Combo tunes in on Paus

PULLMAN — For a Husky blocker, this was not a good decision to have to make.

Two blitzing Cougar linebackers, Scott Davis and Will Derting, were charging up the middle through the same hole, one after the other.

“It was an all-linebacker blitz. I came through and the back missed me and picked up Dert,” Davis recalled.

That left Washington quarterback Casey Paus in an even worse spot. Unable to find an open receiver, Paus tried to pull the ball back towards his body.

“I figured I might swat it out of his hand as I took him down,” Davis said.

Good thinking. Davis swiped at Paus’ right arm and knocked the ball loose. It would have been a big play anywhere on the field, but it happened deep in Husky territory. The ball skipped backwards towards the end zone, where — guess who — Derting fell on the ball for a Cougar touchdown that put Washington in an 11-point hole.

“That was a momentum changer, no doubt,” linebackers coach Leon Burtnett said. “All three linebackers had a great game. One of them strips it and the other one recovers it. So that’s a pretty good combination. I’ve said all year I think we have the best linebacker corps in the country and I still stand by that.”

Burtnett sounded a lot smarter taking that stance after his three starters — sophomore Davis, junior Derting and senior Pat Bennett — were 1-2-3 on the team in tackles and spent much of the game wreaking havoc on the Husky offense.

The team’s fourth linebacker, Steve Dildine, chipped in with four tackles, giving the group 30 in all.

“We were just going off each other’s strengths,” said Bennett, who also pulled in his third career interception in the second quarter on an ill-advised Paus throw. “Overall as a group I’d say this was our best night. Dildine and I were able to participate and give a little more to our linebacker corps.”

While Derting’s nine tackles fell one short of Davis on the stat sheet, the preseason All-American middle linebacker had what Burtnett called his best game of the season. In the first minutes of the game, Derting immediately made his presence known with big hits from sideline to sideline.

The Cougars also utilized the linebacker blitz often, as on the Derting touchdown, showcasing their middle three on defense to put pressure on Paus, and eventually replacement quarterback Isaiah Stanback.

“He’s been playing all year hurt and he’s been able to practice now for about three weeks in a row,” Burtnett said of Derting, who dislocated his wrist in training camp but managed to play all 11 games this season. “I think that makes a great difference to him.

“He’s been ready all week. All of them have. We had a good week of practice even though we didn’t hit that much. They were mentally sharp.”

Defensive coordinator Robb Akey’s attacking 4-3 scheme often puts a lot of pressure on the linebacking corps to make plays, and in some earlier games this season their inability to do so hurt WSU. That was not the case Saturday night, when the Cougars needed them most to break the six-game losing streak in the Apple Cup.