How WSU OC Ben Arbuckle keeps players engaged with playcalling — and what happens when they don’t work

PULLMAN – Ben Arbuckle knows he’s drawn up a good one when his players react by giggling.

Washington State’s offensive coordinator will sometimes diagram a two-quarterback formation. He’s asked wide receivers to make throws, backup quarterbacks to call their own numbers and four receivers to line up on the same side of the field.

“It makes the game fun,” WSU wide receiver Kyle Williams said. “And that’s what the game is. It’s supposed to be fun.”

Funny as the formations might look on paper, the Cougars’ creative play-calling has been even more effective in practice. For fans, it’s been entertaining. For the players themselves, it’s been fun – and it’s kept them engaged in the offense.

Take WSU’s second play of the second quarter in its win over Wisconsin on Sept. 9. Quarterback Cameron Ward took a shotgun snap, feigned a run, then threw sideways to wide receiver Lincoln Victor, a high school quarterback. Victor threw downfield to tight end Cooper Mathers, a 39-yard completion that set up a WSU touchdown moments later.

“That arm never leaves me,” Victor said.

The most bizarre play Washington State has displayed came in the third quarter of its win over Oregon State. Facing a second-and-9 in Beavers territory, WSU swapped running back Jaylen Jenkins for backup quarterback John Mateer, who lined up for a shotgun snap, then motioned for Ward to join him in the backfield.

Mateer took the snap and handed it off to Ward, who came rolling out of the pocket like he had just faked a handoff. While he did that, Mateer ran into the open field, where he caught a pass from Ward, a 9-yard completion that moved the sticks .

Plays like that don’t exist on video games. Just at Gesa Field.

“At the end of the day, John Mateer is a good football player. We want him on the field,” Arbuckle said. “He has his role. He has things that he’s really good at, and it can be an advantage for us. So John goes in there. He understands his plays, goes in there and he’s been really efficient whenever he’s been in there. It’s fun, but at the end of the day, it’s always something that we believe gives us an advantage.”

When it comes to two-quarterback looks or double passes, the Cougars aren’t using the plays in blowouts. They’re doing so at pivotal moments.

WSU ran past Northern Colorado on Sept. 16, but before things got out of hand, the hosts got creative. After they scored their first touchdown to take a 6-0 lead, the Cougars lined up for an extra point with a formation of five players out wide, one tight end in motion, and one player taking a snap – in this case, Victor.

Victor took the snap from long-snapper Simon Samarzich, rolled out to his right and found Billy Riviere III for an easy 2-point conversion. WSU took an 8-0 lead.

But the Cougars haven’t always had such luck. Sometimes their zany play-calls have gone awry, such as in the fourth quarter of their win over the Beavers.

WSU had fourth-and-goal from the OSU 2, and Arbuckle drew up a play that asked his offensive linemen to undercut their matchups. When Ward took the snap, his linemen did so, hoping to give Ward more time to throw.

“In that moment, we chose to win the game right there,” assistant to the head coach Justin Kramer said. “Our quarterback was playing great. So it’s like, ‘Put the ball in his hands. Let Cam go make plays.’ ”

Except the play didn’t work. Ward tossed a fade route for receiver Josh Kelly, hoping he could make a play, but the pass fell incomplete. The Beavers took over and marched 98 yards to draw within three points.

WSU held on for the win, thanks in large part to its special teams guys securing an onside kick, but the play’s failure demonstrated the risk Arbuckle runs with some of the calls.

But Ward appears comfortable with the creative style.

“He shows signs of being able to respond,” Victor said. “And that’s what you want to see. That’s what you want to play for, with a quarterback like that – someone who’s gonna be calm under pressure. I don’t think he ever hit the panic button.”

With an innovate play-caller like Arbuckle in his ear, Ward rarely needs to.