Two-minute drill: Washington State’s keys to victory against Oregon State

PORTLAND – Here is what to watch for when Washington State takes on Oregon State at 4:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.

When Oregon State has the ball…

Who will the Beavers start at quarterback, Maalik Murphy or Gabarri Johnson? Murphy received a reported $1.5M NIL payday over the offseason, only to get benched two weeks ago in favor of Johnson, who finished out the Beavers’ blowout win over FCS Lafayette under interim head coach Robb Akey. After an 0-7 start to the year, Oregon State brass fired coach Trent Bray on Oct. 12.

The Cougars will be paying close attention to whoever takes the field for OSU anyway, but particularly because of how different Murphy and Johnson’s play styles are. Murphy is a standstill pocket-passer, totaling negative-39 rushing yards on the year, many of those on sacks. He has thrown nine touchdowns to eight interceptions, a key reason why he was benched last weekend.

His replacement was Johnson, a 5-foot-11 speedster whose best attributes might involve his legs. In OSU’s win over Lafayette, he picked up 82 rushing yards and one touchdown on just six carries, an average rush of nearly 14 yards, underscoring just how elusive he is in the open field. He also ripped off a 52-yard rush in that one – which signals that he’s explosive too.

Can the Cougars slow down Johnson? Murphy? What about both? It’s possible OSU runs packages for each player in an effort to throw off the WSU defense, which is allowing just 13.5 points in its last four games. If the Cougars want to keep that up – no matter which QB the Beavs roll out – they’ll need to keep tackling better.

This season, WSU has missed 125 tackles. That’s the second-most nationwide, according to Pro Football Focus, which has assigned the Cougars a tackling grade of 38.6 – dead last in the country. But those numbers are a tad misleading because of the progress that unit is making. In their last two games, WSU defenders have whiffed on a combined 21 tackles, 11 against Virginia and 10 against Toledo, the latter of which managed only one scoring drive last weekend.

To put things in perspective, the Cougs missed 21 tackles alone in their loss to SEC power Ole Miss earlier this month.

WSU will look to generate a turnover or two against Oregon State’s offense, which has a turnover margin of minus-9 – only three spots up from dead last in the country. But the Cougars have only one interception all season, which came in their win over Toledo. The turnover battle could swing this one.

When WSU has the ball…

If the Cougs want to make the Beavs’ defense look the way it has for most of the season – allowing 33 points per game, No. 119 nationwide – they would do well to keep their ground game churning. In each of their last four games, they’ve cleared the century mark on the ground, a critical development for an offense that has proved mostly inconsistent thus far .

The central figure to that effort has been sophomore running back Kirby Vorhees, who has firmly taken over the reins as the Cougars’ starter, replacing veteran Angel Johnson. In WSU’s win over Toledo last weekend, Vorhees didn’t just total 62 yards and one score on the ground. He was a key part in the 12-play, 6-minute drive his offense used to ice the win, an indication that coach Jimmy Rogers’ vision – run-first, chew clock, demoralize the opposing defense – could be coming to fruition, with Vorhees as the lead back.

All signs point toward this: WSU should be able to operate much the same way against Oregon State’s defense, which is also permitting 153 rushing yards per game, 83rd in the country, and nearly 260 passing yards a game, which ranks 119th nationally. Even better news for the Cougars is that two Beaver defenders who take most of OSU’s snaps, safety Skyler Thomas and linebacker Aiden Sullivan, have missed miss 24 combined tackles.

Still, to take advantage of the holes in the Beavers’ defense, the Cougars need to hold on to the ball. Which version of WSU QB Zevi Eckhaus will show up? The wise, measured Eckhaus who threw two touchdowns and avoided turnovers against Ole Miss? Or the volatile Eckhaus who threw two picks apiece against Virginia and Toledo?

He’ll have to be his best self against OSU’s defense, which has picked off five passes this fall: one interception apiece from cornerback Trey Glasper, lineman Jojo Johnson, reserve safety Harlem Howard, Thomas and cornerback Jalil Tucker. That group has also piled up six sacks, including two from edge rusher Takari Hickle, who has nine pressures in his last four games.

Hickle and the OSU pass rush will be facing a shorthanded WSU offensive line, which is down right tackle Christian Hilborn and his backup, Division II transfer Jaylin Caldwell, who has been out since exiting early from the Virginia game with his own injury. As a result, the Cougs have moved left guard Jonny Lester to right tackle and subbed in third-year sophomore Noah Dunham in at left guard.

If the Cougs’ offensive line can give Eckhaus time – if they can pave the way for another robust rushing outing – expect WSU to draw within one win of bowl eligibility. If not, OSU could be looking at a second straight victory.