Analysis: In win over Toledo, WSU’s defense showed maybe it can be Superman after all

PULLMAN – Parker McKenna doesn’t say much. Not after practices, not in radio shows, especially not after Washington State games, not even when he makes plays that almost singularly turn the tide in favor of the Cougars.

So on Saturday evening, after the senior linebacker picked off a pass in WSU’s 28-7 win over Toledo, he surprised just about everyone when he cracked a joke.

“Wish I was able to break a tackle and show off the running back skills a little bit,” McKenna said with a smile, “but that’s alright.”

What McKenna didn’t say is what he never would. If there’s one thing the Cougars’ defense showed in this win, it was this: Maybe the unit can be Superman after all. Maybe the WSU defense can anchor the team the rest of this season, putting the Cougs in position to land in a solid bowl game, even if their offense lags behind the way it did for three quarters Saturday afternoon.

The idea bears exploring because of how unlikely it seemed in previous weeks. In WSU’s loss to Virginia last week, this type of sentiment seemed to loom over the result: The Cougars’ defense looked excellent, but if they’re gonna win more games this season, their offense can’t fall apart like that. The second part remains true – quarterback Zevi Eckhaus has now thrown four interceptions in two games, and with those types of mistakes, he makes things exponentially harder on his team – but the first is what may be changing before our eyes.

This Cougar defense isn’t just formidable. What the group showed in Saturday’s game is that it can bail the offense out of these kinds of forgettable showings. On so many occasions, from Eckhaus’ two interceptions to just ugly drives, the Cougs’ offense put their defense in tough spots. They have done so for much of this season. And with only a few exceptions, WSU’s defense has done more than its fair share.

After Eckhaus threw his first interception, Toledo took over at the WSU 43. Ten plays later, the Rockets had to punt. After Eckhaus tossed his second – which came in part because he was hit as he threw – the Rockets started their next drive at their own 44. Seven plays later, they turned it over on downs, defensive end Buddha Peleti supplying pressure and true freshman linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen helping break up the pass.

“They did an incredible job,” Eckhaus said. “Obviously, as a quarterback, when you throw an interception, not the best feeling in the world, but to have a defense go out there and essentially erase it is huge for us, for our confidence, for the momentum. The defense did an incredible job today. Holding an opponent to seven points – you’re gonna win a lot of football games if you do that.”

But even outside those two drives, outside the times when the Cougars’ offense was turning the ball over, their defense held things down when their counterparts were stuck in mud. Remember their first two drives, both of which resulted in quick three-and-outs? WSU was trying to run the ball to no avail. Vanilla play calls led to vanilla results, and the Cougs had to punt.

On their next two series, the Rockets managed just one first down apiece. Both of their next two drives ended in punts after six plays. WSU stuffed the run almost entirely – all told, Toledo managed just 61 rushing yards, a fraction of the 200 that unit was averaging entering Saturday’s game – which was a credit to the improved tackling of so many Cougars: Safety Tucker Large tallied 13 tackles, McKenna posted 10, cornerback Colby Humphrey tallied eight and linebacker Caleb Francl followed with seven.

This is all even more remarkable when you remember the shoddy hand WSU (4-4) has been dealt on the injury front. The Cougs are missing so many key pieces up front. Starting defensive tackle Max Baloun is out for the year. His backup, sophomore Kaden Beatty, was riding around a scooter before this game. Starting defensive end Raam Stevenson has missed two straight games, and defensive tackle Mike Sandjo has missed three straight.

And that’s to make no mention of the fact that defensive end Isaac Terrell, who was in the middle of a breakout season , was a surprise scratch from Saturday’s game. He wasn’t dressed. It’s unclear why.

So even with all those injuries, the Cougars have made one thing clear: At this point in the season, with four regular-season games to go, maybe they can keep their team in games when their offense is sputtering. Think back to WSU’s win over Colorado State, when the offense didn’t score in the second half. Think back to the team’s loss to Virginia, when the offense produced only three points in the second half. Heck, hearken all the way back to WSU’s season-opening win over Idaho, when kicker Jack Stevens had to nail a walk-off field goal to avoid a colossal upset to an FCS team.

In all of those situations, the Cougs’ offense has looked like it was operating underwater, going through the motions. WSU didn’t always look that way against Toledo – Eckhaus led three scoring drives in the second quarter, and one scoring drive in the fourth frame, the Cougars ate up more than 6½ minutes of clock before running back Kirby Vorhees plunged into the end zone, a signal that WSU can run the ball when it needs to – but its defense covered things up when its offense was sputtering.

The way the Cougars’ schedule looks, that trend can likely continue. WSU has two games against one-win Oregon State, one home game against a middling Louisiana Tech team. The most challenging game of the bunch is a Nov. 22 road test against James Madison, whose defense ranks among the nation’s finest.

The Cougars’ defense may not stack up the same way in the same metrics, but they’ve shown they can keep their team in games. They’ve shown that when their offense looks like Clark Kent, they can be Superman.