Hold That Line Longer, Longer
Don’t move until you see the ball move.
Simple stuff, right?
Not for Washington State’s defensive line, which was caught offsides 10 times Saturday night, helping to fuel a Temple rally that kept the Cougars from breaking the game open.
What was the problem?
“I have no idea,” defensive coordinator Bill Doba said. “I think it’s just a lack of concentration.
“We really emphasize getting off on the ball and we don’t want to de-emphasize that. But we just got to get under control.”
For Leon Bender, it was more than a matter of simply leaving his stance early. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle seemed to line up in New Jersey a couple of times.
“We lined up offsides three times, so that was very frustrating,” head coach Mike Price said, lamenting WSU’s 14 penalties. “But that is correctable.
“I can’t correct a guy’s hustle, desire and attitude. But by God, I can correct that.”
Bender, who finished with six tackles, had his own theory.
“My basic explanation is that everybody was trying to make some plays out there,” he said.
The penalties called against the line put extra pressure on the rest of the defense.
“Y’all scare me,” linebacker James Darling joked, pulling end Dorian Boose aside as the Cougars entered their locker room afterward. “My heart can’t take that.”
Major move
In a game filled with offensive highlights, Kevin McKenzie owned one of the best.
As time was running down on what would become the game-winning drive for WSU, McKenzie turned a mid-range reception into a 40-yarder with a fake that rendered two defenders horizontal.
“All I did was catch the pass,” McKenzie said. “I used my ability to get around them and made them - I don’t really want to downplay them by saying I made them look bad - but, basically I did.
“I mean, it was pretty cool.”
We’re just good friends
Late in the first quarter, WSU linebacker James Darling and Temple guard Scott Oster fell to the turf in what appeared to be a passionate embrace.
In reality, their facemasks had become entangled.
“Unbelievable,” Price said. “I’ve never seen it where they were that hooked together, where you took them off and they were pounding on them (to get the helmets apart).
“I mean, get a crowbar.”
Tall order
Chad Carpenter beat Owls cornerback Tom Indio for the winning touchdown, using a 4-inch height advantage to haul in Ryan Leaf’s pass.
“That guy was 5-8,” Carpenter said. “When you have a guy 5-8 like that, you gotta throw the ball and go up above them.
“Great throw, good catch.”
Burris surprises Cougars
Temple quarterback Henry Burris surprised the Cougars with his poise under pressure, finding receiver Van Johnson 11 times for 144 yards.
“The thing that’s good about him is that he doesn’t lose his poise,” Doba said. “And he doesn’t get flustered. He stays in that pocket, moves around a little bit and he threw the ball with good velocity tonight.”
WSU cornerbacks appeared to be giving Johnson and the Temple receivers too much room.
“They were early,” Doba added. “Then we started trying to play some bump and try to take that away. They came in with a couple new routes that we hadn’t seen and I thought they did a nice job of execution.”
Senior cornerback Terrell Henderson wasn’t so sure.
“We’re a much better team than we played today,” Henderson said. “We didn’t have any discipline at all.
“We have to do something about that, and fast. We have two weeks to prepare for Oregon, and Oregon’s going to come in and they’re going to be hyped.”
Good game, Coach Dickenson
In the days leading up to Saturday night’s game, Temple coach Ron Dickerson said he felt the Owls were the better team.
WSU left tackle Scott Sanderson was so impressed, he couldn’t even recall the coach’s name.
“I think Coach Dickenson found out who the better team was,” Sanderson said.
Notes
Running back Michael Black did not start as punishment for being late to practice Thursday. McKenzie, a backup, also was late… . Before the game, Temple alum Bill Cosby reportedly signed an autograph for one of the officials. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo