CougCenter - Apple Cup 2015: Live coverage, score updates for WSU vs. WashingtonWhy Washington State? Well that's a stupid question.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47853/fave.png2015-12-02T14:18:24-08:00http://www.cougcenter.com/rss/stream/95718732015-12-02T14:18:24-08:002015-12-02T14:18:24-08:00Monday After: Don't stop believing!
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<figcaption>Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>We believed they could pull it off, even without Luke Falk. We were wrong. But the season isn't over.</p> <p>One of the greatest things the 2015 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.cougcenter.com/">Washington State Cougars</a> accomplished was convincing all of us who have been scarred by the past decade of football that it was OK to believe.</p>
<p>It was OK to believe that this team really was as good as it looked -- to believe that it wasn't a illusion.</p>
<p>Beating good teams on the road (Oregon, UCLA) ... coming within a field goal at the gun of beating a top 10 team ... handling bad teams (OSU, Colorado, Arizona) ... coming back from an early deficit against a pretty decent team (ASU) ... all of it convinced us that anything was possible.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9791418/apple-cup-2015-luke-falk-injury-peyton-bender">It was even possible that WSU could win the Apple Cup without Luke Falk</a>.</p>
<p>Whoops! Guess we kind of whiffed on that one!</p>
<p>Most of the authors here were in agreement on that, by the way. And although I find it pretty funny that somewhere along the way, "<em>WSU can win the Apple Cup with Peyton Bender</em>" became "<em>CougCenter says there's no drop off from Falk to Bender</em>" (for real -- who in their right mind would say that?), I actually think the fact that we all believed that WSU could win the Apple Cup ...</p>
<ul>
<li>with a redshirt freshman QB</li>
<li>making his first start </li>
<li>leading the most QB-dependent system in the country </li>
<li>at Husky Stadium </li>
<li>in a rivalry game</li>
<li>against the best defense in the conference </li>
<li>desperately playing for its season </li>
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<p>... is incredibly remarkable in and of itself. This is the kind of game we previously would have spent days trying to talk ourselves into, knowing in the back of our minds that it amounted to little more than mind tricks. ("It's a rivalry game! Anything can happen!") This time, we really believed it!</p>
<p>That would be a laughable accomplishment for a lot of other fanbases -- "<em>seriously, you're excited about the fact that you believed you could win a game?" </em>-- but those fans haven't been through what we've been through. They have no idea what it's like to turn on the TV every danged weekend <em>for three entire seasons </em>knowing you have absolutely no chance to win. They have no idea what it's like to constantly wait for the other shoe to drop when something good happens.</p>
<p>Hope was for everyone else. And this team ... they made it so that we didn't even have to hope. We moved past that. We just started to expect.</p>
<p>All of this is what made Friday so jarring.</p>
<p>Positing that WSU could win the Apple Cup with Bender began with a few assumptions, chief among them that the team would rally around Bender. Why wouldn't they? The Cougs had rallied against adversity all season.</p>
<p>They didn't. Nor were they able to rely on any of the other things we thought they probably could count on. <span>Dom Williams</span> dropped what was probably a TD on a screen to kill the first drive. Other wide receivers, including <span>Gabe Marks</span>, didn't make enough plays when there were plays to be made, either. (This, of course, was before Marks got broken in half fighting for extra yards in a game that was already lost.) And the defense, which had been so good and so aggressive, got put on its heels by a well-timed misdirection play, then stymied by a mediocre line, and then just run over.</p>
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<cite>Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p>Put simply, Bender wasn't blameless ... but he didn't get the help we all knew he was going to need, either. When friends asked me how I thought the game would go, I said I thought it was a high variance game -- Bender was almost certainly going to turn the ball over, and it was really just a matter of how bad the turnovers were. And when they happened, they were bad. And when it started to go bad, it just got worse, and for the first time all season, the Cougars were just incapable of getting the train back on the tracks.</p>
<p>Hence, Mike Leach's frustration in the postgame conference.</p>
<p>"I've been on both sides of kind of floodgate games. Fortunately I've been on the positive end of more of them than the negative end, but the thing is they're all the same," <a href="http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/no-20-washington-state-knocked-washington-45-10">he said</a>. "They're a deal that starts gradually and then it's a series of overcorrections. It's like fishtailing down a road or something like that. Then one thing leads to the next, leads to the next, leads to the next and that was us today."</p>
<div class="pullquote">For whatever reason our guys played wide-eyed. And we’ve clearly beaten teams that are considerably better than Washington this year. <span>-Mike Leach</span>
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<p>He continued.</p>
<p>"For whatever reason our guys played wide-eyed. And we’ve clearly beaten teams that are considerably better than Washington this year."</p>
<p>The biggest bummer of all this is that for everything this team accomplished this year -- eight wins! EIGHT! -- this game will inevitably leave a bad taste in many fans' mouths. Losing to Washington by five touchdowns is going to linger.</p>
<p>I had planned on writing something before the game on Friday to the effect of "go win this game, Cougs, because you deserve to cap this amazing season with something positive and memorable."</p>
<p>Well, they got it 50 percent right. That certainly was memorable!</p>
<p>The feeling I had over the weekend reminded me of the feeling I had after the New Mexico Bowl in 2013. Needing two wins in the final three games to get bowl eligible, WSU beat Arizona and Utah before losing a competitive Apple Cup on the road to a pretty darned good Washington team that would go on to win nine games. Coming off the mess that was Mike Leach's first season, 6-6 and a bowl game felt like a huge accomplishment worthy of celebration.</p>
<p>And it was ... right up until <span>Jeremiah Laufasa</span> and <span>Teondray Caldwell</span> <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2013/12/24/5242474/new-mexico-bowl-recap-wsu-vs-csu">fumbled away the New Mexico Bowl amid some questionable clock management</a>.</p>
