In record-breaking outing, WSU WR Lincoln Victor erupts — and shows what he’s best at
EUGENE – Someday, when Lincoln Victor graduates and moves on from Washington State’s program, he’ll be remembered in a distinct way.
He’ll be remembered for blossoming into a skilled receiver, an athlete with superior speed and resolve.
In WSU’s 38-24 loss to Oregon on Saturday, Victor illustrated that and more. He finished with a school-record 16 catches for 161 yards. He reeled in back-to-back huge gains. And as he recovers from a high-ankle injury that sidelined him nearly two games, he demonstrated grit to match.
What he also showed is the way his skill set is best used.
For the second consecutive week, Washington State ran a trick play that ended with someone other than WSU quarterback Cameron Ward trying a pass, and for the second straight, it fell incomplete. On Saturday, it came late in the second quarter.
Ward took a shotgun snap and handed it off to running back Nakia Watson, who shuffled it to Victor, who was running across the formation. In high school in Vancouver, Washington, Victor became one of the area’s best quarterbacks. He earned all-league MVP honors on three occasions.
He still has some of those skills – “That arm never leaves me,” Victor said last month, after he tossed a complete pass in WSU’s win over Wisconsin – but he had no real chance to show them on Saturday’s play. The receiver the play is designed for, Kyle Williams, was blanketed by double coverage. Victor’s pass fell incomplete nowhere near Williams.
“It just came down to a few plays and a couple moments that we didn’t execute enough,” Victor said. “Unfortunately, in these types of games, you can’t sacrifice those types of moments. You gotta be on your cues. You gotta dot your i’s and cross your t’s.”
In recent weeks, the Cougars have left their i’s undotted and their t’s without a cross, never more so than on trick plays. They ran the same play in their loss to Arizona last week. The passer was different – backup quarterback John Mateer did the honors – but the result was not. That pass also didn’t find the target. It was also because the receiver was covered.
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle likes to say these kinds of trick plays keep his guys engaged, which keeps things lively, but also because coaches believe in their effectiveness. They only run them so often, Arbuckle said, because they work.
On Saturday, though, Victor showed why he’s best sticking to his job.
His best play arrived in the first quarter when he lined up in a trips formation alongside Williams and Isaiah Hamilton. Victor faked a route to the flat, burst upfield and looked over his shoulder to haul in Ward’s pass, a 37-yard completion that eventually put WSU in field-goal range, where kicker Dean Janikowski put one through the uprights.
Later in the second quarter, WSU diagrammed a roll-out pass for Ward. Again it was Victor, who went to the ground for the catch, an acrobatic dive that moved the chains again.
“That is Cam’s safety net,” Dickert said of Victor. “You can see it and you can feel the real connection. For him to go out there and make plays, he’s gutted through this high-ankle (injury). Just really proud of that kid, and I think he means a lot to our offense.”
Victor spent the rest of the afternoon proving it. Midway through the third quarter, Ward found himself in trouble again, so he flushed to the right. He couldn’t find anyone until Victor came open to the right. Victor hauled it in, a first-down catch to move into Oregon territory.
What makes Victor so effective is his speed and his ability to stretch the field . Defenses have no choice but to respect his speed, even last week when he was only 80-85% recovered from his ankle injury. Victor appeared hellbent on getting back to action quickly and showed he doesn’t have to be fully healthy to play effectively.
“I’m good enough to play. As long as I can play,” Victor said. “I mean, I don’t think my body’s ever been 100% since I started playing football.”