UH President did say they’d fire coaches for going 8-4</a>. Surprisingly, they convinced Dana Holgorsen to leave a Power Five conference job with just a bit of a hot seat and come home to Texas pretty soon after, so maybe it was shrewd to send Applewhite on his way. </p>
<p id="gLYJsr">The offense has potential to be amazing and so does the defense, for opposite reasons. They’re projected 11<sup>th</sup> on offense and 118<sup>th</sup> on defense by Bill Connelly’s (<a href="https://twitter.com/ESPN_BillC/status/1164946799473451010">soon-to-be-renamed</a>) <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/13/16457830/college-football-advanced-stats-analytics-rankings">S&P</a>+. Houston opens the season at Oklahoma this weekend and gets Prairie View A&M the week before Wazzu comes to town. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="JrdfeU">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 24 Stanford at UCLA" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EZjhXBxmi1Dqe1Lqa9a2jx7S_jE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19137575/1065056612.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="sFnE2V">
<strong>WEEK 4: </strong><a href="https://www.bruinsnation.com/"><strong>UCLA Bruins</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="XRrvy2"><strong>Saturday, September 21</strong></p>
<p id="HHXrf6"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="1Yp24o">UCLA returns <span>Dorian Thompson-Robinson</span> at quarterback for year two under Chip Kelly. Kelly hasn’t coached a winning season of football since 2014 and is coming off a mostly bad 3-9 season that started out with five straight losses. </p>
<p id="ADVpVU">This year’s schedule is just as brutal. They opened at Cincinnati last night — who is picked by many to win the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/american">American</a> — and promptly lost, and now they host an always frisky San Diego State team and No. 4 <a href="https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/">Oklahoma Sooners</a> before heading up to Pullman. We should have a good idea whether UCLA is still only good in spurts or has actually stepped up to being a tough out by the time they come to Martin. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Spy7KC">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Washington v Utah" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/05vRywqRaX0SGLJUlcpi0leenkw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13180765/1039771964.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Utah’s hopes rest on Tyler Huntley.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="S9A2NL">
<strong>WEEK 5: </strong><a href="https://www.blocku.com/"><strong>Utah Utes</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="h773j5"><strong> Saturday, September 28th</strong></p>
<p id="2E7uBC"><strong> Location: </strong>Salt Lake City, Utah</p>
<p id="T8aou4">The No. 14 Utah Utes are a media darling, not only picked to win the Pac-12 but many national pundits have them as a dark horse playoff contender. The Utes brand is defense and the brand is strong. Utah likely has the best group of defensive lineman in the conference. </p>
<p id="HNH6pg">The Utes opened the season last night with The Holy War at Brigham Young in Provo, which was a bit of a struggle early, but they pulled away late. Then they play host to Northern Illinois and Idaho State before a game that could likely decide the south division, a trip to the Coliseum for a date with the Trojans on September 20. Depending on how that goes, the Cougs could either be facing a juiced up Utah team believing its press clippings or a somewhat demoralized squad that is facing the reality of preseason goals slipping away. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="9CulMp">
<h3 id="oGF1h0"><strong>WEEK 6: BYE </strong></h3>
<p id="jXdOJR"><strong>Saturday, October 5</strong></p>
<p id="8lm9em"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="cz5oS5">Excellent spot for a bye. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="gOUwmg">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: Pac-12 Media Day" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1Rg7yhGbaWEoS6X66gRiunbydCQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138192/usa_today_13101769.jpg">
<cite>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
<figcaption>Herm Edwards is comfortable.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="oIc9UR">
<strong>WEEK 7: </strong><a href="https://www.houseofsparky.com/"><strong>Arizona State Sun Devils</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="TJs7wV"><strong> Saturday, October 12</strong></p>
<p id="LpytUM"><strong> Location: </strong>Tempe, Arizona</p>
<p id="OxNrEv">Herm Edwards was a suspect hire … until he wasn’t. Edwards and his Sun Devils surprised just about everyone by winning seven games last year. But gone are <span>Manny Wilkins</span> and N’Keal Harry. Edwards named true freshman <span>Jayden Daniels</span> the starter over junior <span>Dillon Sterling-Cole</span> this week ahead of their opening game against Kent State, which the won handily. </p>
<p id="BVdPyz">ASU also goes to East Lancing to face No. 18 Michigan State before conference play kicks off with games against Colorado and at Cal. Wazzu gets them off a bye but the Sun Devils also get a bye before their game against the Cougs. ASU gets to look ahead to road trips at Utah and UCLA before another bye in the weeks after. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="G6BZdK">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: Oregon State at Colorado" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9xXgO6JoloVhWgSu7fAYq5nPMc0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138217/usa_today_11536172.jpg">
<cite>Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="FJvO8d">
<strong>WEEK 8: </strong><a href="https://www.ralphiereport.com/"><strong>Colorado Buffaloes</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="A4K61R"><strong> Saturday, October 19th</strong></p>
<p id="HKbqYw"><strong> Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="AriIo3">Colorado enters year zero for Head Coach Mel Tucker, who was previously Georgia’s defensive coordinator under Kirby Smart. They are most likely in rebuild mode, but they do have <span>Steven Montez</span> returning at quarterback and perhaps the best player in the conference, wide receiver Laviska Shenault, Jr. </p>
<p id="yX1Gwr">The Buffs host old rival No. 24 (!) Nebraska in week two and open conference play with the Arizona schools. They go to Autzen for a Friday night with the Ducks the week before coming to Pullman and host USC for another Friday nighter the week after. That’s a bad sandwich for CU … who finishes the season hosting No. 25 Stanford, bye, No. 13 Washington, and going to No. 14 Utah. </p>
<p id="dyUsyv">Brutal. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="IrdiMW">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Redbox Bowl - Michigan State v Oregon" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VXQ4ZOOgcGqRCKNFAqsYZXD3P-c=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138233/1088738898.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="6wEGJh">
<strong>WEEK 9: </strong><a href="https://www.addictedtoquack.com/"><strong>Oregon Ducks</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="YXD7Yi"><strong> Saturday, October 26</strong></p>
<p id="jmvK4v"><strong> Location: </strong>Eugene, Oregon</p>