<p>Fair or unfair (and you can mark me down for "unfair," but I digress), in the span of about 90 seconds, a team that had built up so much good will in making it to WSU's first bowl game in 10 years would mostly be remembered for blowing a game in epic fashion and failing to achieve a winning record.</p>
<p>Will that be the fate of these Cougs?</p>
<p>Obviously, the winning record is secure. But on the heels of last week's debacle, the result of the bowl game is going to have an outsized impact on how this season is remembered. Fans are going to champing at the bit for something, anything to help them forget the disappointment. It worked in 2001 and 2003, and it can work again.</p>
<p>Win this game, and the Apple Cup becomes an easy-to-dismiss result explained away by the absence of our all-Pac-12 first team quarterback -- just as we don't dwell too much on the 2001 and 2003 Apple Cup losses these days after winning the bowl games in those seasons.</p>
<p>Lose this game, and another that should be unabashedly celebrated will once again be remembered for how it ended.</p>
<p>So go win this game, Cougs -- you deserve that after everything you've accomplished this season.</p>
<h1>What We Liked</h1>
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<cite>Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p>Since there really wasn't anything in the game to like, let's go outside the game. You know what I like? I like the fact that the game was nearly a week ago and Huskies are <em>still </em>talking about WSU -- in particular those postgame comments from Leach.</p>
<p>We all love to go in on the Huskies for their arrogance, and sometimes I think it's a little unfounded. (I said <em>a little.</em>) But being mad after winning a game because the opposing coach isn't genuflecting enough? That's got to be the most Husky thing ever, right?</p>
<p>I'm not going to sit here and try and convince anyone that Leach wasn't trying to tweak Washington just a little bit with what he said, but for those of us who follow the Cougars closely and are used to deciphering his rambling, semi-coherent answers to seemingly simple questions, there was nothing in what he said that surprised me, nor anything he said that was incorrect -- hence the fact that WSU fans have collectively shrugged while Husky fans are <em>still</em> all bent out of shape over "poor sportsmanship" and "sour grapes."</p>
<p> </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just tuned in to <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsRadioKJR">@SportsRadioKJR</a> to hear <a href="https://twitter.com/dickfain">@dickfain</a> still whining about Mike Leach. On Wednesday.</p>
— Jeff Nusser (@NussCoug) <a href="https://twitter.com/NussCoug/status/672057502935060480">December 2, 2015</a>
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<p>This is pretty great, really. The fact that Leach is this far in their kitchen is incredibly fun. I listen to a lot of sports radio in the Seattle area, and without a doubt, a significant portion of the conversation has focused on WSU and not UW -- even from UW fans.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">WSU: 8-4 UW: 6-6 <a href="https://twitter.com/Softykjr">@Softykjr</a> says "right now, I would say that Mike Leach has the bigger problem" loooooooooool</p>
— Jeff Nusser (@NussCoug) <a href="https://twitter.com/NussCoug/status/671867773283229699">December 2, 2015</a>
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<p>Once upon a time, UW would have dismissed a giant victory over WSU as a typical result and not thought about it again. And yet here we are, almost a week later, and they can't even bring themselves to talk about whatever No Name Bowl they're going to end up in.</p>
<p>I like it.</p>
<h1>Who Impressed?</h1>
<p>[Moving on.]</p>
<h1>What Needs Work</h1>
<p>The nature of this particular loss begs an obvious question.</p>
<p><em>Does Luke Falk really mean </em><em><strong>that</strong></em><em> much to this team?</em></p>
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<img alt="Washington State v Washington" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EbDG5LPKAtI1mP-Xq2uFL9qgfrk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4317589/498965366.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images</cite>
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<p>I'm not just talking in terms of production. I'm talking about the <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-ucla/2015/11/17/9753764/the-monday-after-wsu-vs-ucla-recap-final-score">attitude that became the defining characteristic of WSU</a>. The Cougars had lost three games prior to Friday by a combined 15 points. In each of those games, WSU had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game in the final two minutes.</p>
<p>Not this game, which was more or less over when UW went up 17-3 in the second quarter. As Leach described it, the Cougars "gave in" to the adversity in a way they hadn't literally all season. The timing was obviously horrendous, but beyond that, it's perhaps a signal that the program as a whole isn't quite as far along as we thought.</p>
<p>And I don't mean that as some damning criticism. This is still a generally young team, one that perhaps is still just a <em>little</em> more fragile than we realized. They were a bit lost without the ability to look to their leader.</p>
<p>I know Leach likes to stress "no excuses," and in his position, he absolutely is correct to do so. But as fans, we don't have to do that. And since we're all adults who live and work in the real world, we can acknowledge what happens when organizations lose their leaders: Sometimes, it just doesn't go well.</p>
<p>I believe that there will come a time in the near future when the steely resolve we saw from WSU in the other 11 games will be found up and down the roster and it won't much matter who's taking the snaps, at least in terms of attitude. It's just clear we're not quite there yet.</p>
<p>And at the risk of conferring the title of Jeff Nusser, Internet PhD, upon myself in order to make a too-sweeping conclusion ... this sure seems to be another point in the favor of, "holy wow ... Luke Falk is some kind of special."</p>
<h1>Up Next!</h1>
<p>A BETTER BOWL GAME THAN UW. SO THERE.</p>
<p>(Tune in on Sunday to find out which one!)</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2015/12/2/9837634/apple-cup-2015-recap-final-score-wsu-vs-uwJeff Nusser2015-11-28T06:35:12-08:002015-11-28T06:35:12-08:00There's only one Apple Cup highlight: Whatever
