‘We need to look in the mirror’: Washington State’s offense continues to struggle in 21-17 loss to No. 14 Utah

PULLMAN – Missing its star quarterback and its leading rusher, Utah lacked its usual sizzle. But the Utes were still good enough to outpace Washington State and its slumping offense.

No. 14 Utah scored 21 consecutive points, taking a 14-point lead late in the third quarter. The Cougars, lackluster on the attack for much of the night, couldn’t keep up and dropped a 21-17 decision at Gesa Field in front of a sparsely populated Thursday night crowd.

It was another disappointing effort from a Cougar offense that has struggled mightily during the team’s three-game losing streak. WSU managed 17 or fewer points in losses to USC, Oregon State and Utah.

“Offensively, we’re just not doing anything well to lean our hat on right now,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “It’s not being able to run the ball. … Negative plays and not being able to take it down the field.

“We need to look in the mirror and figure out what we can do well and we gotta lean on that. Right now, it’s inefficient play and not being able to move the chains and get ahead of a really good team.”

All-Pac-12 Utah quarterback Cameron Rising was a surprise scratch, missing the game due to a leg injury that been kept under wraps. Sophomore walk-on Bryson Barnes, who took key reps in last year’s Rose Bowl game, kept the ship steady, playing safely in relief (17 of 27 for 175 yards, no turnovers). Utes coach Kyle Whittingham told reporters after the game that the starter at QB was a game-time decision.

Utah (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12), which was also without starting running back Tavion Thomas, took a by-committee approach on the ground and fed carries to a couple of power-running backup tailbacks. The Utes totaled 169 yards and two touchdowns on 42 rushing attempts. No. 2 RB Micah Bernard was severely limited.

“To have the next man up and have a backup quarterback, and to win on the road in a tough environment on a Thursday night – they’re the champions of the Pac-12 until someone beats them,” Dickert said.

The Utes, who won the conference title last season, came into the game averaging over 40 points and more than 450 yards per game. They totaled 344 yards Thursday.

WSU (4-4, 1-4) managed just 264. Cougar ball-carriers were stopped in the backfield on 10 plays. Tailbacks were stacked up at the line of scrimmage and passes were often thrown short and toward the sidelines.

“We gotta find ways to execute better and not get ourselves behind the chains,” Dickert said. “Negative plays are constantly (hampering our offense). We’re not good enough to overcome that right now.”

WSU quarterback Cameron Ward was efficient, completing 27 of 31 passes. But most of those throws were shallow and ineffective. He totaled 222 passing yards. The Cougars’ shorthanded ground game offered little help, adding 42 yards on 19 rushes. WSU lost running back Jaylen Jenkins to an undisclosed injury in the second quarter.

The Utes used a backbreaking third-down conversion to create an insurmountable lead late in the third quarter. Utah gained 27 yards on a third-and-16 passing play deep in Cougar territory to set up a 5-yard touchdown catch from standout tight end Dalton Kincaid, making the score 21-7. Kincaid, an All-America candidate and Utah’s leading receiver, sustained an arm injury on the play that kept him sidelined for the rest of the game.

At that point, it appeared as though WSU was buried.

But the Cougar offense answered with one of its rare signs of life when reserve receiver Tsion Nunnally laid out for a 39-yard reception. Ward darted in for a 7-yard TD run moments later. Midway through the final period, WSU forced a key turnover – nickel Tanner Moku jumped on a dropped handoff – but its offense couldn’t turn the takeaway into six points. The Cougars settled for a 42-yard field goal and trailed by just four points with five minutes to play.

“We didn’t execute at critical moments in the fourth quarter,” Ward said.

WSU’s offense never got another chance.

Utah moved slowly and methodically downfield, draining four minutes off the clock. Finally, WSU’s defense made a third-down stop, bringing up a Utah fourth-and-7 inside the Cougars’ 30-yard line. The Utes elected to pass, and WSU committed a game-clinching defensive hold in the secondary.

“It’s tough to swallow,” Dickert said of the finish.

Added Ward: “It sucks when you can’t be on the field to try to make a play for the team.”

The Utes captured the momentum heading into halftime after capitalizing on a WSU special-teams miscue and a red-zone targeting penalty called on the Cougs.

WSU’s defense forced a three-and-out and a Utah punt with about three minutes remaining in the second quarter. But a mental mistake by the WSU return team proved costly.

As Cougar return man Robert Ferrel waited for the punt to arrive, teammate Cam Lampkin – playing a protection role – traveled off course and collided with Ferrel, knocking him out of position. The ball bounced off the turf and made contact with Ferrel’s leg. The Utes were there to jump on the loose ball at the WSU 25-yard line.

“There are ebbs and flows in every football game,” Dickert said. “There is a lot of adversity you gotta deal with.”

Utah advanced to the Cougs’ 3-yard line before WSU edge rusher Brennan Jackson made a hard hit in the backfield on a third-and-1 rushing play. The Utes sent out their field-goal unit, but the referees stopped the game to review Jackson’s tackle for targeting. Officials determined that Jackson had lowered his head and collided with the helmet of Utes running back Ja’Quinden Jackson.

“It’s tough,” Dickert said of the play. “He’s making a big, physical tackle. … You gotta deal with those things. They happen both ways.”

Brennan Jackson, one of WSU’s best defensive players, was sent to the locker room early and Utah was given a fresh set of downs on the goal line. The Utes punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 20 seconds on the clock and took confidence into the locker room, along with their first lead of the game, 14-7.

Neither team could capture momentum during a first quarter featuring plenty of stops at the line of scrimmage. The Cougs’ offense, sparked by an efficient start from Ward – who completed his first 12 passes – got rolling early in the second period.

Ward opened the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown strike to De’Zhaun Stribling early in the second quarter. Stribling motioned across the field to his right and cut upfield on the snap, running into open space and hauling in a precisely placed lob pass from Ward.

Utah’s offense found life on its fourth series of the game. Money Parks came down with a 31-yard catch on a third-and-4 near midfield to kick-start a scoring drive that ended with a 6-yard TD run from Ja’Quinden Jackson.

The Cougars responded with a promising drive, moving the ball to the Utes’ 33-yard line before pressure from Utah’s defensive front killed the series. WSU elected to go for it on fourth-and-11 from inside the Utah 35, but Ward was sacked – one of four sacks allowed by WSU’s patchwork offensive line – and fumbled the ball into the hands of Utah edge rusher Jonah Elliss, a graduate of nearby Moscow High.

Four plays later, the Utes used a WSU special-teams gaffe to build momentum.