The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Washington State – INSIDE SLANT
At this point, the challenge of playing a talented Arizona State team on the road might seem like a happy diversion for the Washington State Cougars.
The week opened with the Cougars still generating headlines throughout the state as aftershocks continued from the events of the weekend, when receiver Marquess Wilson quit the team and then released a letter stating there had been “physical abuse” by the coaching staff against the team.
On Sunday, the school announced it would conduct an investigation and that the Pac-12 would as well.
On Monday, first-year coach Mike Leach met the media and again denied that there had been any wrongdoing.
“They’re all categorically denied,” he said. “There’s no truth about it all, and none’s been suggested, either.”
Local media reports indicated that the halftime scene during a loss at Utah on Nov. 3 was at the center of the allegations, though there was no immediate evidence of anything other than some intense screaming.
School officials said they hoped the investigations could be completed quickly.
The team, meanwhile, went about the task of getting ready to play an Arizona State team that has fallen to 5-5 and needs one more win to become bowl eligible.
WSU is 2-8 and playing now for pride and to avoid the embarrassment of a second winless conference season in four years — the Cougars are 0-7 in Pac-12 play.
Still, there was some encouragement in a 44-36 loss last week to UCLA, when the Cougars rallied from a 37-7 halftime deficit — due largely to two blocked field goals and two blocked punts — to get within forcing the Bruins to recover an onside kick to keep WSU from getting one last chance.
“Thought we played really hard,” Leach said. “We battled away and end up drawing the thing to the end, and that’s against ridiculous adversity that we had overcome against a really good team.”
ASU has lost four in a row after a 5-1 start that saw it move into the top 25. The losing streak included a 38-17 defeat last Saturday at USC.
Still, ASU remains second in the conference in total defense at 344.7 yards allowed per game, which Leach said will be a challenge.
“They play really good defense,” he said. “They’re kind of an inspired group, but they’re like us, too. They play in spurts at time. They’re really explosive. Their skill guys are really good.”
———————————————–
NCAAF Team Report – Washington State – NOTES, QUOTES
–WSU has played 17 freshmen this season, including nine true freshmen, a number unlikely to increase now.
–WSU is averaging 337.5 passing yards per game, first in the Pac-12 and sixth in the nation.
SERIES HISTORY: Arizona State leads the all-time series 23-13-2, though the Cougars won 37-27 last year behind Connor Halliday’s 494 yards in Pullman.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: WSU had a season-high 524 yards last week against UCLA, including four second-half scoring drives of 80 yards or longer. So the Cougars will head to Tempe feeling better about the offense. It was unclear entering the week who would be the quarterback, however. Jeff Tuel started against UCLA but left in the first quarter with an apparent collarbone injury. Connor Halliday played the rest of the game, throwing for five touchdowns. But Tuel returned to practice early in the week and could start, with both playing, as has happened often this season. The play of the quarterbacks will be vital against an ASU defense that leads the Pac-12 in pass-defense efficiency, allowing just 51.7 percent of passes to be completed and a conference-low 167.6 passing yards per game.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: WSU continues to play surprisingly well against the run, allowing just 73 yards on 37 carries against UCLA, the second-best running team in the Pac-12. That ability will get another stuff test this week, however, with Arizona State averaging 176 rushing yards per game, fifth best in the conference. The game could well be decided in that matchup, as the Sun Devils have increasingly struggled to throw the ball behind freshman QB Taylor Kelly. So the Cougars need to again be stout against the run and force ASU into obvious passing downs.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t talked to anybody about it. Not concerned about it. The biggest place it’s a distraction is in here. So far our team’s done a tremendous job ignoring anybody that doesn’t want to be here, going out and playing as hard as they can.” — WSU coach Mike Leach on whether the controversy with Marquess Wilson and the news that it will be investigated by the Pac-12 and the school is a distraction.
———————————————–
NCAAF Team Report – Washington State – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Washington State at Arizona State, Nov. 17 — The Cougars try to snap seven-game losing streak and get their first conference win of the season in Tempe.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Effort. This was written in this space last week as well. But it will be the key watchword for the Cougars the rest of the season with all of the controversy swirling around the program. The fact that the Cougars played hard and won many of the stat battles last week against UCLA helped quiet some of the talk about whether Mike Leach had lost the team.
–Special teams. WSU had one of the worst special-teams performances imaginable last week, keyed by two blocked field goals and two blocked punts. Without those, WSU may have had a chance to win. Obviously, that has to get a lot better.
–Pass efficiently. While WSU leads the Pac-12 in passing yardage at 337.5 per game, it is just 10th in passing effiency due to 17 interceptions and averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt. The Cougars will need to get some yards in chunks and avoid turnovers to beat the Sun Devils.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QBs Jeff Tuel/Connor Halliday — With Tuel nursing an apparent collarbone/shoulder injury that caused him to miss the last three quarters of the UCLA game, it was unclear who will start at quarterback. Both have had good games this season but also been prone to turnovers.
RB Teondray Caldwell — The freshman is healthy again and gave WSU one of its better rushing attacks last week with 62 yards on 10 carries against UCLA, as the Cougars had 67 yards on 30 carries for the game (which included 32 yards lost on sacks).
LB Travis Long — Long, who plays a hybrid linebacker/end spot, continues to have a solid senior season. He is tied for ninth in the country with a career-best 9.5 sacks this season and is the Pac-12’s active leader in career sacks with 20.5, ninth most among nation’s active leaders.
LB Cyrus Coen — The sophomore continues to emerge as one of WSU’s leading playmakers on defense and had an interception and a sack against UCLA.
ROSTER REPORT:
–Other than QB Jeff Tuel, there were no significant injury questions to key players as the week began.
–It was learned after the game that LB Chester Su’a played against UCLA despite having been arrested the day before for failing to appear in court on a hit-and-run charge. He is the team’s 10th-leading tackler with 30. It is uncertain if that may impact his play this week.
———————————————–
