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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Washington State’s defense shows clear progress

PULLMAN − While the bar to clear was never high after last year’s paltry showing, Washington State’s defense is already approaching some of its season-long standards from last year, indicating a precipitous rise in effectiveness through four games.

These numbers are not averages, either, that can skewed by early-season softies only to be corrected after a full slate of heavyweights get their shots at WSU. No, these are lump sums.

The Cougars’ defense has pitched six shutout quarters in 2015, as many as it did in all of 2014. When checking the national statistics for turnovers forced, one no longer has to scroll to the bottom of the list of teams to find WSU. With their next fumble recover or pass intercepted, the Cougars will have their eighth takeaway, matching last season’s total.

“We attack the line of scrimmage better, we communicate better and we don’t panic as much,” linebacker Jeremiah Allison said.

Marcellus Pippins has two interceptions, doubling the number of picks collected by all WSU defensive backs a year ago. He would have three if not for a defensive holding penalty in the Wyoming game.

One of the most notable ways the WSU defense seems to have improved under first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is its response to being suddenly put in precarious positions by the offense.

Last year the Cougars allowed 114 points on 22 turnovers that did not occur in the last minute of a half, an average of 5.2 points per such turnover. That number is skewed by the Arizona State game, in which WSU allowed 35 points off turnovers. But even eliminating that game, WSU gave up 4.6 points per turnover that led to an offensive drive.

In 2015, the Cougars have given up five turnovers on which the other team had a reasonable chance to score. They gave up two touchdowns, one against Portland State in the opener and one against Cal, for an average of 2.8 points per turnover.

The offensive players have noticed that the defense has their back this year.

“Oh, it’s big,” running back Jamal Morrow said. “When defense goes on the field we’re confident they’re going to stop the other team’s offense, we’re going to get the ball back and score. It’s big to have that trust in the defense … and it’s our job to capitalize.”

There are certainly areas for improvement and ways in which last year’s defense was better. The 2014 defense was fairly respectable on third downs, allowing other teams to convert 39 percent of the time. In 2015, WSU’s opponents have converted half of their third-down attempts.

“Each down is no different than the last down,” Allison said. “If we do it good on one down, we should be able to do it every down.”

While the WSU run defense is showing signs of improvement, holding Cal to more than 100 yards less than its average, missed tackles are still plaguing the Cougars. So are big plays, such as Vic Enwere’s 42-yard run on third-and-36.

Grinch, in an effort to make easy for his players to prevent plays from turning into disasters, has repeated a mantra of their responsibilities on every play: gaps, leverage, check down, rally.

“It’s just not OK to give up big plays. It’s not OK,” Grinch said. “That’s just kind of how we’ve termed it for the guys and made it as simplistic as we can make it in an effort to brainwash them.”

Once the indoctrination is complete, perhaps the Cougars’ defense will start creating big plays and accomplish things they never came close to last season. Such as scoring a touchdown on an interception return, say, or maybe a fumble.