<p id="K3gADh">The hype machine is rolling again for No. 11 Oregon. And for good reason. The Ducks have one of the best offensive lines in college football and a potential Heisman candidate at quarterback. All eyes will be on the Ducks this Saturday when they open the season against No. 16 Auburn in JerryWorld. No doubt this game isn’t only important for Oregon, but the national perception of the entire Pac-12 rides on how good they look against an SEC team that finished 3-5 in conference last year and is starting a freshman quarterback. </p>
<p id="G8DhFC">Oregon opens conference play on the road against Stanford before hosting Cal and Colorado. They play at Montlake the week before WSU and go to USC the week after. Classic let-down-look-ahead sandwich positioning for the Cougs with this one. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="bjJFYN">
<h3 id="ndJIkF"><strong>WEEK 10: BYE</strong></h3>
<p id="p76Lk5"><strong>Saturday, November 2</strong></p>
<p id="rA9LsL"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="YNS4dF">Another well scheduled bye week to break up road trips. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ickzbP">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 26 Cheez-It Bowl - Cal v TCU" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VVgtS08dvksw-p6_TiUu2wffmEc=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138247/1075420726.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="mGeJon">
<strong>WEEK 11: </strong><a href="https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/"><strong>California Golden Bears</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="ZLwNoi"><strong>Saturday, November 9</strong></p>
<p id="FM3YUv"><strong>Location: </strong>Berkeley, California</p>
<p id="8Qor1V">Cal has a great defense, potentially a top 10 in college football level great. Their secondary is touted as the best in the conference. They are fantastic, defensively. They are the opposite, offensively. Cal was bad on offense last year (118<sup>th</sup> in S&P+) and might’ve succeeded at getting worse, losing their leading rusher <span>Patrick Laird</span> and top four receiving targets. Quarterback Chase Garbers is back, so there’s that. </p>
<p id="hMPH1S">They are inverse Houston. </p>
<p id="C8LLKu">The Bears have a tune up against UC Davis in week one before jumping right into the deep end of the pool with a road trip to Seattle to face No. 13 Washington in week two. They finish up the non-conference with a game against North Texas — and Seth Littrell has perhaps the best offense in C-USA — and a trip to The Grove to play Ole Miss (hilarious culture clash) who recently staffed Mike McIntyre and Rich Rodriguez as their Defensive and Offensive Coordinators, respectively. </p>
<p id="V6IiOc">Cal is on bye the week before WSU, coming off a trip to Salt Lake City. After Wazzu, they host USC, go to No. 25 Stanford for The Big Game, and finish the season at UCLA. </p>
<p id="yHFdsy"><em>There’s a few WSU-USC back-to-backs coming up in the schedule ... with </em><span><em>Graham Harrell</em></span><em> taking over as OC for the Trojans, it’s worth noting Cal and Oregon are getting an uncut dose of Air Raid from Wazzu the week before he plays them. It’s basically two weeks of prep. Just something to think about.</em></p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="6lBvMe">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 31 Sun Bowl - Stanford v Pitt" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YA3BD-hKYq1YetK0MswvDdADUlQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138251/1077007008.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Jorge Salgado/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="7THpcu">
<strong>WEEK 12: </strong><a href="https://www.ruleoftree.com/"><strong>Stanford Cardinal</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="z4jppm"><strong>Saturday, November 16</strong></p>
<p id="nRdEhc"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="1sDnCz">Stanford opens the season at home with a shot at redemption for the 2014 “body clock” game against 2018 Big Ten West Champions Northwestern. Then they play at USC. Then for some terrible reason they thought it would be a good idea to play at UCF in Orlando. Then they host No. 11 Oregon. A breather against Oregon State in Corvallis provides short relief, then they host No. 13 Washington the week after that. Even if the Ducks and Huskies are at home, that’s rough. </p>
<p id="xxXSF6">It is not unrealistic that Stanford starts the season 1-5. They could also have five or six wins with three over AP Top 25 schools by the first week of October. Who knows? Some think KJ Costello is a really good quarterback and can carry a Stanford team that quit doing Stanford things last year, others point out that he won’t have <span>JJ Arcega-Whiteside</span> to throw jump balls to. </p>
<p id="vVSgfi">The Cardinal go to Colorado the week before coming to Pullman and finish the season hosting Cal and No. 9 Notre Dame. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="0Cc1MW">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Utah v Oregon State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I3IStfsAbHkpIfpOrBR1wUv1sIo=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9235905/614899130.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="gsD3xk">
<strong>WEEK 13: </strong><a href="https://www.buildingthedam.com/"><strong>Oregon State Beavers</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="O2Wnfo"><strong>Saturday, November 23</strong></p>
<p id="LUFbHM"><strong>Location: </strong>Pullman</p>
<p id="uo17Vq">Perfectly timed bye week, again. </p>
<p id="nezvlP">I kid.</p>
<p id="XbXbo6">Don’t be one of their three wins because of a trap game. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ojMBQt">
<div class="c-wide-block"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: JAN 01 Rose Bowl - Washington v Ohio State" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fQAGPwNyepVEj_kSH1-djL2-Kvw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19138255/1076656706.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="CJe7u2">
<strong>WEEK 14: </strong><a href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/"><strong>Washington Huskies</strong></a>
</h3>
<p id="NBlIS0"><strong>Saturday, November 29</strong></p>
<p id="0HFCGR"><strong>Location: </strong>Seattle</p>
<p id="pAZooJ">No. 13 Washington plays host to Eastern to open the season before starting quarterback <span>Jacob Eason</span> gets tested by Cal in week two. The Huskies get all but one of their big games at home. They go to No. 25 Stanford in week six, but host USC in week 5, No. 11 Oregon in week eight and No. 14 Utah in week 10. The Huskies have two road trips broke up with a bye at Oregon State and at Colorado before hosting the Cougs for the Apple Cup. </p>
<p id="UkpDi6"></p>
<p id="2tsFPr"></p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2019/8/30/20838027/wsu-cougars-football-schedule-breakdownBrian Anderson2018-12-27T08:44:53-08:002018-12-27T08:44:53-08:00Iowa State’s defense presents a unique challenge for WSU’s Air Raid
<figure>
<img alt="Iowa State v TCU" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A_b5RhBtypjLMSEm9p7mDWaYJek=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62742991/1043405522.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Cyclones employ a lot of creativity.</p> <p id="iiJt7O">Defensive alignment hasn’t changed all that much in the modern football era. A defense used to be defined by the organization of its front, the number of defensive lineman and linebackers; 5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 33 stack, 4-2-5. </p>
