Targets and Catches: The Gabe Marks show

Another week, another successful receiving day for WSU's wideouts. This is a very acceptable trend and one we can only hope continues this week against Stanford.

Gabe Marks led the way against Idaho, posting some absolutely ridiculous numbers. He wasn't the only receiver to have a solid game against the Vandals.

WSU vs. Idaho

Marks was targeted on 28 percent of Connor Halliday's targets. That's not exactly spreading the ball around, but when Marks catches 92 percent of his targets, you keep throwing to him. It all amounted to 12.2 yards per target and six first downs on 12 targets. That'll do Gabe, that'll do.

Vince Mayle had his best game in a WSU uniform, catching four of five targets and racking up 10.2 YPT. He had WSU's only drop of the game, though that's a small negative on what was a very solid performance.

Dom Williams continues to produce in a limited role. He was targeted three times, catching two of them including a touchdown. At some point this season, Williams is going to get a bunch of targets in a game and put up some huge numbers.

That 72.5 catch rate as a team is simply excellent. The offense is running very well when the Cougars are producing at that level. With that in mind, it would be nice to see a YPT slightly higher than 8.2, but that is being very picky. This is the type of performance we'd all like to see on a more consistent basis and against better teams.

WSU season stats

Slowly but surely the team numbers are climbing into the acceptable range. The YPT is still on the low end, although it's getting better. The catch rate is also in a good range while the drop percentage continues to decline. The wide receivers are catching the ball and getting first downs. Turning some of the short gains into medium gains is really the only thing left for the group to do.

Marks continues to dominate targets and has been targeted on one out of every five pass attempts. That, however, isn't a bad thing since he's catching 80 percent of his targets and gaining 9 YPT. A catch rate that high is a bit of a concern because it can be hard to sustain, however, he's done that over 39 targets. Even with a slight drop against Pac-12 competition, he's still producing at an above average level.

It's getting harder and harder to justify Dom Williams not getting more targets. He's only seen 15, but it would be hard to top what he's done with them. He had similar success at the end of last season. Maybe his numbers are just inflated because he was able to get free for a couple of deep balls. Or, maybe he is just a really tough guy to cover, as Washington found out in the Apple Cup. Either way, he should probably be more involved.

What stands out to you?