Cougars face difficult test from ‘Quiz’
PULLMAN – The Washington State defense will be taking a little pop quiz Saturday, and how it answers will probably determine the Cougars’ success against Oregon State.
Running back Jacquizz Rodgers, all 5-foot-7 and 193 pounds of him, burst onto the national scene two weeks ago.
“Quiz,” as he’s known around Corvallis, snaked and bounced his way through the vaunted USC run defense for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, helping the Beavers upset the then-No. 1 ranked Trojans 27-21 on national television.
“For whatever reason, we just couldn’t tackle him,” USC coach Pete Carroll said after the game. “We’d hit him in the backfield and he’d keep bouncing. Him hiding behind the line of scrimmage was very effective. We had troubles with it all day.”
Now the true freshman from Richmond, Texas, who has rushed for 550 yards already this season, is WSU’s problem.
“You lose him,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said this week when asked how to defend the Pac-10’s leading rusher. “You don’t know where he’s at. He can slither through a crack like nobody I’ve seen. I mean, he goes straight ahead and all of a sudden he just turns his shoulders, so he makes himself skinny, and he can slip through a crack.
“He’s a very challenging little guy who plays big.”
After upsetting USC, Oregon State (2-3, 1-1 Pac-10) traveled to Salt Lake City last week and lost to then-No. 15 Utah, 31-28. The Utes held Rodgers to 101 yards rushing, 33 of those coming on a draw play late in the game.
“They did a very nice job with their secondary run support of getting those guys filling those backside running lanes pretty well,” OSU coach Mike Riley said this week. “They basically were able to get, in their scheme, more guys in the box quicker and some of those cutback lanes that might have been there were filled by secondary people.
“They were very aggressive and very quick to read the run.”
It worked – to an extent.
“When somebody is doing that, something else is vulnerable,” Riley said of Utah’s scheme.
That would be the passing lanes, and the Beavers’ Lyle Moevao took advantage, completing 21 of 31 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
So how will the Cougars (1-5) reply to the question of the “Quiz?”
“Our answer will be we have to be extremely disciplined, and be where we need to be, because if were not all playing great team defense, he’s going to be able to beat you,” Wulff said.
Brother is no slouch
“Quiz” isn’t the only Rodgers playing for Oregon State. Older brother James is actually the runt of the pair, standing the same height but weighing 8 pounds less.
He’s also the faster of the two, playing flanker, where he catches passes (24 for 277 yards and three touchdowns) and runs the Beavers’ fly sweep (15 carries for 83 yards).
Last season the elder Rodgers carried the ball eight times against the Cougars, gaining 29 yards. He also scored on an 8-yard run.
Notebook
Asked who his MVPs would be at the halfway point of the season, Wulff picked center Kenny Alfred and receiver Brandon Gibson on offense, along with middle linebacker Greg Trent and defensive end Matt Mullennix on the other side of the ball. … Running backs Chris Ivory won’t play Saturday (hamstring) and Dwight Tardy is questionable (knee). Tackle Steven Ayers (shoulder, neck) still isn’t ready. But receiver Daniel Blackledge (shoulder), linebackers Cory Evans and Mike Ledgerwood (both with hamstrings) and defensive backs Tyrone Justin (quad) and Markus Dawes (quad) should all be available for at least some time. … Guard Brian Danaher didn’t practice Thursday with an undisclosed injury. His availability is to be determined. If he doesn’t go, redshirt freshman B.J. Guerra will make his first career start. … With the Cougars in Oregon, some of the coaches’ wives will drive up U.S. 195 and attend Eastern Washington’s Big Sky showdown with rival Montana in Cheney.