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<p>There's really only one highlight</p> <p>There aren't any highlights from the official site, and you probably don't want to watch the actual highlights anyway. So with that, we'll give you the real highlight from the game.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="600" width="600" src="https://vine.co/v/ia5KapJHZ6w/embed/simple"></iframe>
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<p>This is Madison (Whatever Girl), about the only real positive thing from the Apple Cup. The best highlight for WSU was from the stands, and it's probably fitting for a school that already has two of the best college football crowd moment gifs.</p>
<p>Funny enough, Whatever Girl, as she'll be called forever now, was oddly therapeutic after a beatdown at the hands of Washington.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">So the highlight of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AppleCup?src=hash">#AppleCup</a> was <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCougsWhatever?src=hash">#GoCougsWhatever</a> girl Madison. Wish the 1 score was <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whatever?src=hash">#Whatever</a> buuuttt... <a href="https://t.co/q5M0ZxWTTt">https://t.co/q5M0ZxWTTt</a></p>
— Jason Gesser (@jasongesser) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasongesser/status/670483801814884352">November 28, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Current mood. Onto the bowl game. <a href="https://t.co/7sQDgsvo2N">https://t.co/7sQDgsvo2N</a></p>
— Rick Scott (@wsucougar08) <a href="https://twitter.com/wsucougar08/status/670515201796517888">November 28, 2015</a>
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<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trending... Madison... the "GoCougs Whatever Girl" and Kyla - the best traveling Cougs! Hanging at the Sheraton... <a href="https://t.co/zNaGDAuCWT">pic.twitter.com/zNaGDAuCWT</a></p>
— mamacracraft (@MamaCracraft) <a href="https://twitter.com/MamaCracraft/status/670420134364753920">November 28, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">When ur sis is trending on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gocougswhatever?src=hash">#gocougswhatever</a></p>
— Guchisamo (@robbiebobby32) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbiebobby32/status/670439777129263104">November 28, 2015</a>
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<p>Whatever Girl now joins <a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1717727/chug.gif" target="_blank">Fireball Guy</a> and <a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3305953/popcorn-guy-2_medium.gif" target="_blank">Popcorn Guy</a> in the Wazzu fan Hall of Fame, because whenever something bad is happening on the field for the Cougs, someone is becoming a viral Vine in the stadium.</p>
<p>Go Cougs! Whatever!</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/28/9810122/apple-cup-2015-highlights-whatever-vineBrian Floyd2015-11-27T15:56:05-08:002015-11-27T15:56:05-08:00Cougars lose Apple Cup 45-10
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<figcaption>Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Washington State's 2015 regular season ended with a dud as the Cougars struggled to finish drives in a 45-10 loss to Washington. The Cougars have now dropped six of the last seven Apple Cups.</p>
<p>The Cougars played without starting quarterback Luke Falk who sat out after leaving last week with an apparent concussion. To make matters worse, Gabe Marks appeared to suffer a potentially serious injury in the fourth quarter when got rolled up by a defender. Marks had to be helped off the field by the training staff after getting his leg rolled up on.</p>
<p>Peyton Bender replaced Falk in the lineup and played as many expected. Flashes of brilliance combined with some troublesome decision making. There was more bad than good against the Huskies, however. Following a promising opening drive that ended with WSU taking a 3-0 lead, WSU struggled to sustain drives. The Cougars didn't move the ball into the UW red zone until late in the third quarter and that was only because the defense set up field position off a turnover.</p>
<p>Turnovers were a colossal problem for WSU with several promising drives getting thwarted by turnovers. A pair of fumbles killed drives early and a Bender interception was costly later. The WSU offense finished with <i>seven</i> turnovers, including three that went for Husky defensive scores. The first pick-six thrown by Bender came on a route the Huskies read all the way and jumped with ease.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-video">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"> PICK 6! Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WSUvsUW?src=hash">#WSUvsUW</a> live on FOX! <a href="https://t.co/lCgIMvIQfi">https://t.co/lCgIMvIQfi</a></p>
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pac12Networks/status/670373096935829504">November 27, 2015</a>
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<p>Washington's defense was as good as advertised. The Huskies took advantage of Bender's inexperience and forced his hands at times. The Cougars also struggled to hit anything big down the field. Even though that worked at times, turnovers were crushing as WSU couldn't quickly move the ball down the field to make up scoring opportunities.</p>
<p>While WSU struggled to take advantage of its opportunities, the Huskies did not. Washington capitalized on turnovers and limited mistakes. The Huskies jumped out to a 24-3 lead and looked to be in full command of the game. A Marcellus Pippins interception gave the Cougars some life, but it was too little too late. Although the WSU defense didn't play especially bad, the Husky offense did very well to extend drives and chew up clock. The Huskies chewed up possession at times with three drives of at least 10 plays while also turning turnovers into points.</p>
<p>With the loss, Washington State finishes the regular season at 8-4. It's the Cougars best regular season since 2003. Now the Cougars will await to see what bowl they are headed to with announcements scheduled for Dec. 7. There are several options in play as the final Pac-12 standings shake out this weekend.</p>
<p>The Cougars will get an extended break, depending on what bowl they are selected for. They will get to take advantage of the 15 extra bowl practices -- a nice boost for a developing program -- and also use the time to get healthy. That could mean the return of Falk and possibly even starting left tackle Joe Dahl and wide receiver River Cracraft, both of which have been out with presumed injuries.</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-football/2015/11/27/9808450/wsu-vs-washington-final-score-apple-cup-2015Mark Sandritter2015-11-27T12:08:11-08:002015-11-27T12:08:11-08:00Apple Cup 2015: WSU vs. UW game thread!
