Hass needs just one play
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Washington State had expressed plenty of concern about Oregon State receiver Mike Hass. But for much of the game, even with the senior wideout making some catches, it seemed that WSU was doing a decent job of limiting the Beavers’ star. But one play can change everything, and Saturday it did just that.
Middle linebacker Will Derting had a chance to sack quarterback Matt Moore with just less than seven minutes left in the game and the Cougars up by a field goal. But the WSU senior missed, and Moore found a streaking Hass down the field for a 63-yard score, one that proved to be the game-winner.
“Everyone he plays against, he pretty much comes out on top. We had a couple of blown coverages and he made us pay for them,” said WSU cornerback Don Turner, who was able to play despite back spasms during the week. “When I looked over my shoulder at Hass (on the touchdown) it was like he was 10 to 15 yards already down the field. It was a miscommunication.”
Hass’ seven catches were actually below his season average of 10 coming in. But the 161 yards were enough, much to the chagrin of defensive coordinator Robb Akey.
“Quite often, there were two guys on Hass,” Akey said.
“He’s going to have three guys (on him) and they’re going to go to him. We made some plays over there. I was happy with the way we handled him other than the one long one. He got away from our guys and we didn’t get the quarterback laid out.”
Three standouts injured
Aside from WSU wide receiver Jason Hill’s pivotal quadriceps injury that helped change the tenor of the game, the Cougars suffered two significant injuries to starters.
Derting sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in the closing minutes of the game, and while no official word was available Saturday, Akey said he feared the injury could keep him out of action.
“I’m guessing he’s going to be out for a little while,” Akey said.
Cornerback Alex Teems also came out in the fourth quarter with a sprained right shoulder. More should be known today as all three players are evaluated.
Opening it up
The Cougars had been coy about it over the past two weeks, but as suspected they unleashed a much more complex game plan than had been seen in the first three games of the season.
The most significant change came on defense, where WSU went to three down lineman, using four linebackers for much of the game and sometimes a fifth defensive back. That’s a huge departure for the Cougars, who usually leave the same 4-3 look on the field.
Defensive tackle Ropati Pitoitua’s broken leg apparently had something to do with the switch, which first occurred in the second quarter.
“We’d worked it a little bit in previous weeks, particularly in the bye week,” Akey said. “We did it; we were able to have a bonus guy in coverage and it worked for a long time.”
On offense, WSU attempted their first trick play of the season – an unsuccessful flea flicker – and also rolled out a three-wideout, two-back look that hadn’t been seen regularly.
Notes
Michael Bumpus‘ nine catches and 132 yards were both career highs. … Oregon State had 14 tackles for a loss. WSU had one. … Kyle Basler set a school record for career punts. His four punts gave him 219, passing Gavin Hedrick‘s 217. … The Cougars have trailed for just 10 minutes and 21 seconds this season, with all of that time coming on Saturday.