Targets & Catches: Marquess Wilson shines against Oregon

While the boxscore shows WSU threw for an impressive 410 yards against Oregon, the targets and catches chart is not nearly as impressive.

After posting three straight weeks with at least a 7.25 combined YPT, the Cougar wide receivers struggled against the Oregon secondary finishing with a 6.78 combined YPT. That total is their second-lowest of the season -- trailing only the 6.05 YPT against BYU -- and brings the season total down to 7.30.

Let's take a closer look at the performance against Oregon.

• We have to start with Wilson who, after a slow start, rebounded to post some nice numbers. The 18 targets were by far a season-high. The higher target number and percentage is somewhat of a result of the fact Wilson rarely came off the field playing a ridiculous 80 snaps. WSU ran 85 offensive plays, so that means Wilson sat out for all of five snaps. For the first time this season, Wilson was used in a similar fashion to how Leach and Co. used Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech.
• Beyond just being used more, there is a lot of positive in Wilson's performance. Yes, there were still two drops, but he posted his lowest drop percentage of the season. He also posted a catch rate in the 60's for the first time this season. All of this came against a very good Oregon secondary. For comparison, Wilson posted a 6.63 YPT against Oregon last season.
• Oh, hello there Gino Simone. After playing just five snaps over the last three weeks combined, I nearly forgot Simone was still on the team. Then out of no where he comes out with a 34 snap, 10.83 YPT performance. I think it's a rule that anytime you mention Simone's name you must also mention the 2009 game against USC, but for my money this past week was the best performance of Simone's career.
• That was the good, now for the rest. Gabe Marks' first game as a slot receiver didn't go very well with the freshman posting just 4.75 YPT and 1.36 YPR. Some of that is just going against a better defense, but the switch to inside might be a factor as well. I'm going to hold off judgement for at least another week, but at some point I'll take a closer look at Marks' move to the inside.
• The purpose of the shift was to get Marks on the field more, along with Wilson and Isiah Myers. Instead, Marks actually played one less snap than he did a week ago. I think it's important to see how this plays out over the next couple of games, but I'm still not convinced moving Marks to the inside is going to lead to more production from the group.
• Speaking of Myers, the three week honeymoon is officially over. Myers played a season-high 49 snaps but posted just a 2.0 YPT and a meager 0.31 YPR. Remember when Myers caught every pass thrown his way? He posted just a 33 percent catch rate this week.
• Prior to the game, I saw three guys wearing custom Brett Bartolone jerseys. Is it a coincidence Bartolone went out and had by far his most efficient performance? I think not. Bartolone's YPT is still low -- ideally he'd get up into the 7.8-8.2 range -- but the 1.74 YPR is a huge improvement over his previous high of 0.98.
• After playing 56 snaps a week ago, Bobby Ratliff played just 14 this week. The Bobby Ratliff Fan Club meeting was a sad place this week. We all just sat around and watched this video to remember the good times.

• This chart would look amazing if we could only include Marks and Wilson. Basically, WSU has two receivers performing at well above average levels than everyone else is well below average. That season YPT is a full yard less than the 8.36 WSU averaged last season. The even bigger concern is the 59.6 catch rate is just slightly below the 60.3 they posted a year ago. More drops or not, the wide receivers are catching close to the same percentage of targets, they are just doing much less with them.
• One way to fix this is to continue to pump the ball into Wilson. While I wouldn't expect 18 targets every week, he's posted double-digit YPT in three straight weeks. Wilson has taken a lot of flack this season -- despite still being really freaking good -- but he seems poised to really take off.
• When Wilson was struggling in the early portion of the Oregon game, the two older guys behind me were calling for him to be benched for Bennett Bontemps because, unlike Wilson, Bontemps catches the ball and blocks. Yeah...
• Through nearly half the season Marks has a 10.4 YPT. He's struggled against the two good defenses WSU has faced, but you still don't luck into that kind of production.
• Who will step up and be the No. 3 receiver WSU desperately needs? Myers looked like he might fill that role during the first few weeks, but has faded recently. Bartolone has improved his numbers nearly every week, but still has a ways to go. Simone flashed last week and will likely see more snaps this week as a result, but will he be able even approach the same production? At this point it's possible no true No. 3 emerges and instead WSU just hopes someone steps up to have a big game each week.