<p id="W8Hg7e">As offenses spread out, defenses utilized hybrid athletes with the goal to be more <em>multiple</em>. Ask a defensive coach now and they’ll say “everyone is a 3-4 or 4-3 or 4-2-5”. The old nomenclature doesn’t tell you very much when nearly every team is a mix of both odd and even fronts, sometimes with the same personnel, and play most of their snaps against spread offenses in Base Nickel. </p>
<p id="bGoyiR">As offenses evolved, defenses in turn adapted to play with more coverage backs and multiple schemes from similar alignments. </p>
<p id="VuTMi5">And that’s kind of where it’s sat for a while. </p>
<p id="0kEsUj">But if you expose an organism to enough radiation, mutation is inevitable. </p>
<p id="heG3q8">Therefore, it’s no surprise the next defensive evolution came from the Big 12, as those teams face spread passing attacks week in and week out. They’re immersed in it. If anyone was going to come up with a unique way to combat the spread, it’d be a coordinator in the Big 12. </p>
<p id="iQ9e4U">It was, however, a surprise it happened in Ames. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="yhKYKW">
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="NCAA Football: Iowa State at Akron" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/g8kJ-HsX-tzfaUZ1Z5QbkRygv3c=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13652143/usa_today_10302780.jpg">
<cite>David Dermer-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
<figcaption>ISU defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="gVU7hR">Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock has 34 years of coaching experience, most of it as a DC, with a long stint as Youngstown State’s Head Coach from 2001-09. Coach Heacock spent two years as a grad assistant for Bo Schembechler and five years as an assistant and coordinator with Jim Tressel, from where most of his coaching connections and influences — Darrell Hazell specifically — trace back. </p>
<p id="dAgTCE">Matt Campbell admired Heacock’s defenses at Kent State under Hazell and lured him away from Purdue’s secondary to coordinate his Toledo defense in 2014, then brought him along to Ames when he became the head coach at ISU a year later. </p>
<p id="wXWmHp">In 2017 — after Iowa State beat Akron 42-14 in the third game of the season — Heacock, in a move only akin to a mid-life crisis, scrapped their entire defensive scheme built on his decades experience with B1G influences. He wanted something different. Something faster. </p>
<p id="cLh7oT"><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F356867%2F2018%2F05%2F17%2Fiowa-state-defense-drop-eight-jon-heacock%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cougcenter.com%2Falamo-bowl-2018-wsu-vs-iowa-state%2F2018%2F12%2F27%2F18141788%2Fwsu-vs-isu-defense-preview-air-raid" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Heacock told <em>The Athletic </em>in a great interview</a> about how his staff tossed out their playbook and took a vote on who the best defensive players were on their team. The Cyclones were on bye that week and had about 10 days to install something that wouldn’t get eviscerated by the <a href="https://www.barkingcarnival.com/">Texas Longhorns</a>. </p>
<p id="mLXYxP">That vote? Three defensive lineman, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and three safeties. </p>
<p id="sRznH1">The Iowa State staff blended new 3-down principles with Heacock’s typical 4-down alignment and more or less found a way to create a 33-stack with their personnel. That, in and of itself, is hardly revolutionary — WSU has seen a lot of it, most recently with Jeff Casteel at Arizona from 2012-2015. </p>
<p id="RPWaz8">What makes Iowa State’s defense so unique and good, especially in a Big 12 full of offenses (like Oklahoma) that can present so many different formation looks without subbing, is their ability to seamlessly flip from an even front base nickel (five DBs) to an odd front base dime (six DBs) and disguise coverages in both. It really is an amalgamation, so much so that Campbell wasn’t even sure what to call it. </p>
<p id="MLuO8b">The Cyclones tentatively mixed in their odd front defense during the game that next week, leaning on it more in the second half, and held Texas to 17 points in a hard fought loss. </p>
<p id="5Aj1Fr">Iowa State went on to hold every remaining team — outside the state of Oklahoma — on its schedule to 20 points or less, including a near shutout of a very good TCU squad and a narrow loss to an explosive West Virginia offense. </p>
<p id="faRrRA">This year has been fairly similar; both seasons rank 31st defensively in <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/13/16457830/college-football-advanced-stats-analytics-rankings">S&P</a>+, and the offensive S&P+ ranks are in the 70s. They’re yielding slightly less yards of total offense per game (351 in 2018 to 366 in 2017) and 10 yards less through the air (228 yards per game). </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Zk0aII">
<p id="O51Ard">The Cyclones will primarily set up in their Base Dime package against WSU. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PNeWHmQzckmw0-M0VXI2OLUtsvk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13650016/IowaState_1.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="LQIjfn">Iowa State will occasionally flip what they key as formation strength, but in most examples we’ve seen they’ll shade strength to the RB, even if he’s into the boundary. The first, most obviously different thing about their alignment are the three safeties at near-identical depth. They will play with sending one or more of them on run-blitzes. </p>
<p id="EuapRT">For the most part, the middle safety is taking on the familiar-type role of the middle backer in a Tampa-2 defense. He’ll look to undercut the strong side and play robber to any in-breaking route. </p>
<p id="gXK96P">Iowa State does a great job hiding and changing what they do, coverage-wise, flipping between Quarters (sky) and Cover-2 (Cloud) without much pre-snap indication. This effectively muddies the read for a quarterback, especially in the intermediate zones where OLBs and CBs both drive late. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CyI4nbCyI_aow9vg3rpeCSi0UCI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13650017/IowaState_2.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="jwIl9z">Here the Cyclone corners are safeties are actually flipping back and forth before the snap. It doesn’t amount to much more than window dressing but should give you an idea of their versatility in coverage. </p>
<p id="pZxErn">The main difference between “Cloud” or “Sky” and the Cover-2 / Cover-4 you are probably more accustomed to hearing are matching rules. </p>
<p id="wIsJ9i">In Cloud, corners match a vertical route by WR1 (the outsidemost receiver), driving on any out-breaking route, and safeties are responsible for WR2 vertical routes, mostly playing deep half. There isn’t such a thing as a “squatting corner in the flat” in this coverage; they’re either carrying the WR1 or cutting him for run support. The OLB will hold in the hook-to-curl zone until pushed (when the RB crosses his face) to the flat. </p>
<p id="rz0o2w">In Sky, the typical four-read defensive scheme, the corner carries WR1 vertical and the safety drops to fill the curl zone and will carry WR2, with the OLB flowing to the flat. Sky allows the safety to be added to the run fits, and is typically unaccounted for in box-count zone running teams (like Wazzu). </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RlAE-zlg60cBvKlMYTxlOJ5AST0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13650019/IowaState_3.jpg">
