A Grip on Sports: A different night but same issues may await Washington State
A GRIP ON SPORTS • This is a weird week. A Thursday night football game that shouldn’t be awful. Sure, the NFL isn’t involved but that still seems a bit hard to fathom.
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• It is easy to assume Washington State hasn’t played often on Thursdays but that assumption is wrong. The Cougars have 45 times. Yes, we were surprised by that number, even considering it includes bowl games. Then again, if anyone in the Pac-12 would be shunted off to the odd day of the week, it would probably be the team from the hinterlands, right?
Though maybe we are looking at this the wrong way. Thursday night is a prime spot. After all, hardly anyone else is playing. That’s why the game will be featured on … oh, wait. FS1. Not ESPN. Not even Fox. And with a 7:05 start, it will battle Tom Brady and the Buccaneers hosting Lamar Jackson and the Ravens for at least a little while.
With that game being on Amazon’s Prime Network, there won’t be a lot of switching back and forth – unless you have really dexterous fingers.
Not that Cougar fans care about the Ravens or Bucs. Not when Utah is in town.
The Utes are once again among the Pac-12 elite. Maybe not as high as they hoped – they have lost twice this season, including a conference loss at UCLA – but still among the big four with Oregon, USC and the Bruins.
Washington State gave the Ducks a battle in Pullman already and probably should have won. The Cougs didn’t present the same challenge to USC in L.A., though, and with UCLA not on the schedule, this is their last chance to make a splash – and upset the conference apple cart.
To do that, they will have to protect quarterback Cameron Ward a heck of a lot better than they have. The transfer from Immaculate Word has spent much of the most recent games, including the pre-bye loss at Oregon State, having to make plays on the run. He’s shown he can, just not as often as he does when he’s got a clean pocket to work with. In that, he’s not alone. Every quarterback would rather have all day to throw.
Utah isn’t inclined to let that happen. The Utes average more than two sacks a game, not exceptional but enough to project another long night for Ward. To combat the recent protection issues (11 sacks in the last two games), WSU coach Jake Dickert admitted yesterday the Cougars used their bye week to make changes on the offensive line.
Will they work? The cynic in us cries out with a “it can’t hurt.” But it can. Offensive lines are all about teamwork and interconnectivity. That hasn’t been the case thus far in Pullman, so we give Dickert points for being willing to try something new. It’s a gamble but a calculated one. If it works, if Ward is better protected, then the Cougar offense may just be good enough to support a defense that certainly is.
That side of the ball is not only competent but, at times, exceptional. The defense is among the Pac-12 leaders, giving up less than 27 points a game against conference foes. It is fourth in yards per game, but is bereft in one key stat: turnovers. In its four conference games it has just two interceptions. Maybe that’s because its sack crew has been held in check. With just six, the Cougars aren’t the worst but certainly aren’t meeting their expectations.
Thursday night, with the Palouse alive and the temperature crisp, would be a good night for Washington State to build on that total. It won’t be easy. Not only is Utah senior quarterback Cam Rising mobile, but at 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, he’s also hard to bring down.
It would behoove the Cougars to apply pressure without having to bring extra rushers, allowing someone like linebacker Daiyan Henley to mirror Rising and keep him under control when he runs.
Of such things are upsets built. And the Cougars could use an upset this week, no matter what night it occurs.
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WSU: How do we know the Cougars are working on their offensive line? Colton Clark let us know with this story. … The conference released its preseason all-conference basketball teams yesterday. Mouhamed Gueye was a member of the men’s team and Charlisse Leger-Walker the women’s. Colton has the story on the former’s honor while Jim Allen covers the latter. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner explains the tie-breaking procedures and shares betting lines in the Mercury News this morning. … Washington relies heavily on its tight ends, including Gonzaga Prep graduate Devin Culp. … So does Utah, though the Utes have some wide receiver alternatives. … Next up for Oregon is at California, a school that has never upset a top-10-ranked Duck team. … UCLA knew the season would be bumpy. They always are. … There is nothing smooth about the Colorado offense. … Arizona State has a quarterback competition going on. … Coming off a bye week, Arizona hosts USC in a game that will feature two scrambling quarterbacks.
Gonzaga: The Zags have another opportunity to excel this season. Don’t take our word for it. Theo Lawson has that straight from the alums’ mouths, including Andrew Nembhard and others. … Drew Timme made a couple more preseason All-American teams, including the Associated Press’ (Jim Meehan has that story) and the one put together by the Athletic. … Elsewhere in the WCC, youth will play a big role for BYU this season but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the conference’s commissioner isn’t about to deal with officiating questions.
Softball: A local team won a gold medal in the Huntsman World Senior Games in Salt Lake City. That and other news notes are in the S-R’s latest local briefs.
Seahawks: DK Metcalf won’t need surgery. That’s the good news. The bad news? No one is sure how long he will be out with a patellar tendon injury. … The 4-3 start seems to vindicate John Schneider and Pete Carroll, doesn’t it? Check back in a month. That’s the way the NFL works. … We can pass along a last look at the win over the Chargers.
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• Thursday night college football just doesn’t work for some of us. The out-of-the-ordinary nature of playing that night runs smack dab into other responsibilities we have that night. Which means we won’t get to listen to analyst Petros Papadakis, someone we actually enjoy. Until later …