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<figcaption>James Snook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>THE APPLE CUP IS HAPPENING. COME TALK ABOUT IT.</p> <p>You're out of jokes, photoshops and have reached peak Husky hatred, which means the Apple Cup is about to begin and your No. 20 Washington State Cougars (8-3, 6-2) have a chance to keep the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/27/9807462/wsu-football-vs-uw-peyton-bender-luke-falk-injury-apple-cup-2015">Washington Huskies</a> (5-6, 3-5) from reaching nearly automatic bowl eligibility.</p>
<p>The big news today is that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/27/9807462/wsu-football-vs-uw-peyton-bender-luke-falk-injury-apple-cup-2015">Luke Falk will miss today's game with a concussion</a> and Peyton Bender, a redshirt freshman, will make his first career start in the 108th meeting between the two teams. That news was almost expected and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9791418/apple-cup-2015-luke-falk-injury-peyton-bender">shouldn't have as big of an impact as you'd expect</a>, but it does give the Vegas oddsmakers some confidence in the Huskies.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2015/11/25/9802594/apple-cup-2015-wsu-cougars-washington-huskies-preview-schedule-game-time" target="_blank">Still not convinced?</a> <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/25/9796186/wsu-cougars-football-luke-falk-gabe-marks-dom-williams-apple-cup-2015" target="_blank">Gabe Marks exists. As does, Dom Williams</a>. <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9795410/apple-cup-2015-gabe-marks" target="_blank">Gabe's angry</a>, too. And there's that <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2015/11/25/9786384/interactive-preview-can-the-wsu-defense-step-up-apple-cup" target="_blank">defense that continues to build confidence</a>. <a href="https://t.co/xUtGETKzvK" target="_blank">And a coach that's excited</a>, as well. Enough already. Let's kick some Husky ass.</p>
<p>This one's for all the cups of apples. Who you got? Let's chat below.</p>
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<b>Game time</b>: 12:30 p.m. PT</div>
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<b>TV channel: </b>FOX</div>
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<b>Stream</b>: <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/" target="_blank">FOX Sports Go</a> (log-in required)</div>
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<b>Radio</b>: Embedded below</div>
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https://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/27/9807924/apple-cup-2015-wsu-vs-uw-football-game-thread-tv-time-streamBritton Ransford2015-11-27T10:44:00-08:002015-11-27T10:44:00-08:00Pre-Snap Read: Apple Cup Edition
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<figcaption>Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Learn a little bit more about how UW does things schematically in this Apple Cup breakdown. </p> <p>The Washington State Cougars (8-3) pack up their undisputed No. 20 ranking (Coaches/AP/CFB Playoff) and head over the pass to the West side of the state for a lunch date with rival Washington (5-6) on Friday (12:30 p.m. PT, FOX). The Huskies are a young team this year, with over half of their starters on offense and defense being freshman or sophomores, and have had the up and down season that would reflect that.</p>
<p>UW got a big upset win over USC, while the Trojans were going through major coaching issues, and completely waxed both Arizona -- when the Wildcats forgot to show up -- and the Beavers in Corvallis. A turnover-riddled effort cost them against both Cal and Utah, and what's best described as an offensive implosion cost them against ASU. Young teams do these things.</p>
<p>Throughout the season, it's been UW's defense that's kept most every game competitive while they wait and see if the offense can do enough damage to the scoreboard.</p>
<p>Head coach Chris Petersen brought along his Boise State defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski when he took over in Montlake. Coach Kwiatkowski (QUIT-cow-ski) had held the DC post for the past four years at BSU under Petersen, where his defenses allowed 18 points per game on average. The Huskies currently give up 18.5 (15th nationally) a game and rank 12th nationally in defense S&P+. They will be the best defense WSU has faced all season.</p>
<p>What made them so successful as a mid-major is what's making them one of the best defenses in a Power Five conference now: Versatility.</p>
<p>The Huskies will predominantly show a 4-2-5 look, or a base nickel. What makes it difficult is that nearly every skill guy on the field can transition to run-stop, pass rush or pass defense at the snap. Their base can morph into a 4-3 or 3-4 just as easily as it can to a Dime (6 DBs).</p>
<p>Against balanced 4-WR sets, like WSU's Ace, and 20 personnel (two RBs), you can read coverage from the boundary corner. He'll open is hips and drop with outside leverage in Cover 4, which is their go-to in the mid-field.</p>
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<p>From this base, the Huskies have a lot of options. They can bring an outside backer on a blitz, and roll the safety to that side (typically field side) down to cover the vacated underneath zone, transitioning to Cover 3. They've also blitzed the field safety and worked man coverage.</p>
<p>Against trips (3x1) the Huskies really like to play Cover 1, with a free safety ball-hawking, and work pattern-matching man coverage underneath. It allows the secondary to be really aggressive when the ball is in the air and generally provides multiple defenders around a receiver to prevent yards after catch, even when they do find holes in coverage.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">***</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The offense is what has prevented UW from being a really strong team this year. Which can be expected with a true freshman taking snaps. Browning has oscillated in passer rating between 90 and 200 with three games settled around 120 (for comparison, all of Luke Falk's games but Stanford have been between 120 and 180), consistency has been a bit of an issue.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Husky offense relies a little on downfield passing, and when Browning has been able to hit receivers they've done well. He's passed for over eight yards per attempt four times -- all of which resulted in UW wins. In the other games -- all losses except USC -- Browning's averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. The Husky receivers have all been capable of getting open downfield, just passes have tended to either be five yards out of reach or underthrown to the point it becomes a 50/50 ball. These deficiencies haven't deterred them from taking shots yet and I suspect it won't on Black Friday either.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Petersen, perhaps more than any other coach in the conference, uses formation and motion to make his offense really effective. When we previewed the game against Cal, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-vs-cal/2015/10/2/9428939/inside-the-drive-examining-cals-rush-defense">we highlighted a Husky offensive drive which I'd recommend checking out</a>. Nothing UW does in the run game is particularly complex, stretch zone - power - inside zone - counter, but how they get there usually is. They have a huge number of offensive formations.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">There's a chance you'll see this a lot.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> <figure class="e-image">