</figure>
<p id="qaCjHA">This is the primary look Iowa State give 20-personnel. There appear to be five defenders in the box which would favor the offense in any of their zone schemes, especially to the weak side — some teams did have a lot of success aligning formation strength in to the boundary and running counter to the weak/field side. The safeties play with incredible speed against the run game. Their corners to cut across the WR1, funneling most everything back into an alley that is quickly populated with Cyclone colored jerseys. </p>
<p id="BO0h0q"><a href="https://matchquarters.com/2018/03/02/running-dime-as-your-base/">You can read a more detailed breakdown of Iowa State from Coach Alexander at MatchQuarters.com</a>. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="CggP48">
<p id="5nCc3M">Iowa State has had a great deal of success beating spread passing teams. They also only faced 15 pass attempts from West Virginia, 29 from Oklahoma, and 33 from Oklahoma State. Not exactly Air Raid-y. The Cyclones did shut down Texas Tech, holding them to 57.8 completion percentage and 5.8 yards per attempt, while picking them off three times. </p>
<p id="ERvkCl">The Cyclones aren’t particularly exceptional at any one thing, statistically speaking, ranking best in fields related to preventing explosive plays. They are a solid, good defense, that does everything pretty all right. </p>
<p id="olGERz">Multiple verticals can present some challenges, even in a match-coverage, and the quick game could be used effectively if OLB and Corner alignment is loose enough. Quick game could be lethal if there’s any kind of open-field tackling issues in the secondary on Friday. </p>
<p id="PKLMjG">Defensive coverage almost doesn’t matter for Mike Leach teams. Whatever is happening still boils down to the quarterback running through a progression.</p>
<p id="cY5Z1O">If the receiver isn’t open, the next guy in the progression will get the ball. The quarterback doesn’t necessarily need to identify what the secondary is doing, he just needs to see where they’re at ... and the Cyclones do a great job of confusing that. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="mJoNm2">
<p id="EPc3w6">I see this game being a lot like the Utah match-up. Yardage will come at a premium and the offense will have some uneven series dealing with all the different looks Iowa State will throw at them. </p>
<p id="3ocjDu">A lot of pundits are picking this as their favorite, or most anticipated bowl game, and it’s mostly due to Iowa State’s defense versus Wazzu’s offense. The flip side of that will matter too and it’s where I think the Cougs have a bit of an edge. </p>
<p id="2tjiRP">ISU has faced two really good defenses, TCU and Iowa, and put up a combined 17 points in those games. The Cyclones tallied 10 against the defense that’s most comparable to WSU via S&P+ — Texas. The only times ISU eclipsed 30 points were against defenses ranked worse than 80th in S&P+, and even that only happened three times all season. </p>
<p id="oS82Xv">The only defenses that’ve kept Wazzu below 30 were ranked in the Top 25 of S&P+ and as creative as Iowa State is, they aren’t on that level. </p>
<p id="fSXLID">WSU should be able to scratch out a handful of TDs and do enough good things on defense to keep Iowa State chasing the score all game. </p>
<p id="Qkjth1">Final score prediction:</p>
<p id="y23Yaw">Wazzu 34 - 28 Iowa State</p>
<p id="c609Th"></p>
<p id="84DpdH"></p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/alamo-bowl-2018-wsu-vs-iowa-state/2018/12/27/18141788/wsu-vs-isu-defense-preview-air-raidBrian Anderson2018-11-21T14:07:01-08:002018-11-21T14:07:01-08:00Pre Snap Read: The Apple Cup
<figure>
<img alt="NCAA Football: Arizona State at Washington" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n8y8g7A-njFutQoPHhPAy4IEHMQ=/0x0:2357x1571/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62380930/usa_today_11303922.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Pac-12 North and potentially a playoff spot are on the line, just not for the team everyone thought heading into the season.</p> <p id="NKo4JW">The <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> aren’t supposed to be here. </p>
<p id="wDlSKD">Games were to be played this season, sure, and Wazzu would only be playing in games that mattered to Cougs. No one else should care. Maybe they’d get to a bowl, but probably not, according to most people that write about the sport. </p>
<p id="nLDTnf">There’d be a nationally inconsequential fall played out on the Palouse and when the sun set on the season, WSU would — at best — be expected to slide into the role of spoiler for their cross-state rival. And probably face plant at trying to do even that. </p>
<p id="iBYfTu">Whatever team that was supposed to be isn’t the one wearing Crimson and Gray on the field this season.</p>
<p id="Vi60LN">Washington State was granted every excuse to not be any good. The Cougs’ past offseason consisted of: </p>
<ul>
<li id="On6fRQ">Mike Leach all but moving to Knoxville, creating a cascade of near-unprecedented turnover with his assistants; </li>
<li id="W1ECn6">their rising star defensive coordinator bolting to be a higher paid <em>de facto </em>back-up to Greg Schiano at The Ohio State; </li>
<li id="w5THzt">the strength coach moving up to the Chicago Bears; </li>
<li id="iO8zfv">the top two receivers from last season leaving the program; </li>
<li id="B5Ejq0">and what shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath but has to be said somewhere — the tragic suicide of presumed starting quarterback <span>Tyler Hilinski</span>. </li>
</ul>
<p id="yQsb1d">There’s enough adversity there to justify a mediocre season. Rather, there was enough adversity there to forge an incredibly strong team with an unshakable belief in one another.</p>
<p id="8sqACt">That’s the team Coug fans see every game. They don’t flinch. They won’t flinch. And they’ve found a way go on this run while having more fun than anyone in the nation. </p>
<div id="UCrO3h">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’ll challenge anyone in CFB to find me a team that loves one another more or is having the time of their lives as much as the Cougs from Pullman. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pirates?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pirates</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Team?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Team</a> <a href="https://t.co/1PLCj092l5">pic.twitter.com/1PLCj092l5</a></p>— Brock Huard (@BrockESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrockESPN/status/1061410228619493376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2018</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="VFfyw8">The Apple Cup pits two teams with two very different energies currently surrounding their programs. It’s intangible and hardly qualitative but you can feel it. One team is living completely in the moment — translating fun into momentum, escalating individual plays into series into games. </p>
<p id="V6TzfN">The other is battling against minor setbacks, moments of disappointment, fighting every week to get back what was awarded them in the preseason, to get what they think they deserve. Grasping at what they should’ve been. </p>
