Offensive line turns heads
MADISON, Wis. – There was one question mark that turned into an exclamation point Saturday in Washington State’s 42-21 loss at No. 7-ranked Wisconsin.
The Cougars’ offensive line did a great imitation of road graders, the term head coach Bill Doba used for the Badgers before the game.
“I think we surprised a lot of people,” said junior guard Dan Rowlands. “It’s a good confidence builder for us to know we put up 21 points against a good defense.”
It wasn’t just the point total or the 157 rushing yards or the nearly 5 yards a carry or even the lone sack the Badgers were able to record late in the game. No, it was how the Cougars played that was the confidence builder.
“We got pretty good movement on the D-line throughout the game,” Rowlands said. “I knew we could run the ball a little bit, but I was a little surprised we were running off 20 yards at a time.”
The Cougars had six runs of 10 or more yards, including a 17-yarder by Dwight Tardy, a 12-yard run by Chris Ivory and a career-long 27-yard scramble by Alex Brink when all the Badgers were pushed to the outside.
“I was real pleased with the way the offensive line played,” Brink said. “It wasn’t just protection. I mean the way we ran the football. We came out and really fired off the line in that first half and throughout the game. As far as the offensive line goes, we were pleased with their play for most of the day.”
The Badgers, who were fifth in the nation in total defense in 2006, brought nine into the box after Washington State rushed for 99 yards in the first 15 minutes.
“We had to make some adjustments,” said center Kenny Alfred, “and for the most part I think we did. We played well, but we still have a ways to go.”
Donovan shines
Wisconsin had its own question mark and he was under center.
Fifth-year senior Tyler Donovan was making only his third career start. But it didn’t show.
Donovan completed 19 of 29 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns, including a back-breaking 38-yarder to Luke Swan with 30 seconds left in the first half.
“He really threw the ball well,” Doba said. “Very accurate. He had a couple of guys open that he overthrew, too, obviously, but all in all, I don’t know what his stats were – 19 of 29, 284 yards, three TDs, I’d say that’s a pretty good day.”
Doba’s comments were echoed by Donovan’s teammates.
“He’s very confident out there,” UW defensive lineman Nick Hayden said. “You can just watch him stay in the pocket and wait for an open receiver with pressure in his face. He’s very poised in the pocket and that’s something that comes with a great quarterback.”
Pressure wasn’t a problem most of the day for Donovan. The Cougars got to him just once – a blitz sack by Kendrick Dunn – and rarely made him move in the pocket.
“Let any quarterback have that much time and they’re going to find somebody open with double moves,” Doba said. “And their offensive line is pretty good.”
Not so special
A glaring weak spot for Washington State in 2007, special teams have been a particular point of emphasis for the Cougars this fall – but there was no immediate gratification.
The Cougars spent the entire afternoon with inferior field position – the average starting position for their drives being their 20-yard line, except for two breaks after a Wisconsin fumble and a 1-yard punt. Wisconsin, meanwhile, had an average starting point of its 37, blocked a punt – which WSU punter Darryl Blunt alertly scooped up on one bounce and ran for a first down – and made an interception on WSU fake punt that was undone by a high snap from Tony Thompson.
That came early in the fourth quarter, with the Cougs at midfield trying to cut into a two-touchdown lead.
“We had the look we wanted, but as soon as the ball snaps high the defense stops reacting the way it usually will,” said David Walkosky, the new Cougars assistant who oversees much of the special teams play. “The whole defense stop and froze and you don’t want that. If they’re coming after us, we want them to keep coming after us.”
Field position, Walkosky noted, was a crucial element in WSU’s struggles.
“We got a penalty on special teams, we had a hold on the punt team,” he said. “You’ve got to change field position. Hidden yards are so crucial. How their kickoff is versus our kickoff. Their kickoff guy was putting the ball in the end zone on touchbacks every time.”
Gibson a gamer
After missing nearly two weeks of fall camp with a strain of the left knee, it seemed unlikely that receiver Brandon Gibson would be a major factor in the Cougars’ opener.
But the junior from Puyallup, Wash., responded with six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown – and at least one teammate was notsurprised.
“I talked to him (Friday) and (Saturday) and he said it was feeling the best it had felt all week,” Brink said. “You get out there in front of 90,000 and the TV cameras are on, things start feeling a whole lot better. I wasn’t surprised he played. He’s a guy who is going to battle no matter what.”
Cougars improvise
The Midwest heat and WSU’s sketchy depth at linebacker forced the Cougars to improvise continually.
That depth took a hit when Jason Stripling’s appeal of his academic ineligibility was denied by the NCAA. It took another with the discovery of a stress fracture in Alex Hamill’s right foot. Dunn started at weakside linebacker, but missed long stretches of the game with cramps, which forced strongside backup Andy Mattingly in at that position. Middle backer Greg Trent also cramped during one Wisconsin drive, with Chris Baltzer filling in.