Cougars play well, but not well enough to win at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. – The turnovers and stops that have eluded the Washington State defense finally came on Saturday. And a suddenly aggressive offense was able to put some points on the board, for a half. But on a day the Cougars played some of their best football of the season, the squandered opportunities that have plagued WSU arose once more in a thoroughly deflating 34-28 loss in front of 42,042 fans at No. 24 California. “All three phases played extremely hard, played extremely well,” WSU coach Mike Leach said. “I thought for the most part we played a good football game, we didn’t play a perfect game, we played a good game.” Chances were created by the Cougars, who forced turnovers – Marcellus Pippins intercepted Cal quarterback Jared Goff on the game’s third play and recovered a fumble – but did not score any points following them. “There (were) times where we could have taken control of this game,” Cougar quarterback Luke Falk said. “Just a play here and there.” Three of those plays came on special teams and those miscues alone were enough to cost the Cougars a victory in their Pac-12 opener. A missed field goal from 40-yards by kicker Erik Powell cost the Cougars a chance to go up two scores in the third quarter and WSU was surprised by an onside kick the Golden Bears (5-0, 2-0) successfully recovered to set up the drive in which they took the lead. WSU (2-2) led 21-13 early in the third quarter when the Cougars faced fourth-and-one at their own 49-yard line. Going for it made good sense – WSU was 9 of 14 on fourth down conversion attempts entering Saturday’s game – and the Cougars defense was playing well enough that a turnover on downs would not necessarily mean points for the Golden Bears. And indeed the Cougars went for it, but not by running powerful back Gerard Wicks – he scored WSU’s second touchdown by plowing through defenders for seven yards – or with a quick pass to Gabe Marks – he caught 10 balls for 145 yards. The Cougars hinted that they were going to do those things, sending the offense onto the field, but then called them off and sent out the punt team. Freshman punter Zachary Charme took the snap and rushed toward the line of scrimmage, hoping to catch the Golden Bears off-guard in the confusion of trying to set up a return. But Cal cornerback Darius Allensworth locked onto the freshman, and stripped him of the football. Safety Stefan McClure picked up the ball and ran 45 yards for a touchdown that evaporated all of WSU’s halftime lead except for a single point. “Bad call,” Leach said. “I shouldn’t have called it.” Another missed opportunity came in the fourth quarter when the WSU defense forced the Golden Bears into third-and-36, a position from which it is practically inconceivable to attain a first down. And Cal effectively conceded the punt, calling a draw play to power back Vic Enwere, a move that compromises between slightly better field position and not taking a shot downfield. Except the 230-pound back rumbled for 42 yards and a first down. While Cal did not score on that drive, the extended possession meant less time left for the Cougars, who trailed by six. “The call was good,” defensive lineman Darryl Paulo said. “They snapped the ball, we weren’t ready and they happened to call the right call to capitalize on our mistakes.” The miscues buried what otherwise may have been WSU’s first win over a ranked team in more than two years. The WSU offense opened up the most it has all season and Falk completed passes of 21 yards or more to five different receivers, including throws of 35 and 38 yards to Marks and Dom Williams, respectively. Falk ran left before flipping a pass to Kyrin Priester who was running in the opposite direction. The receiver kept running and wasn’t tackled before he’d gained 24 yards. A couple plays later, the receiver lined up as a tight end. There was even some dabbling with a wishbone formation. Defensively, the Cougars held Cal to 79 rushing yards – the Golden Bears averaged 192 ground yards per game entering the contest. WSU will maintain its three sacks per game average, which was good enough to tie with Cal for first in the conference heading into the game. But all those positives only set up the Cougars for another loss and gave WSU more reason why it should have won, but it didn’t.