No. 19 Washington State looks to bounce back and top Arizona on homecoming

PULLMAN – Ray Brown had cookies to focus on. As Arizona fell to USC in triple overtime last weekend, Washington State’s cornerbacks coach paid no attention. Instead, back home in Pullman, he was trying to get his daughter to make him cookies.

“Cookies are always good,” Brown said.

For Brown, it’s part of the way he separates work and life. When he’s away from the office, he leaves work behind, focusing on life with his wife, Amber, and their children Gavin, Rylin and Peyton.

“And then when we get to the office,” Brown said, “It’s all work.”

This week, the work revolves around Arizona, which comes to town for a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Gesa Field.

The No. 19 Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season, a road setback to UCLA, which used an effective pass rush to disrupt quarterback Cameron Ward and force WSU’s offense to look average for the first time all season. Washington State came away with two main lessons: Protect Ward better and run the ball better.

The good news for the Cougars is the Wildcats profile as an easier opponent, at least on that front. Their pass rush ranks second to last in the Pac-12, according to Pro Football Focus, and their run defense ranks seventh. In three losses this year, Arizona has yielded 30-plus points each time.

There may be no better news for Washington State, which needs its offense to get going . Last week, Ward threw his first two interceptions of the season. With time to sit back and throw this season, Ward has completed 77% of his passes for 1,288 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Cougars hope he sees more of those opportunities this weekend.

Still, Ward knows he needs to be better against pressure and without it. Ward held on to the ball too long on a couple of occasions against UCLA, leading to a sack and general confusion . There was plenty of blame to go around after the game. Ward accepted most of it.

“I think every piece of our offense owned that …” WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. “I think that was pretty clear to see when we watched the film …

“Our aim points at the offensive line and being tough and physical enough to finish, and then running the correct routes and being in the right spots at times. So it was multilevel. That’s what I thought after the game, and that’s what the tape really showed on offense.”

For the Cougars’ offense to bounce back, much will depend on their offensive line, which slogged through its worst showing of the year against UCLA. Arizona doesn’t have that caliber of pass rush, but the Wildcats have edge Taylor Upshaw, who has totaled 14 pressures this season – four sacks, four hits and six hurries. Arizona also uses edge Isaiah Ward, who has had two sacks and 10 hurries.

But the Wildcats won’t just blitz Ward. They’ll likely take a page out of the Bruins’ book and roll out what they call their “dollar” package, inserting two nickelbacks onto the field to drop more in coverage and blanket the Cougars’ wide receivers. For Arizona, the extra man this season has recently been Martell Irby, who is PFF’s highest-graded Arizona defender, with a grade of 82.2.

“They’re playing physical at the line of scrimmage, and they’re playing attacking,” Dickert said. “That’s the way that they play, and they kind of live and die by that, and we gotta be ready.”

The Cougars’ defense will get one of two quarterbacks: Jayden de Laura, the former WSU quarterback who is nursing an injury, or redshirt freshman Noah Fifita, who stole the show last week with five touchdowns against USC. Arizona coach Jedd Fisch told reporters de Laura will start if he’s 100% healthy – but that’s a big if, forcing WSU to prepare for both

.

“I think they’re both very talented,” Dickert said. “They both can really throw the ball, and they’re both operating at high levels. So prepare for both of them, but you don’t see a drop off at all with the young kid (Fifita) in there.”

For that reason, the onus will be on WSU’s defense – its secondary to force a takeaway, like it has in three games this season, and its defensive line to get pressure on whoever is taking snaps. As usual, those responsibilities will go to edges Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson, who last week combined for 13 pressures – seven for Stone, six for Jackson.

Their jobs might change depending on which quarterback Arizona rolls with. Against de Laura, whom the Cougars picked off four times last season, they might have to stay with the play longer than against Fifita. But they’ve provided such consistent pass rush that their individual matchups haven’t always mattered

.