<p id="YJjXRC">The Cougs are playing fast and loose. You can see that in how they play the game, in their celebrations, post-game interviews, and on the sideline during games. In Martin Stadium, you can <em>feel</em> the acceleration when they hit the gas pedal. The Moment doesn’t rattle them. </p>
<p id="A4zPl1">Washington State is a team playing with house money, and a mustachioed graduate transfer with a bottle of Crown tucked into his waistband is calling all the shots, wearing nothing but aviators and a jock strap. <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-arizona-football-tv-schedule-score-news-preview/2018/11/19/18101858/the-monday-after-wsu-vs-arizona-recap">He has nothing to lose</a>. Neither do they. <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F657164%2F2018%2F11%2F16%2F16-reasons-why-gardner-minshew-is-the-perfect-washington-state-quarterback%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cougcenter.com%2Fapple-cup%2F2018%2F11%2F21%2F18106124%2Fwsu-uw-preview-pre-snap-read-the-apple-cup" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Sometimes you’ve gotta have a little bit of ‘screw it.’</a></p>
<p id="Mv7eXV">That is so on-brand Wazzu that the script would get rejected. </p>
<p id="lF4csJ">The Apple Cup is a game of contrasts in that way. Washington is the team that’s been visibly tight, the Huskies are the ones that were supposed to be here. Not us Cougs.</p>
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<p id="oXipVR">The <a href="https://www.uwdawgpound.com/">Washington Huskies</a> offense has been inconsistent at its best, oscillating somewhere between unstoppable — with <span>Myles Gaskin</span> motoring through defenses with ease and <span>Aaron Fuller</span> (40 percent of passing targets) wide open downfield — and looking wholly dysfunctional. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Washington v Colorado" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z3tqGgr10JAPsSbcAipG8ZI6mEI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13462695/852683776.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Gaskin and Fuller.</figcaption>
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<p id="GP8ePM"><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/13/16457830/college-football-advanced-stats-analytics-rankings">S&P</a>+ has a post-game evaluation metric called “Percentile Performance”, which takes into account the opponent and all the stats that occurred, then spits out that value into a bell curve. Washington’s offense has only been over 50% five times all season (WSU has been over 70% nine times this year), and their 62% performance against Oregon State last week was the first time they eclipsed that mark since Week Five. </p>
<p id="vGE2r1">Offensively, the Huskies thrive when they get positive first down yardage and stay ahead of the sticks, chewing up yardage until the next inevitable big play comes. They motion and formation adjust at the line to get a box-count advantage in the run game, which is primarily stretch zone and counter, with a TE pulling back across formation. That also forms the foundation for most of their play-action pass game. </p>
<p id="6MphX8">Their success rate drops off dramatically from 9th to 77th moving from 3rd-and-medium to 3rd-and-long due to some occasionally sketchy play at quarterback. <span>Jake Browning</span> has all the same deficiencies we’ve seen in him for years, but doesn’t get bailed out nearly as often by his teammates as he did in previous seasons. </p>
<p id="TMXvwj">If you really want to read someone torch <span>Browning</span>, <a href="https://thedraftnetwork.com/2018/08/09/washington-qb-jake-browning-scouting-process-over-results/">here’s an NFL scouting report from August</a>. Most of those criticisms are unabashedly harsh but also fairly true. The best way to disrupt the Washington offense is to force long down-and-distance scenarios and bring heat. <span>Browning</span> has the tendency to get a little frantic with pressure. Wazzu is 6th nationally in passing down sack rate and Washington’s offense is 105th nationally in that metric. </p>
<p id="yEwV4e">This is a team with a very hot and cold offense that is buoyed by a Top 10 defense. </p>
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<p id="9C5kaC">Washington’s defense is co-coordinated by Jimmy Lake (DBs) and Pete Kwiatkowski (OLBs). They run what’s on paper a 2-4-5 but what is in practice a base Nickel 4-2-5. That’s basically semantics in what you call edge rushers and occasionally they’ll fly to the flat in their Cover 3 or 4 scheme, justifying a linebacker designation. </p>
<p id="6QRQYm">More and more this season, especially against pass heavy offenses — like Stanford (?!), the only team to attempt more than 40 passes against them — they’ve gone to playing a real deep Two-Man. This is man coverage underneath with two high safeties. The Huskies aren’t afraid to start their safeties 15+ yards off the ball and they’re good enough to close on anything crossing in the intermediate. Those deep sets notch UW at No. 2 nationally in preventing explosive plays (“Passing marginal explosiveness”). </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nsl5ThImCjfzVcsFxyX34kTKdbw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9748357/UW_C1.jpg">
<figcaption>From 2017 season. It’s the same stuff. </figcaption>
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<p id="El4HIb">Expect them to switch between Two-Man & Cover 4, and Man-Free & Cover 3, disguising either zone coverage with the safety count and box pressure. The net-net of all this — the match-up with <span>Max Borghi</span> and <span>James Williams</span> out of the backfield against UW’s great senior linebackers <span>Ben Burr-Kirven</span> and <span>Tevis Bartlett</span> could be huge for short-yardage and red zone plays, while <span>Dezmon Patmon</span>, Easop Winston, and Tay Martin could see a few one-on-one’s with a pair of very good corners, and the main show to watch could be <span>Jamire Calvin</span> against <span>Taylor Rapp</span> at safety in the middle of the field. </p>
<p id="OHsr1Y">What they aren’t good at is getting to the quarterback. The Huskies rank 118th and 88th in standard down and passing down sack rates, respectively. They rank 10th in the PAC-12 with just 17 sacks on the season (WSU’s defense has 34). </p>
<p id="5SeFo0">Two defensive backs — <span>Myles Bryant</span> (3) and <span>Rapp</span> (4) — lead their team in sacks. From that Two-Man look, they’ll roll the boundary safety to the middle of the field playing Cover 1 (Man-Free) and blitz the field safety. Or roll the safety to the flat and blitz the corner (<span>Bryant</span>). They do this pretty frequently, specifically in the middle of the field with the ball on the right hash. That should be an automatic quick slant to the backside but don’t be surprised if WSU gets aggressive and goes vertical against it with a one-on-one outside. </p>
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<h2 id="OIUuuL">How I see the game playing out</h2>
<p id="O1XRQw">Of note, it’s November in Pullman <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2018/11/21/18106842/apple-cup-weather-mountain-passes-wsu-vs-uw-wsdot">and the weather is supposed to be weather</a>. Light rain and slight wind in the afternoon will give way to an inch or two of snowfall that night. Right now, the 5:30 p.m. kick off is right at that rain/snow interface. As we saw in the Colorado game, wind can be a little tricky, but any kind of rain or snow should be manageable for the WSU offense. </p>
