No. 19 WSU will need to slow QB Devon Dampier to beat New Mexico on the road

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – David Gusta maintains he never got any ribbings from teammates after earning his first career sack last week. A fourth-year junior, Gusta is enjoying his second full year starting on No. 19 Washington State’s defensive line, and only a week ago did he get to the quarterback for the first time.

Even with younger teammates getting to shine in recent games, Gusta said, they haven’t given him a hard time.

“I’ve achieved being noticed, and that’s something Ansel did against San Diego State,” Gusta said, referencing lineman Ansel Din-Mbuh’s three-sack outing against SDSU last month. “I was very happy for him.”

To knock off New Mexico on the road Saturday evening and earn a fifth consecutive win, WSU might need more of that. Facing quarterback Devon Dampier, the first dual-threat quarterback they’ve gone up against all season, the Cougars would do well to keep him contained, to get pressure on him and limit the Lobos’ offense in turn.

The Cougars will have their hands full. Dampier is UNM’s leading passer and rusher, forcing 44 missed tackles this season, tied with WSU QB John Mateer for the most in the country by a quarterback.

Dampier has racked up 872 yards and 13 touchdowns on 110 carries, and he’s completed 196 of 334 passes (59%) for 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, making him a threat WSU has never seen this fall.

To keep Dampier under control, the Cougars (8-1) can plug holes with pressure, which they have improved recently, producing one sack last week against Utah State and four against San Diego State, including three from Din-Mbuh. That means four of WSU’s past five sacks have come from interior lineman, highlighting how much of a difference they’ve made in the Cougars’ pass rush.

The pressure will also be on WSU’s secondary, on cornerbacks such as Steve Hall, Ethan O’Connor and Jamorri Colson, safeties Tyson Durant and Jackson Lataimua and nickelback Kapena Gushiken. They’ve found ways to generate timely turnovers all season – O’Connor had a winning interception return for touchdown against Fresno State, and Gushiken intercepted a pass in the red zone last week against Utah State – but now they get a different type of challenge.

Can they stick with their matchups in coverage a few seconds longer? Dampier has only taken five sacks this season, some of the fewest nationwide, which is a product of a couple of factors: New Mexico adds a tight end to protection, making it hard to get to Dampier, but the sophomore signal-caller has also used his athleticism and elusiveness to evade tackles in the backfield.

“We’ve talked to our DBs, too. Sometimes there’s some long covers,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “I mean, he’ll scramble around, and then all of a sudden, throw one 40 yards down the field. There’s some 6-, 7-second covers.”

The Cougars might also need to tighten up on third down, where they’ve allowed a conversion rate of 38%, No. 62 nationally. They’ve earned that number against teams with pocket-passing quarterbacks, though, which makes third-down situations – especially in short-yardage spots – difficult against a quarterback like Dampier.

That’s also to say nothing of UNM running back Eli Sanders, who has totaled 834 yards and eight touchdowns on 117 carries, good for an average rush of 7.1 yards. That’s a hair behind Dampier’s average carry of 7.9 yards, proving how dynamic New Mexico’s offense can be. That puts the onus on WSU linebackers Kyle Thornton, Buddah Al-Uqdah and Keith Brown to fill gaps and surge to the ball.

“He can throw it, but yet he’s running it, some RPO stuff,” Dickert said of Dampier. “Those situations get really challenging with a guy that can run the football. You kind of got to pick and choose.

“You don’t want to give up the big play, but you want to get the stop. It flattens out your defense. I think a lot of times you can negate some quarterback run if you can be more physical than them up front, eliminate some of those run lanes.”

Either way, this one figures to be a fun quarterback matchup. On the other end is Mateer, who is also the Cougars’ leading passer and rusher: 137 carries for 630 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he’s connected on 166 of 266 passes (62%) for 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, including a run of three straight games without losing a turnover.

Mateer has been efficient lately. He’ll go up against a New Mexico defense that is allowing 38 points per game, fourth to last in the country. The Lobos only yielded 16 points last week in a win over SDSU, but they’re still yielding 249 passing yards per game, No. 111 nationally.

It might come down to who can get stops when it matters most.