Defense leads 6-0 Washington State
Cougars have a strong offense, but key to championship hopes is a stout ‘D’
To the victor go the postgame interviews, and so minutes after Washington State beat Oregon 33-10 in Autzen Stadium — the third time in three years the Cougars have come out on top vs. the Ducks — quarterback Luke Falk was ushered over to the corner of the end zone, where the Pac-12 Networks did a live hit with him. But before Falk could answer questions about his night (24-for-42 for 282 yards and three touchdowns), he was interrupted by a whooping, hollering band of defensive linemen.
“Oh, we 6-0, 6-0, baby!” boomed Daniel Ekuale, a hulking 6-3, 290pound lineman as he and his teammates bombarded Falk with hugs, high-fives and butt-slaps, posing for the cameras and gesturing to the crowd. “6-0! You like that?!”
Ekuale and his teammates then took the celebration up the tunnel and to the locker room, slapping hands with jubilant WSU fans as Falk smiled and shook his head.
“Our students and fans have been starved for some time as we’ve been building,” mused WSU athletics director Bill Moos as he walked to the team bus about an hour after the game. “Year by year, the support and the excitement on campus have been growing. And it’s pretty fun right now.”
Yes, the Cougars are 6-0, for the seventh time in program history (they’ve been playing football there since 1894), and have climbed all the way up to No. 9 in the Amway Coaches Poll. Their in-state rival, Washington, is ranked No. 4 and seeking a second consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff. It’s the first time since October 1997 that both teams are in the top 10. And strangely enough, it’s not all because of Mike Leach, the most interesting man in college football, and his passhappy offense.
Forever quotable and primed to go off on a long, rambling tangent at any point, Leach was unusually subdued after Washington State’s win. The swashbuckling bravado he’s so well known for seems to have transferred to the defense.
“It’s a confident group,” thirdyear defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “I think (after Southern California) their chests might have been stuck out a little bit further, but it’s also a very mature group. When we transitioned to (Oregon) Tuesday, you didn’t notice anyone talking about USC.”
Say what you will about the Cougars schedule so far — Saturday was their first road game — and their underwhelming non-conference opponents, but know this: The defense is legit.
Leach, in his sixth season in Pullman, had practically no defense his first few years on the Palouse. The Cougars ranked seventh or worse in
Pac-12 total defense from 2012 to
2016 and were particularly bad against the pass. But they’re No. 2 in total defense, allowing 275.5 yards per game (Washington leads the league at 228.8). They’re first in pass defense, allowing just 146.3 yards per game. Nationally, they rank 11th and sixth, respectively, in those categories.
Leach pointed out that even if the Ducks were without their starting quarterback Saturday, the Oregon roster is loaded with speed and explosiveness, which made the Cougars’ performance noteworthy. WSU held Oregon, which came in averaging a conference-best 537.4 yards per game, to 277. “(Oregon’s) had one of the highest-rated recruiting classes for I don’t know how many, six years I’ll say,” Leach said. “I’m probably underestimating that. ... I’m proud of our defense.”
Moos credits the defense too and points out that Leach saw exactly what WSU needed to compete in the Pac-12 — a stout defense — and figured the way to get one was by hiring Grinch from Missouri. The two coaches before Leach went a combined 39-68 over nine seasons, and Moos said he knew the problems in Pullman would take time to solve. “We did not want a quick fix,” he said. “We wanted to build something that was sustainable. And if we do stub our toe, it’s not a house of cards.”
And even if the Ducks were missing their starting signal caller Saturday, just one week ago WSU shut down USC and its vaunted quarterback Sam Darnold, allowing the Trojans just 327 yards of offense. That win, and the ensuing celebration, prompted Leach’s Woodstock comment — he likened the celebration to the music festival but noted everyone still had their clothes on — heard ’round the sporting world.
The star of the Cougars defense is Hercules Mata’afa, a 6-2, 255-pound lineman who leads the team with 10 tackles for losses this season, including 4 1⁄2 sacks. He’s the active Pac-12 leader in career TFL (34.5) and sacks (16.5). But Grinch was also quick to mention guys such as Ekuale (seven total tackles), Frankie Luvu (23 tackles, including 6 1⁄2 TFL and two fumble recoveries) and Isaac Dotson (30 tackles) for setting the tone.
“These seniors have won 23 games over the last (three) years, and so they expect to play well,” Grinch said. “They expect to get results, and then that trickles down to the young guys, and they say, ‘I’ve gotta do it like the veterans.’ I think this was the first offseason we’ve had like that.”
A prime example: Grinch said he’s been particularly impressed with the play of Jalen Thompson, a sophomore who leads the team in tackles (34) and interceptions (three). Thompson’s play, Grinch believes, is a result of upperclassmen setting the standard before him, a common practice in programs that pile up wins.
In order for Washington State to crash the College Football Playoff, the defense will need to keep holding explosive offenses in check. The Cougars still have to match up with Stanford and standout running back Bryce Love, and the Apple Cup vs. Washington on Nov. 25 is shaping up to be one of the top games that weekend. They’ll have to do it mostly away from home, too: Four of WSU’s next last six games are on the road, including a Friday date this week at California.
Falk spent the first few years of his career putting up gaudy numbers then watching helplessly from the sideline as the defense couldn’t finish games, so he welcomes a chance for the other side of the ball to shine.
“Our defense is playing lights out right now,” Falk said. “I mean, if you start the night off with three straight 3-and-outs and you’re still in the game, that’s a sign your defense is pretty good.
“There’s a different vibe around the team this season. ... It helps when you have 18 seniors who have played a lot of football and a lot of young talent. It feels different this year.”