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<p style="text-align: left;">Anytime you see UW get into this Wing-T style formation, which we'll just call "Slot", there's a really good chance they either run counter with a pulling guard or work play action bootlegs off it. They motion into, and out of, this set fairly regularly.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">You'll see Browning exaggerate clapping his hands a few times before the snap, sometimes it initiates motion or a formation shift, sometimes it doesn't. They'll typically use at least one tight end, a lot of the time two, and very frequently have them set in the backfield as an up-back.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The movement and formation shifts are used to not only create match-up advantages schematically, but also alter the keys for a defense by attempting to convince their eyes to be somewhere they don't need to be.</p>
<h3>What has me concerned about Washington</h3>
<p><b>Pass Defense. </b>The Huskies lead the conference in overall defense, holding teams to 4.89 yards per play, and are second in the conference (behind UCLA) in pass defense, giving up 208 passing yards per game on 6.8 yards per attempt. But, they've allowed the 5th most pass plays over 20 yards in the PAC-12 and their 12.0 yards per completion ranks a mediocre 57th nationally. They've faced an average 31 passing attempts per game and rank 84th in passes defensed to incompletions (30.2 pct).</p>
<p>The Husky defense is extremely good, on the borderline of being great, but they also haven't been tested by an offense quite like WSU's. UW has faced less than 30 pass attempts in seven out of their 10 games.</p>
<p><b>Tom Foolery.</b> Ever since Petersen's first season at BSU in 2006, where the Broncos upset Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on a Statue Of Liberty play, Boise State and Petersen have been synonymous with gimmicks. Since it is the "last game of the year, Brent", don't expect to make it through the game without UW emptying its bag of tricks.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Petersen on opening kickoff lateral: "We always have a bunch of things in our back pocket. We've held onto a lot of things"</p>
— Dave Softy Mahler (@Softykjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/Softykjr/status/668876057576009728">November 23, 2015</a>
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<p><b>Jaydon Mickens. </b>The senior WR is the Huskies' biggest playmaker on offense, garnering a target rate of 22 pct and has 516 yards on the season with 11.5 yards per catch. They use Mickens all over the field and try to get him involved as much as possible. Mickens has the type of speed you really need to be concerned about and is extremely dangerous in space.</p>
<p><b>Standard Downs.</b> UW's defense ranks 12th nationally in adjusted sack rate on standard downs (7.1 pct), while WSU's offense ranks 73rd (giving up a sack on 5.3 pct of dropbacks).</p>
<p>In the marquee match-up of this game -- WSU offense vs. UW defense -- the battle will lie in whether UW can keep the Cougs from being on pace to move the sticks, something they're extremely good at (10th nationally). The Huskies are drastically more aggressive on standard downs, and setting WSU in long down-and-distance scenarios with early down sacks could be really key to slowing the Wazzu attack.</p>
<h3>Christian Caple, former beat writer for WSU and overall good dude, now covering the Huskies for the Tacoma News Tribune, was kind enough to drop in and offer his thoughts on the game</h3>
<p><i>What are you most confident in about the Washington Huskies?</i></p>
<p>"It would probably be pretty lazy to just say "the defense," so I'll try to be a little more specific and highlight the secondary a bit (though I do think the entire unit has been pretty stellar all season, especially when you account for how inefficient their offense has been in so many games). Going back to last year's Apple Cup, the Huskies were starting two true freshmen (Budda Baker at free safety and Sidney Jones at cornerback) and two true sophomores (Kevin King at strong safety and John Ross III, a converted receiver, at cornerback) in the defensive backfield. And they played pretty well in that game -- Ross had his first career interception, King had an interception, too, and the DBs benefited from a consistent pass rush and helped keep the Cougars scoreless for the game's first 50 minutes.</p>
<p>"That was the high point for a group that had been the defense's biggest liability for much of the season. This year, though, they've been a strength. Baker and Jones combined to start 26 games last year, and that experience has shown -- Baker is all over the place, and Jones is suddenly one of the Pac-12's toughest cover corners. King moved over to nickel, which the Huskies play quite a bit (though he also plays corner) Darren Gardenhire, a guy who played sparingly last year as a true freshman, has started several games at cornerback and can hold his own. And they've gotten a little more out of senior Brian Clay at strong safety, with JoJo McIntosh, a hard-hitting safety, filling in pretty well when they've been a little banged up. They rank 25th nationally in pass efficiency defense, they've allowed only eight passing touchdowns this season (despite a mediocre-ish average of 6.8 yards allowed per pass attempt), and they've allowed opponents to complete only 56.3 percent of their passes.</p>
<p>"The Huskies have more experience and production at linebacker -- Travis Feeney, Cory Littleton, Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria have been a pretty formidable crew -- and that group has definitely been steady all season, too. UW's defense hasn't really shown an obvious weakness -- they rank 22nd nationally in yards per play allowed and tied for 15th in scoring defense. But the secondary has stood out to me, maybe because of how far behind those guys were a year ago".</p>