<p id="kS7Syc">After Arizona and Oregon it’s hard to imagine anything other than a lightening bolt first half. This one, however, figures to be a mostly back and forth field position affair through the first handful of possessions, with each side getting a couple scores and a few timely stops. WSU will have to pitch through a couple bad series and rely on the defense to stand tall. </p>
<p id="nucGd4">The third quarter will happen, the only quarter this season in which WSU is averaging less than a touchdown. </p>
<p id="dF0NfJ">Then the WSU offense gets there’s in the fourth. Wazzu is 3rd nationally in average fourth quarter points (12.0) and UW is fourth from last (3.3). The Huskies average less than eight points a game in the second half and <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-cal/2018/11/3/18057492/interactive-graphic-gardner-minshew-ii-air-raid-4th-quarter-data-tableau">Gardner Minshew is lights out in the fourth quarter</a>; </p>
<p id="uIpGAW">The Cougs’ quick scoring puts pressure on <span>Browning</span> to keep pace with the pass game and the Speed D front doesn’t ever let him get comfortable. </p>
<p id="DIKkvy"><strong>Final Score: WSU 31 - 24 UW</strong></p>
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<p id="G8MEiu">Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I’ll see you in Martin. Go Cougs! </p>
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https://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2018/11/21/18106124/wsu-uw-preview-pre-snap-read-the-apple-cupBrian Anderson2018-11-16T15:00:05-08:002018-11-16T15:00:05-08:00WSU vs. Arizona: Q&A with AZ Desert Swarm
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<img alt="BYU v Arizona" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1ZsVCUiUdF8W1Oc36y5THDI-Vdc=/0x0:2813x1875/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62346178/1026582542.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Find out how does the game looks from a Wildcat perspective.</p> <p id="LPqLn7">The No. 8 <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> (9-1, 6-1) welcome the <a href="https://www.azdesertswarm.com/">Arizona Wildcats</a> (5-5, 4-3) up north to the Palouse for a 7:30 PM PST kick on ESPN. The Mothership will showcase quarterback <span>Gardner Minshew II</span> — who just became an official Heisman Hopeful with the <a href="https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2018/11/15/18097148/wsu-vote-for-gardner-minshew-heisman-trophy-campaign">media campaign launched by Wazzu this week</a> — against the quarterback most everyone assumed would be the PAC-12’s Heisman candidate in the preseason, <span>Khalil Tate</span>. </p>
<p id="XRlsNJ">You know they booked this game hoping for #PAC12AfterDark shenanigans. </p>
<p id="A3JN6A">We caught up with Scott Moran from <a href="http://azdesertswarm.com">azdesertswarm.com</a>, SB Nation’s Arizona Wildcats blog to give us some perspective from their side. I also answered a few of his questions that’ll be tacked to the end of the article, following his responses. </p>
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<p id="NCvAw9"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Defensive Coordinator Marcel Yates hasn’t held the Wazzu Air Raid below 600 yards of total offense in two seasons at Arizona. Will this year be different for him? How?</em></p>
<p id="U35PLI">Arizona’s defense has still struggled this year, and it’s looking more and more like Yates just won’t be the guy to field a strong defense in Tucson. Against Gardner Minshew, I’d say there’s little reason for hope on slowing down Wazzu. However, there are some silver linings. One is the performance Arizona put together when hosting Oregon. Against one of the best quarterbacks in the conference and arguably the country, Arizona was able to tackle well and force pressure for the first time in a very long time. Another reason for hope is the continued development of the young stars. The three best defenders for the Wildcats are all sophomores, and they’ve set the pace for the rest of the defense.</p>
<p id="AilktU">If I had to choose whether Arizona’s defense will step up against WSU, I am gonna confidently pick no. However, I don’t think we’ll be totally picked apart, so there’s at least a chance for lightning in a bottle this Saturday.<strong> </strong></p>
<p id="jQsjNY"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Who should WSU fans know on Arizona’s defense? </em></p>
<p id="apJX2J">I mentioned three stud sophomores above, and they’re without question the three players Cougar fans need to know on Arizona’s defense. They’re linebackers <span>Colin Schooler</span> and <span>Tony Fields</span>, and cornerback Lorenzo Burns. <span>Schooler</span> has 101 tackles already this season, and he’s involved in almost every play the opposition runs. Whenever the offense sells out to stop Schooler, <span>Fields</span> has more than enough talent to capitalize on the mismatch, and he’ll definitely make some key stops.</p>
<p id="4A7QnC">Since we’re facing a Mike Leach team with Minshew at quarterback, it’s a good thing our secondary is probably our strongest defensive unit. Burns is the star corner in that unit, with 11 passes defensed, easily leading the team. It’s really no more than bad luck and a drop or two that he doesn’t have multiple interceptions. Burns will be matched up with one of Wazzu’s many great receivers, and he’ll need to play the lockdown D he’s been capable of for Arizona to have a chance.</p>
<p id="6mEhvn"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Arizona looks like they righted the ship in the middle of the season with two strong offensive performances in a row; are they better now than they were in September? </em></p>
<p id="LCuz0i">Oh, this team is light years ahead of where they were in September. Going to the BYU and USC games in September, this team was BORING to watch. Tate was clearly more hobbled than he was letting on, the offense just couldn’t figure out Mazzone’s scheme (and some of his play-calling wasn’t great), and the defense was wasting it’s best performances on nights where the offense was just completely flat.</p>
<p id="nZO6OT">Now though, Tate is close to 100%, JJ <span>Taylor</span> has become the star I expected him to be, and the whole team seems to be clicking with the new staff. Sumlin and Mazzone burned an astonishing amount of their starting goodwill in September and early October, but they’re starting to build it back with the last two performances which were a blast to watch, and recruiting is doing a bit better. Washington State is a very hard match-up, but this team is clearly peaking at the right time.</p>
<p id="ixXwOn"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Do you think </em><span><em>Khalil Tate</em></span><em> is comfortable with OC Noel Mazzone’s system? A lot of people had Tate pegged as a dark-horse Heisman candidate for the conference, so why do you think it took a while for them to get things figured out? </em></p>
<p id="Wtso5E">I really think everybody in both the football program and the fan base didn’t realize how much Sumlin and Mazzone’s system was going to be different from RichRod’s. I was relatively happy with the Sumlin hire, and while I would’ve preferred someone different than Mazzone at OC, I thought it could’ve been much worse considering our coaching search didn’t start until after the bowl game.</p>
