The pick: Why Fresno State will beat Washington State

LOS ANGELES – Playing a bowl game with a makeshift coaching staff and a limited roster – it’s not something new for Washington State.

The circumstances were similar for the Cougars last year. They went into the Sun Bowl against Central Michigan with the remnants of former coach Nick Rolovich’s run-and-shoot staff. They played without two senior running backs, two standout offensive linemen and their best defensive back.

But WSU had time on its side last year. The Sun Bowl was played on Dec. 31. At that point, the Cougars had been operating with a temporary staff for over two months. And they had a month to prepare for the absences of tailbacks Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh, tackles Abe Lucas and Liam Ryan, and cornerback Jaylen Watson. A second-half comeback fell short in a 24-21 loss in El Paso, Texas.

This year, the Cougars were left scrambling ahead of their postseason game. They had about two weeks to sort things out before their matchup with Mountain West champion Fresno State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Now, I’m not too concerned about their defensive coordinator position. Brian Ward bolted earlier this month, but this is coach Jake Dickert’s system. Still, one can’t help but feel a bit worried about the linebacking corps, which lost its three top players earlier this month – two of them entered the transfer portal, and the other, outside linebacker Daiyan Henley, declared for the NFL draft.

The primary question mark for this team lies on the offensive side of the ball. Coordinator Eric Morris was with the Cougars, then suddenly, he wasn’t. Morris installed his balanced version of the Air Raid, spent a season in Pullman, and couldn’t pass up a head coaching opportunity elsewhere, even if the timing of his departure put the Cougars in a tricky position. Morris left WSU on Tuesday to take the top job at North Texas. It’s hard to blame him. He’s returning home for his first FBS head coaching gig.

At least the Cougars have a couple of Air Raid vets to replace Morris. Offensive line coach Clay McGuire and receivers coach Joel Filani are sharing OC duties. They know this system well. So does quarterback Cameron Ward. But the offense was already streaky before the coaching shakeup – and before starting receivers De’Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie entered the portal. It’s hard to imagine that it’ll function smoothly with two assistants in charge on a week’s notice.

Meanwhile, Fresno State will be, by and large, fielding the same team that it did in the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 3, when the Bulldogs defeated Boise State 28-16 on the road. Fresno State is riding an eight-game winning streak and boasts a high-powered passing attack – the kind of offense that has given WSU some fits this year.

There’s just too much working against the Cougars – the No. 7 team in the Pac-12 – for me to feel comfortable picking them to score an upset victory over one of the top Group of Five outfits. I don’t think they’ll fold. It’s not in their nature.

But a win over a surging, intact Fresno State team feels like a tall order.

The pick: Fresno State 37, Washington State 27