Backpedaling
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Bill Doba didn’t mince any words when describing the play of his defensive backs. “We dropped interceptions, let the guys run by us,” the Washington State coach said. “We acted like we were in a fog in the secondary. They played poorly. If I knew why, I’d be the national coach of the year, I guess.” The Cougars allowed Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson — who passed Erik Wilhelm for second place on the school’s all-time passing list on Saturday — 212 passing yards by the half, when the deficit was already 21 points.
WSU’s pass defense has struggled as of late, allowing Oregon’s Kellen Clemens, Stanford’s Trent Edwards and Anderson to throw their way to victory in consecutive weeks.
The Cougars shuffled personnel against Oregon State more than they had in previous games, searching for combinations that would work in the secondary. Safeties Eric Frampton and Husain Abdullah and cornerbacks Omowale Dada and Tyron Brackenridge all saw significant playing time off the bench.
Anderson completed six passes of 20 yards or more, all in the first half, and the longest was a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Love that gave the Beavers their 24-3 halftime edge.
“Sometimes it’s because of inexperience, and we need to get that toned down,” defensive coordinator Robb Akey said. “Because it’s the same thing that we gave up two long touchdown passes against Stanford last week.”
Oregon State also managed to control the clock by running the football, something they hadn’t done all season. Before playing the Cougars, Oregon State’s season high for rushing was 124 yards against New Mexico. On Saturday, they ran for 171 including a 79-yard scamper by Ryan Cole in the third quarter.
Akey took the blame for that score, saying he called a blitz that left the middle of the field wide open, giving Cole room to go untouched to the end zone. But the Cougar defense as a whole recognized after the game that they must play better if the team is to win three of its final four games to qualify for a bowl game this year.
“Defensively we struggled on the big plays and that was keeping us out there too long,” said defensive end Adam Braidwood, a lone bright spot with three sacks. “Would have been nice to get more three-and-outs, but that didn’t happen.
“Time’s running out. We’ve got to win three more games to win a bowl (berth). I don’t have any plans to be home for Christmas.”
No need for a backup
Jerome Harrison made his first career start for the Cougars after Chris Bruhn injured his knee last week.
He was also the only tailback used by WSU on the day. Allen Thompson was supposed to share time with Harrison, but he was a game-time decision because of a shoulder injury, also suffered against Stanford. The Cougars decided that Thompson wasn’t ready for game action, and they never inserted fourth-string running back Kevin McCall to spell Harrison.
Instead, WSU used a lot of two-back sets with Jed Collins or Brandon Asuega-Stark at fullback, and also handed the ball off to wide receiver Michael Bumpus twice.
Harrison finished the game with 20 carries, a career high, for 98 yards.
“You don’t really feel it when you’re out there,” Harrison said of the increased workload, “you just do your assignment and make each play.”
Notes
Jason Hill, the Cougars’ best receiver this year, didn’t have a single catch until the last minute of the game, when he hauled in a 39-yarder. Alex Brink threw the ball his way just five times, and the first four fell incomplete. … Reser Stadium had a capacity crowd of 36,265 on hand, the 26th consecutive sellout for Oregon State. … The Cougars entered the game averaging a conference-worst 27:10 in time of possession, and didn’t help themselves on Saturday. WSU held the ball for 24:15. … The Cougars didn’t have much to smile about after the game, but with Washington’s 38-0 loss to Southern California, they are now second in Division I-A in consecutive games played without being blanked. Washington had a 271-game streak going, but now Michigan is first with 256 in a row. The Cougars’ loss was the 234th straight game with at least one score on the board. … Wide receiver Greg Prator was carted off the Reser Stadium field with a sprained right ankle after scoring the team’s final touchdown of the day. Prator also took on the role of kickoff returner for the first time at WSU, as Jerome Harrison focused solely on his duties as running back. … Norvell Holmes reclaimed his starting job at right guard, relegating Patrick Afif to a backup role. … WSU was just 1 of 14 on third-down conversions.