Quick Cougs may consider slowing pace
PULLMAN – Team speed is a Pacific-10 Conference football hallmark, but the tradition has a slightly different spin for Washington State University this season.
On offense, the Cougars have been all about moving quickly – either down the field or off of it. Ten of the team’s 33 offensive touchdowns have come on drives of a minute or less, and at 27:09 a game, WSU is last in the conference in time of possession.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as WSU head coach Bill Doba would point out. After all, the Cougars are scoring nearly 40 points a game.
But this week – well, that’s a different story. Doba admitted that the best way for his team to knock off No. 1 USC is probably on offense, where the Cougars can keep USC’s potent offense on the one innocuous place in the Los Angeles Coliseum – the sideline.
“I was talking to one of the other coaches in the Pac-10,” Doba said, “and the guy said, ‘If your guy breaks loose, once he gets down the first-down marker, have him fall down. Don’t let him run, because that puts their offense back on the field.’ Slight exaggeration, but that’s what you have to do.”
Doba has spoken earlier this season about how little his team likes to back off the offensive pace, but when pressed further on the issue he acknowledged that that exact tactic might be necessary on Saturday.
“We’re looking at that very strongly, trying to snap it with 2 or 3 seconds to go (on the play clock) and try to slow the game down as much as we can and just see if that works,” he said.
In practice, Doba also likes to keep things up-tempo, so the concept could be a tough one for his players to accept.
Still, WSU has seen firsthand how successful the ice-the-other-offense approach can be. When Stanford came to Martin Stadium earlier this month, the Cardinal wore down the WSU offense with clock-consuming drives that left Cougars point-scorers twiddling their thumbs on the bench. Running back Jerome Harrison complained after the game that his sweat was drying off from being idle for so long.
“When we play fast, we do tend to get in a good rhythm and score a lot of points,” WSU quarterback Alex Brink said. “We’ve never done it where we wanted to control the clock and that sort of thing. I’m sure it can be done. We’ve got a great offensive line and a great running back, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to control it.”
Both Brink and Doba said controlling the clock doesn’t necessarily have to mean a heavier reliance on the ground game. Instead, it will mean the successful conversion of third downs and a level of consistency as of yet unknown to WSU’s offense.
Doba said his team might attempt to slow down the pace by staying in the huddle an extra few seconds, while still giving Brink time to check things off at the line of scrimmage. One thing is certain, though.
“We’re not going to fall down after we get 10 yards,” Doba said.
Notes
Both Jerome Harrison and wide receiver Jason Hill were back in practice after taking Tuesday off. Harrison (shoulder) wore a no-contact jersey while Hill (thigh) participated in all drills. … Defensive tackle Ropati Pitoitua, limping noticeably after Tuesday’s practice, sat out. … Backup running back DeMaundray Woolridge was back on the field after recovering from flu-like symptoms, but one of his reserves, fellow freshman Dwight Tardy, was out. … Cornerback Omowale Dada (shoulder) also remained out of practice, but backup corner Lorenzo Bursey (shoulder) participated in a no-contact jersey.