<p id="avzPyF">It became clear pretty fast that Sumlin and Mazzone weren’t budging an inch on their playbook. Considering the two of them had <span>Kyler Murray</span> at Texas A&M, I figured they’d have learned their lesson and at least met Tate in the middle on his skill set. It’s clear now though that they were playing the long game. Tate was a fine passer, but he got most of his air game done via play actions that resulted in wide open seam routes due to the explosive UA run game. Now, he can make the kind of throws a quarterback needs to make, while still being able to tuck it and run. I’m pleased with the results, although I’ll never truly forgive this staff for wasting this amount of talent on a transition year in a year where the Pac-12 South is so wide open (yes, even if we pull off a miracle and win the division anyway).</p>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Colorado v Arizona" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wDWGU-k64Z6vUaZSzjm3AB8eC5Q=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13450024/1056633368.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>Running back JJ Taylor is very, very good.</figcaption>
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</div>
<p id="MVBAL2"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Last year Tate and </em><span><em>J.J. Taylor</em></span><em> both rushed for nearly 150 yards a piece. Should WSU fans expect more of that again this year against a Coug defense that’s allowing an average 125 yards per game?</em></p>
<p id="P7lOYs">I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the Wazzu defense has what it takes to slow down Arizona. Alex Grinch was probably the best defensive coordinator in the country not named Venables in Pullman, and now Tracy Claeys has picked up exactly where Grinch left off. However, with a healthy Tate who seems to be comfortable again, there’s no true way to stop him, just slow him down.</p>
<p id="QqXxuC">Taylor might be a different story. <span>Gary Brightwell</span> was actually starting to make a push for the starting job in October, before an injury ended his season. Now Taylor is expected to bear a lot fo the burden in the running game. Against a big, powerful Wazzu front, it’s hard to see a 5’6” running back doing much. He’ll have to rely on his speed and blocking on the edge, which thankfully have both been impressive of late. I’d expect Taylor to rush for ~4 yards per attempt, and Tate for a touch more, but overall the running game battle feels like it’s destined for a draw to me.</p>
<p id="h4kMjm"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>Aside from those two, who should Wazzu fans know on Arizona’s offense?</em></p>
<p id="wITnCP"><span>Shawn Poindexter</span> isn’t our most explosive receiver, but he’s one of the very few Wildcats who’s not undersized thanks to Rodriguez’s recruiting. <span>Poindexter</span> stands at 6’5”, and that makes him a favorite of Tate when Mazzone calls for a deep ball. He’s got great hands and has drawn a lot of pass interference due to the mismatches he is able to create. I would be absolutely floored if Poindexter doesn’t lead the team in targets in such an important game.</p>
<p id="JCcEur">If there are any former offensive linemen or just guys who like watching the trenches at Martin Stadium, be sure to watch left tackle Layth Freikh. This is a very young offensive line who I think almost all Arizona fans are very proud of, but Freikh is the Senior leader protecting Tate’s blind side. I can’t think of a time when Tate was hurried from his blind side, and Freikh has been huge in opening the left side of the field to the running game. Like I said, this whole O-Line is super promising, but Freikh is without a doubt the leader.</p>
<p id="u2f2ZY"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>What are you most confident in about the Arizona Wildcats? </em></p>
<p id="gHyYT8">I have been on a roller coaster ride all year in terms of confidence in Arizona this season. I’ve been very wrong about most of my predictions this year, and at this point I might as well be throwing darts at a depth chart to pick who I’m most confident in. I’m gonna go ahead and take the cheap answer and say Khalil Tate. It might have taken seven games, but Tate is finally himself, and it is so important that this game comes after the bye. Tate is gonna be the healthiest he’s been in almost a calendar year, and he finally has the pocket presence to beat Wazzu through the air even if they’re playing well.</p>
<p id="MAJXsJ"><em><strong>CougCenter: </strong></em><em>How do you see the game playing out? </em></p>
<p id="vajveI">I am absolutely pumped to watch this game, since it’s got the two teams I’ve enjoyed watching the most in the Pac-12 this year. Before the season, Arizona fans were so happy about our Pac-12 schedule, since we got USC at home and dodged Stanford and UW from the North. Little did we know, we had a November road game against the Pac-12’s best team anyway, which is quite funny to me.</p>
<p id="lqrr8g">I’ve been so proud of this team for rallying late and Sumlin is giving me real reasons to hope for more success than he had at A&M (which was already more than we’re used to). In Pullman against Minshew and co. though, this game just is too tough. I think Vegas made an excellent call as usual when pinning this game at around -9 WSU, I’m gonna say Washington State pulls away lat to win 48-38. I’m hoping I’m wrong, but I doubt it. </p>
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<p id="b4RVjJ"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>This first post-Falk season was supposed to be a rebuild on the Palouse. How did Mike Leach turn this team into a Playoff contender?</em></p>
<p id="OBGuie">To be perfectly honest, I don’t think even the coaching staff knows exactly what they did. Coach Leach all but left in the off-season for Tennessee, which cascaded into a near entire turnover of the coaching staff. Notably, the running backs coach left for Oregon, joining up with another former Leach assistant in Joe Salave’a, the high-energy recruiter coaching outside linebackers left for UCLA, the strength coach left for the Chicago Bears and the hot-name defensive coordinator got a pay raise from The Ohio State University to be a glorified back-up to Greg Schiano. </p>
<p id="83bTUu">For all intents and purposes, it looked very much like the height Coach Leach and the Cougs reached in 2016 and 2017 would be the high water mark for his tenure. </p>
<p id="SZNyMc">Add to that -- which really shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as those other things at all but has to be said somewhere -- presumed starting quarterback <span>Tyler Hilinski</span> tragically took his own life and was found by a couple of his friends and teammates. </p>
<p id="F0HWeV">I think what we’re seeing now is a team that became very close getting through all that and has a lot of trust in one another. And more surprisingly, they’ve found a way to make this whole run a lot of fun. The talent was there to be a good team -- nothing on paper suggested a great team -- but these guys have been playing at an incredibly high level more consistently than we’ve seen on the Palouse in a long time. Coach Leach should get a ton of credit for that and the senior leadership, and players themselves, should get even more. </p>
<p id="1syCry">The whole good to (potentially) great jump was probably ignited by a transfer quarterback no one had heard of. Which might be the most improbable piece of this whole thing. </p>
<p id="XlCr2T"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>Gardner Minshew seems to be the perfect Leach quarterback. What makes him so special?</em></p>