<h3>What has me confident about Wazzu</h3>
<p><b>Throw it up to 9.</b> Gabe Marks is un-guardable. We've said it throughout the season, but he could wear a defender like a cape and it'd still be a good idea to look his direction. Marks has been a huge playmaker for Wazzu all year, and you really can't say enough about his leadership. The Biletnikoff finalists were recently announced, sans the WSU wideout who has the stats to deserve to be there, and <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9795410/apple-cup-2015-gabe-marks" target="_blank">it may have lit a little extra fire in him this week</a>. As if that dude needed it.</p>
<p>Here's how Marks compares to the top two Washington receivers, Jadon Mickens and Joshua Perkins, combined. Marks, as well as the sum of Mickens and Perkins both have 128 targets this year.</p>
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<p>If there is any concern about a back-up starting a game, having a guy like Gabe Marks* outside making plays should alleviate a lot of it.</p>
<p>*<i>Dom Williams is pretty damn good too. </i></p>
<p><b>BALL!</b> The Huskies are tied for first in the conference with the most lost fumbles (10-of-14), while the Cougs sit atop the conference in forced fumbles (15), averaging around 1.3 per game. While Browning is a little interception heavy for his pass attempts (9 INTs), the turnovers could come from stripping the ball carrier, which Wazzu has done twice in each of the past two games and at least once in every game this season since week one.</p>
<p><b>Pressure. </b>The Coug D is still ferocious in the front-seven with a LB havoc rate that ranks 13th in the nation, and average sack rates on both standard (4.8 pct) and passing (7.7 pct) downs. The UW OL has struggled keeping Browning upright, giving up a sack rate of 8.2 pct which is second among conference starters only to Vernon Adams and his Johnny Football-like tendencies.</p>
<p><b>No Fly (end)Zone.</b> The Cougs <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2015/11/25/9786384/interactive-preview-can-the-wsu-defense-step-up-apple-cup" target="_blank">haven't given up a passing touchdown in the past four games</a>, and UW didn't win any of the three games in which Browning didn't throw for a TD. The Coug pass defense is actually up to 35th in S&P+, and ranks 12th in limiting explosives. They are the only team in the conference, and one of 10 in the nation, that haven't given up a pass play of over 50 yards.</p>
<h4>So, Christian...</h4>
<p><i>What about Wazzu should have the Huskies concerned?</i></p>
<p>"With all that said ... the Huskies haven't faced a group of receivers as talented as Washington State's. Gabe Marks might be the toughest cover in the Pac-12, and Dom Williams isn't far behind (though y'all don't need me to tell you that). And beyond those two, WSU just seems to have so many guys who are capable of catching the ball and doing something with it -- and at running back, too, which isn't particularly common. UW's defensive backs coach, Jimmy Lake, said his group is embracing the challenge of defending 60 or 70 pass attempts in a single game, and that it's the kind of game that a defensive back looks forward to. But he said it definitely takes some mental fortitude -- it's possible that UW could play lights-out and feel like it defended the pass pretty well and still give up 35 or so completions, and the Huskies' DBs have to learn to be OK with that. Maybe that's the most important thing for UW's defense -- knowing the Cougars are going to get their yards, but still having the confidence to make the stops when they need to."</p>
<h3>How I see this game playing out</h3>
<p>Obviously, it's hard to read tea leaves in general, let alone when you don't know who the starting quarterback for one side will be. There isn't a huge drop-off in talent between Luke Falk and Peyton Bender, who is quite possibly a more naturally gifted passer, but there is in experience. And the Cougs have relied on Falk's late-game ability to win it for them all season, something we just don't know if Bender has in him yet.</p>
<p>What we do know is that Coach Leach's Air Raid is a system offense, that allows for a level of plug-n-play that's not as common elsewhere in the college landscape.<a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9791418/apple-cup-2015-luke-falk-injury-peyton-bender" target="_blank"> If Bender goes, the Cougs will be fine</a>. The offense won't be limited under Bender, and he's had a full week of prep without school in session to get himself ready as The Guy. Bender will be slightly more aggressive than Falk downfield, and will probably toss an INT or two into the teeth of a really good UW pass defense, but he's also entirely capable of not only moving the offense consistently but making spectacular throws.</p>
<p>The only two times the Huskies have put up more than 24 points in conference play were their two blowout wins over Arizona and Oregon State. That's the question. Can UW's offense score more than three TDs while the defense erases two TDs off the Wazzu average. If the game gets anywhere near a shootout, it plays directly in WSU's favor.</p>
<p>WSU needs to push pace on the Huskies, get them away from the balanced run-pass game they like, and force Browning into attempting passes downfield. It will be close and physical, and with so much attention being paid to the Coug offense versus the Husky defense, it will probably be a game that's decided when the roles are reversed.</p>
<p><b>Final score:</b> WSU 37 - 34 UW</p>
<h4>And Mr. Caple...</h4>
<p>"So much of it depends on Luke Falk's health. I've heard nothing but good things about Peyton Bender and his capabilities, and it's certainly possible that he can play well enough to lead WSU to a victory. But it might be a little unrealistic to expect him to come off a short practice week and play like Falk has all season. Anyway, I think UW could struggle to move the ball consistently against WSU's defense, though in terms of yardage and all that, the Huskies have improved a little the past few weeks (Oregon State is so bad that I don't know if you can really take anything from that game, but they did move it pretty well against Utah and Arizona State, despite losing to both of those teams). But I could also see WSU struggling a little bit against UW's defense, especially if the Huskies can pressure Falk/Bender the way they got after Falk last year. That'll be a big key for WSU without Joe Dahl (and maybe Riley Sorenson). If the Cougars keep the pocket clean, they'll be in business. If not, and if Bender is playing quarterback, I could see UW's pressure resulting in a few youthful mistakes (which WSU will obviously hope to force out of Jake Browning and UW's inconsistent offensive line, as well).</p>
