Cougars hope to sack Arizona State
PULLMAN — From 2000-2003, no college football team in Division I-A sacked the quarterback more than Washington State. In the last two seasons alone, WSU has racked up 105, a primary reason for the team’s success.
But this year, the sack totals have declined, and the team’s 25 thus far have them in fourth place in the Pac-10. As the Cougars discovered last week by winning at UCLA, however, the 2004 season isn’t over quite yet.
That’s why they have this week targeted as a prime opportunity to boost those sagging sack totals. In fact, it may be necessary if the Cougars are to carry their still-fledging bowl hopes into Apple Cup week.
Playing against a ranked opponent, No. 20 Arizona State, in a place where the Sun Devils haven’t lost all season, WSU does have one advantage. Sun Devils quarterback Andrew Walter doesn’t have the same mobility that many other Pac-10 signal-callers have brought to the table. Instead, Walter has led the potent Arizona State offense by sitting in the pocket and picking apart secondaries.
“This is our chance to get one of those five-, six-sack games,” defensive line coach Mike Walker said. “This is it. You get a quarterback that’s going to sit in the pocket. All we have to do is get a pass rush going and get off our blocks to make something happen.”
But that has been somewhat of a problem lately for the defensive line. Walker said his pass rushers have not done a good job shedding blockers in the last three games. Although the Cougars are sometimes penetrating the backfield and getting close to the quarterback, they haven’t been able to get past offensive linemen to make plays.
Defensive end Adam Braidwood said he and fellow defensive end Mkristo Bruce are looking forward to the opportunity to attack Walter from the edges. The Sun Devils have employed tight ends to help protect their quarterback this season, but Braidwood still sees opportunity.
“If a guy can’t run, it makes my job a lot easier,” Braidwood said. “Our goal is to get sacks and stop the play from happening, but we can throw him off his game by hitting him, batting passes and stuff like that. Make him think twice about throwing the ball.”
Of course, it’s not just the defensive ends that can rack up sacks. WSU has long been a program adept at finding everyone from linebackers to safeties who will harass opposing signal-callers. With Walter setting a new Pac-10 record for career touchdown passes last week, it’s all the more important that WSU discover the keys to slowing him down this week.
“You’ve got to blitz him and put pressure on him so he doesn’t have time to pick his guys, and leave our corners and safeties out on limbs,” said middle linebacker Will Derting, who has tallied 2.5 sacks on the year. “That’s what our main emphasis is.
“You’ve got to get to him. He’s breaking all these records, and he’s doing a good job.”
Notes
Junior Bryan Olson, the Cougars’ fourth defensive tackle with Aaron Johnson injured, missed Tuesday’s practice because of flu-like symptoms. Linebacker Brian Winter also missed practice after reinjuring a leg he had broken earlier in the season. Winter has had x-rays come back negative, but the exact severity of his injury remains uncertain. … Three players who missed the UCLA game were able to practice. Cornerback Alex Teems (neck), wide receiver Chris Jordan (groin) and linebacker Brian Hall (stinger) were all in pads. … Doba said he’s likely to have the players out of pads for today’s practice, repeating a strategy that worked last week leading up to UCLA. Doba said it’s helpful to lighten up on the physical wear and tear of practice this late in the season as the games played begin to take a toll.