<p id="eqdH8i">His energy. You can tell there’s a different feel to the offense with him taking snaps, that the receivers are playing with more juice. WSU’s offense is not the monotonous Papercut Machine it occasionally felt like when <span>Luke Falk</span> operated it. It takes a certain kind of bravado, moxy, swagger, [insert cliche here] to rock a mustache as a joke in camp to lighten things up and keep wearing it through a now Heisman Campaign worthy season. And as cliche as it is, you can tell certain guys have “it”, right? Khalil Tate is one of those guys. That’s what makes Gardner Minshew special. </p>
<p id="vGRDHq">And it hardly ever works out that a graduate transfer ends up exactly where he’s supposed to be, which makes this season all the more improbable. Minshew came to WSU for a last shot at playing ball before a coaching career and might be playing himself into the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-draft">NFL draft</a> and a trip to New York. </p>
<p id="Uk5YYP">What makes him good is a set of pocket skills that align perfectly with the Air Raid offense. He’s not overly fast or a dangerous running threat, but his pocket mobility is off the charts good. Wazzu’s low sack rate is partially due to the offensive line, partially to the quick passing game, and partially to his ability to buy time in a throwing position with his eyes downfield, escaping when he needs to. He’s also got a very quick release and is highly accurate with moderate-to-good arm strength. </p>
<p id="RMcuEg">Biggest of all, he moves through the progression quickly but not in a hurry and makes great decisions. He’s been running some version of the Air Raid since grade school but I don’t suspect the coaching staff even figured he’d be operating Leach’s version at this level, this quickly. </p>
<p id="aElRne"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>Tracy Claeys has picked up right where Alex Grinch left off. How important is that great defense to this team?</em></p>
<p id="dd1gzx">The offense is pretty good, ranking 15th in <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/13/16457830/college-football-advanced-stats-analytics-rankings">S&P</a>+, but it’s not Get-In-A-Shootout-Every-Week-And-Win good. WSU wouldn’t be having near the success it’s having without a defense that can be relied on for timely stops, at the very least. </p>
<p id="UdQwXb">The Cougs aren’t very big up front on the defensive line but they’re as fast and swarm with an almost overwhelming intensity. Claeys deserves some Broyles’ Trophy consideration with what he’s been able to do for the Cougs. He came in and didn’t make the defense learn anything new, the way he figured it’d be easier for him to learn their language and schemes than for all of them to learn his. So, you’re seeing Claeys scheme calls for a defense that isn’t really his Big Ten Brand and that he only started learning last spring. </p>
<p id="qi2Vs7">Most impressive are his in-game adjustments. They had a plan going into USC and got smoked on the first drive. He changed it up on the fly after that and was able to lock things down a lot better. Similarly with the Stanford game, holding the Cardinal to 10 points in the second half. As great as Alex Grinch was developing the defensive scheme, he had a little trouble in this area. The game in Tuscon last year was a good example of that. Grinch wanted to be more aggressive and schemed to fill-and-replace at the linebacker level with a strong safety. Khalil Tate annihilated that game plan almost instantly and they never adjusted with it. </p>
<p id="9PL0ED"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>Who is a lesser known impact player on offense Wildcat fans should know about?</em></p>
<p id="CCiPcJ">It’s a little harder to be lesser known on WSU’s offense, 10 players have over 20 receptions on the season. I’d go with No. 85 <span>Calvin</span> <span>Jackson Jr.</span>, our X receiver behind Davontaveon Martin, split out to the left. The name might be familiar for any of your readers that watched <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/last-chance-u">Last Chance U</a> on Independence Community College last season. He’s gotten a few receptions in most games this season and broke out a little against Colorado last week, catching 5 for 53 yards. He appears to have found his footing in the offense and could be more of a factor going forward. </p>
<p id="dtMhdH">The more obvious ones are No. 8 <span>Jamire Calvin</span> and No. 21 Max Borghi. Wazzu’s inside receivers are really fast and Calvin is taking the same position <span>River Cracraft</span> played as a possession receiver and turning it into a legitimate deep threat. Borghi should probably be a household name for PAC-12 fans by the end of the season. He’s a true freshman running back that’s averaging over five yards per carry with six TDs, and has over 30 receptions on the season with another four TDs through the air. </p>
<p id="epIsyE"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>What about on defense?</em></p>
<p id="K3E623">No. 27 <span>Willie Taylor III</span> at the Rush Defensive End. Taylor is a converted defensive back and can get a lot of pressure on the quarterback. <span>Logan Tago</span>, <span>Nnamdi Oguayo</span>, and Dominic Silvels are probably the more familiar-looking names along the defensive front and Taylor has been really impressive in his first season at the position alongside those guys. </p>
<p id="122EKC">No. 26 <span>Hunter Dale</span> is a stud at Nickel, too. </p>
<p id="6BfV1z"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>What are some things visiting Arizona fans should do in Pullman?</em></p>
<p id="TJSPuU">Are some of you really coming to Pullman...in November? Luckily the weather isn’t supposed to be too bad for this one. </p>
<p id="pJK3GA">Black Cypress is a really good spot for dinner downtown. If you want to check out the college bars on the hill, go to The Coug and Valhalla. Both will probably boo you when you come through the door but it’s all in good spirits. If you walk from there toward Martin Stadium you’ll come across the Hollingberry Field House, which is a huge indoor tailgating area with food vendors, tables and chairs, alcohol, TVs, and is an easy five minute walk to the Martin Stadium gate you’d want to enter. </p>
<p id="6SF358">If you walk past the Field House and outdoor track and cross Stadium Way you’ll be in the prime RV lot tailgating area. Most Cougs are very welcoming and will probably give you whatever they got on the grill and in their cooler just for making the trip up to Pullman. Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe is also out that way, which is where you can find some Cougar Gold or my personal favorite Crimson Fire cheese. </p>
<p id="PeMZ16"><em><strong>AZ Desert Swarm: </strong></em><em>Lastly, what’s your score prediction for the game?</em></p>
<p id="cKpf1K">With a (near) 10-point spread and O/U at 62.5, Vegas sees the game ending somewhere near 36-26 in favor of the Cougs. S&P+ is slightly more favorable for WSU, predicting a 14.9-point margin. I would expect Tate is as healthy as he’s been all season and more comfortable with Mazzone’s system than in any previous game. That makes me lean a little more on higher scoring and a closer outcome. </p>
<p id="S8Hb70">WSU 44 - 38 Arizona</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-arizona-football-tv-schedule-score-news-preview/2018/11/16/18097902/wsu-vs-arizona-preview-azdesertswarmBrian Anderson