Two-minute drill: No. 25 Washington State’s keys to victory against Oregon State
Here is what to watch for when No. 25 Washington State visits Oregon State on Saturday afternoon …
When Oregon State has the ball …
The Beavers will likely be looking to run more than they’re looking to pass. Their quarterback situation is a little hazy – Idaho transfer Gevani McCoy started the first eight games of the season, only to get benched for junior Ben Gulbranson, whose health status is unclear – and hasn’t been effective either. For the season, OSU has just four touchdown passes against nine interceptions.
That means the offensive load will likely to go running back Anthony Hankerson, who has 889 yards and 14 touchdowns on 198 carries, an average carry of 4.5 yards. Two weeks ago, in OSU’s loss to San Jose State, he posted 121 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. But in the Beavers’ 28-0 setback to Air Force last weekend, he had six carries for 19 yards.
Still, WSU is preparing for a heavy rushing attack from OSU, which has lost five straight games.
“We go from playing in space the last five weeks to playing in a phone booth,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said, “and our physicality and toughness really has to show as a football program. Got a lot of respect for Coach (Trent) Bray. Got a lot of respect for the Oregon State football program. It’s going to be two really hungry teams. I think both of us are obviously extremely disappointed with last week’s results.”
The Cougars will have to be much better against the rush than they were last week, when they let New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier rack up 193 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. They missed only eight tackles, but much of that was because they had trouble tracking down UNM ball carriers to begin with. Their eyes will need to be in better spots, and they’ll need to take better routes to the ball.
Hankerson represents the kind of running back WSU has struggled to bring down this season. He’s 5-foot-8 and 203 pounds, a low-the-ground back whose center of gravity is the kind that has given the Cougars problems. Hankerson has forced 49 missed tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus data, which indicates he has only broken one designed rush for 15-plus yards in the past four games.
That might show that if the Cougars can keep Hankerson contained and avoid letting him get to the outside, they can hamper the Beavers’ offense, which has scored only 20 points in the past three games combined.
When Washington State has the ball …
The Cougars can likely expect more good things from quarterback John Mateer, who leads the country in total touchdowns with 38, including 26 through the air and 12 on the ground.
He’s been at his most effective – and his most accurate – in recent weeks, raising his completion percentage to around the 70% mark in each of his past four games.
The Beavers’ defense ranks No. 59 nationally with 212 passing yards allowed per game. On the ground, the Beavers have fared much worse, permitting 183 rushing yards per game, No. 104 in the country.
It seems to open the door for WSU’s offense to mix things up .
The Cougars, who are fresh off scoring 35 points in a loss to UNM last weekend, will need to watch out for one pothole – the third quarter. Away from home this season, WSU has scored only 10 points in the third quarter.
The Cougars have usually been consistent on offense earlier in the game, which is why their third-quarter struggles have left coaches searching for answers.
“In the first half, if you really look at it,” Dickert said of WSU’s loss to New Mexico, “every time we got behind the chains, we found our way out of it. In the second half, you can’t keep doing that right. Those third-and-longs, we lost all those third-and-longs in the second half. So we got to be better in that phase.”
WSU will also have to contend with the possibility of its offensive line shuffling even more personnel.
Center Devin Kylany is dealing with a foot/ankle injury that “limited” him during the first few days of this week’s practice, Dickert said, prompting right guard Brock Dieu to take his place at center. That has moved left guard Christian Hilborn to right guard, a position he’s only played six snaps at, in the 2021 Sun Bowl, and Rod Tialavea to left guard.
For the Cougars to produce an effective ground game with so many moving parts up front, part of the responsibility goes to running backs Wayshawn Parker and Leo Pulalasi, who combined for 102 yards on 21 carries last week.
Part of it also goes to WSU’s offensive linemen.
“I don’t necessarily worry about that because of the group that we have,” offensive line coach Jared Kaster said, referring to continuity among the group. “Those six guys have played a lot of football together. Continuity, I don’t question that at all, because of the leadership of that room and who it’s led by, and those guys just wanting to be great for this program. That’s it.”