<p>"I don't know, man. I think this could be a really, really fun matchup, though it loses some shine -- not a ton, but some -- if Falk can't play. I'll withhold my pick for now, other than to note that UW opened as a 5.5-point favorite, and I don't quite know what to do with that point spread just yet."</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">***</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Huge thanks to Christian for giving us great insights on Washington (and the Cougs during his time at the Spokesman). You can <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ChristianCaple">follow Christian on twitter here</a>. And be sure to catch all of his Apple Cup coverage <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/college/pac-12/university-of-washington/huskies-insider-blog/#navlink=subnav">over at the News Tribune here</a>.</p>
<h4></h4>
<p>Go Cougs</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/apple-cup/2015/11/25/9802594/apple-cup-2015-wsu-cougars-washington-huskies-preview-schedule-game-timeBrian Anderson2015-11-27T10:00:03-08:002015-11-27T10:00:03-08:00HCA: Cougs seek revenge in Apple Cup
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<p>The Cougars seek to keep the Huskies from six wins in today's matchup.</p> <p>When WSU comes out on to Husky Stadium later today, they will have the opportunity to secure a 5-7 record for UW. That accomplishment would really just be the icing on the cake for a splendid run in conference play, but it would be a thick layer of icing.</p>
<p>There was a lot of discussion of 2006 around here, especially after the Stanford game, by those who feared the Cougs would drop off after a strong start. The season obviously hasn't gone that way for The Cougs, who have three straight since the loss to the Cardinal.</p>
<p>Instead of getting to 5-3 and collapsing, they're now 8-3 and the no. 20 ranked team in the nation.</p>
<p>The Cougs were infamously bowl eligible going into the apple cup that season, lost that final game and were not selected for a bowl. A similar situation has presented itself for the Huskies this season as bowls have said they are willing to consider 5-7 teams for postseason play.</p>
<p>The Cougs, like the Huskies in '06, can push their rival further down the standings and out of the brains of Bowl reps with a win today.</p>
<p>For a season that has already been retribution for 2006, lets see the Cougs finish the deal today.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p><b>Apple Cup:</b></p>
<p><a href="http://sportspressnw.com/2212000/2015/if-hes-the-man-cougs-believe-in-qb-bender">If Bender gets the QB call, Cougars are all in | Sportspress Northwest</a><br>If a head injury sidelines QB Luke Falk for the Apple Cup, coach Mike Leach and his players have trust in backup Peyton Bender. "They're both great QBs," said Gunnar Eklund.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scout.com/college/washington-state/story/1616675-don-t-tell-me-leach-gets-more-out-of-less">Don’t tell me Leach gets 'more out of less' - Washington State - Scout</a><br>With all the debates raging over who is college football’s best head coach this season, one refrain being sung repeatedly across the various media platforms stops this writer in his tracks. It always makes me reflexively tilt my head and go, “What?”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-news/cougar-parents-prank-husky-kids/36672566">Cougar parents prank Husky kids | Spokane - KXLY.com</a><br>Like so many neighborhoods, the South Hill is still a mess more than a week after 2015's historic windstorm, but amidst the downed power lines, tree snags, and caution tape there is a reminder of what's truly important this time of year: The Apple Cup.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/wsu-cougars-feel-confident-heading-into-apple-cup-and-theyre-happy-to-tell-you-about-it/">WSU Cougars feel confident heading into Apple Cup, and they’re happy to tell you about it | The Seattle Times</a><br>While UW players stayed mum, WSU’s players expressed their desire to win the Apple Cup for the first time since 2012 and why they’re eager to earn some respect from their in-state rivals.</p>
<p><a href="http://mynorthwest.com/402/2857603/No-20-Cougars-look-to-complete-special-year-against-Huskies">No. 20 Cougars look to complete special year against Huskies - WSU Cougars | 710 ESPN Seattle</a><br>After opening the year with arguably the most embarrassing home loss in school history, the Cougars can keep alive the chance at a 10-win season and potentially keep their rivals home for the holidays by beating the Huskies.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/college/pac-12/university-of-washington/article46668125.html">Washington State Cougars enter Apple Cup as state’s most relevant college football program | The News Tribune</a><br>Without much prompting, Washington State athletic director Bill Moos says he does not want to describe the Cougars’ early-season aberration as a blessing in disguise.</p>
<p><b>Basketball:</b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.wsucougars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30400&ATCLID=210535100">WSU Hosts Texas Southern Saturday - Washington State University Official Athletic Site</a><br>The Cougars take on the Tigers Saturday at 6 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/27/9807428/apple-cup-2015-washington-state-cougars-revengeChet Broberg2015-11-27T09:52:16-08:002015-11-27T09:52:16-08:00Bender to start Apple Cup; Falk out (concussion)
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<p>Redshirt freshman Peyton Bender will make his first career start in the Apple Cup, according to a report from the Seattle Times.</p> <p>Washington State quarterback Peyton Bender will make his first career start today when the Cougars face the Huskies in the 108th Apple Cup, <a href="https://t.co/OEWIknYr8i" target="_blank">according to Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times</a>.</p>
<p>Falk, who suffered an apparent head injury in a win over Colorado last week, is not expected to dress.</p>
<p>True freshman Christian Jorgenson, a preferred walk-on out of Bellingham, Wash., will be the Cougars' back-up quarterback today, according to Loh. Freshman Tyler Hilinski has worked as the third-string quarterback this season.</p>
<p>This will be the fourth appearance of the season for Bender, who saw extended snaps in the second half of last week's game against the Buffaloes, finishing 13-of-22 for 133 yards with one touchdown and an interception. For the season, Bender is 17-of-33 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.</p>
<p>Brian Floyd has a great <a href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9791418/apple-cup-2015-luke-falk-injury-peyton-bender" target="_blank">read about Bender and why you shouldn't be worried</a> with Falk now officially out this week.</p>
<p><b>Update: </b>This essentially confirms that, in the event of an injury to Bender, they're going to save Hilinski's redshirt.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Evident now since he and Christian Jorgensen are warming up, but can confirm <a href="https://twitter.com/StefanieLoh">@StefanieLoh</a> report that Bender is starting.</p>
— Jacob Thorpe (@JacobThorpeSR) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobThorpeSR/status/670318880003260416">November 27, 2015</a>
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https://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/27/9807462/wsu-football-vs-uw-peyton-bender-luke-falk-injury-apple-cup-2015Britton Ransford2015-11-27T09:44:00-08:002015-11-27T09:44:00-08:00Luke Falk is out, the Cougs will be fine
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<p>Injuries to starting quarterbacks are scary. You're nervous about the Apple Cup. But don't be.</p> <p>You're worried about the Apple Cup. It's okay to admit it. No matter the records or the year, the Apple Cup is always a big deal for both sides, and Luke Falk's head injury has you nervous. But don't be.</p>
<p>It's natural to jump to doom and gloom when the starting quarterback goes down. When you factor in high expectations going into the Apple Cup, and the chance to guarantee the Huskies a losing season, it's easy to see why there's a ton of tension in the fan base. But if there's one thing we've learned about this team, this year, it's that they continue to rise to the challenge.</p>
<p><a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/peyton-bender-will-start-at-quarterback-for-wsu-cougars-vs-uw-huskies-in-apple-cup/" target="_blank">Luke Falk is out for the Apple Cup</a>. So what if Peyton Bender is starting? It's not going to change the offensive gameplan. And beyond the quarterback situation, the Cougs come in with plenty of reasons to feel very good about the Apple Cup.</p>
<p><b>Peyton Bender is good … you just haven't seen much of him. </b>The first real impression we got of Bender this year was a couple of short-armed passes coming in cold against UCLA. Looked shaky right? Except he then threw a dime to <span>Dom Williams</span> on a fade in the end zone. He came in against Colorado, again cold, and immediately took a shot deep to Williams. There was also the beautiful touchdown pass to Marks, and multiple other big-time throws. He forced a few things, and made a few poor throws, but the potential is there. He had this week to prepare, as well.</p>
<p>Remember this: There was an actual quarterback competition in camp. It wasn't for show, either; Bender made his case. He has the talent.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/21/9774428/gabe-marks-wsu-football" style="background-color: #ffffff;"><b>Gabe Marks is still playing</b></a><b>. So is Dom Williams</b>. Just remember that. The Cougs still have two incredibly dangerous receivers on the outside. They can stretch the field and open the game, or take a short pass to the house. All Bender has to do is get the ball in the vicinity of these two -- in space, or against 1-on-1 -- and the Cougar offense is in business. It's nice to have that luxury.</p>
<p><b>The run game exists</b>. If Washington wants to sell out to stop Marks and Williams, and the rest of the receivers, that's fine. The running backs have shown they'll take their five yards against the run box, and maybe even bust one. The running game isn't just for show anymore; it can actually gash a defense. That goes a long way towards taking the pressure off the quarterback, whoever it is.</p>
<p><b>The screen game exists too</b>. Want to slow down a pass rush and keep the pressure off the quarterback? Let em through! Washington State has shown an excellent screen game this year, both to the running backs and receivers. You'll hear it time and again on the broadcast, but these are like run plays. Screens get the ball out fast, and get it into the hands of playmakers. It's an easy way for, say, a backup QB to pick up confidence or take some easy yards that can quickly turn into a big play.</p>
<p><b>You're betting on the system</b>. We've seen starting quarterbacks go down twice in a significant way under Leach: <span>Jeff Tuel</span> gave way to <span>Connor Halliday</span> early in 2012, and Halliday's broken leg led to Falk starting last season. In each case, the backup came in and, making their first start, lit a team up (Halliday at UNLV and Falk at Oregon State).</p>
<p>Those are two cherry-picked cases. But the point is this: Leach has a firm belief that the system is the system, and that the pieces operating the system are interchangeable. For weeks now, WSU has been playing without its left tackle and most reliable inside receiver. It played against Colorado without its best center. In every case, the next guy up has slid right in and been effective. Leach believes this is the case for every spot, including at quarterback. And he happens to think the replacement piece at quarterback is a pretty good one, too.</p>
<p>It's why <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9790300/mike-leach-injuries-luke-falk-concussion">Leach won't dwell on injuries</a>. If you dwell on injuries, he believes, then you're making an excuses. If you're <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/22/9778772/luke-falk-injury-updates-mike-leach-wsu-football">worried about the injured piece of the system, you're not getting the replacement ready to be inserted</a>. In a football sense, he doesn't care who is injured and who isn't. He'll just keep plugging players in and believing the system will continue to hum along.</p>
<p><b>The defense is still playing out of its mind.</b> It keeps getting better every week. And while it does live on the edge and sometimes puts itself in bad spots, or gets backed up, it continues to make big play after big play.</p>
<p>The Washington offense will play a mean front seven and a back end that can be opportunistic enough to make a play. The Cougs have been good at forcing turnovers, and have a knack for popping the ball out. They'll need a big game, but they continue to rise to the challenge.</p>
<p><b>Have the Cougs let you down yet? </b>You keep waiting for it to happen, probably. Amidst an outstanding run that started at Oregon, you've been waiting for a letdown, because it's probably conditioned into your brain.</p>
<p>Except that hasn't happened. Even when given the opportunity to roll over and quit during a game, or overlook an opponent, the Cougs haven't done it. They've come out strong and punched teams in the mouth. The Apple Cup is another chance to prove themselves. They taken each of those chances.</p>
https://www.cougcenter.com/2015/11/24/9791418/apple-cup-2015-luke-falk-injury-peyton-benderBrian Floyd