First look: WSU to host Wyoming in regular-season finale and senior day
PULLMAN – Here is a first look at Washington State’s regular-season finale at home against Wyoming on Saturday afternoon.
What is it?
Coming off a narrow loss to Oregon State, its second straight setback, Washington State will host Wyoming on senior day. It’s the last game of the regular season for the bowl-bound Cougars, who will be playing the seventh and final game of a Pac-12/Mountain West scheduling agreement that provided WSU and Oregon State games for this season.
Where is it?
Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman.
When is it?
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
Where can I watch it?
The CW will broadcast the game.
Who is favored?
Washington State was around a 17.5-point favorite in most sportsbooks as of Monday.
How did the Cougars fare last week?
WSU lost to Oregon State on a last-second field goal, resulting in a 41-38 setback, the Cougars’ second consecutive defeat. The Beavers got possession late thanks to a rare fumble by WSU receiver Kyle Williams, and after converting a crucial fourth down with a minute left, kicker Everett Hayes connected from 55 yards out. The Cougs had just 20 seconds and no timeouts to respond, and they couldn’t do much with that.
Quarterback John Mateer completed 17 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 75 yards and touchdowns on the ground for four total scores. Williams also recorded a 57-yard touchdown reception, logging almost all of those yards after the catch, and sophomore wideout Carlos Hernandez added a touchdown catch. WSU’s offensive line, playing everyday right guard Brock Dieu at center because of an injury to Devin Kylany, acquitted itself well for the most part.
“Brock was phenomenal. He’s never practiced there,” Dickert said. “To go out there and do it at the level that he did it was just great. I thought we were in unison. I think there’s a bunch of little things that we could do better, Christian (Hilborn) playing the opposite guard. So I thought we were pretty good. We kept John well upright. Really have been pretty much most of this season. It’s been a big change.”
But WSU’s defense was the main culprit in this loss. The Beavers’ 41 points are their most all season, more than their point totals in their last three games combined. The Cougs grabbed two interceptions, one from cornerback Ethan O’Connor and a pick-six from linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah, but that unit was porous otherwise. OSU totaled 314 passing yards, a remarkable feat for an offense whose quarterback situation has been unstable much of the year.
Beaver quarterback Ben Gulbranson connected on 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and backup QB Gabarri Johnson added 47 yards and a touchdown on six carries. In flux once original starter Gevani McCoy was benched, OSU’s QB corps had few issues dinging up WSU’s defense, which couldn’t produce enough pass rush to bother either signal-caller.
The Cougs were undone by many of the actions the Beavs ran, including receivers in motion and mesh routes. When WSU secondary players couldn’t track OSU receivers, they were often burned, including on the Beavers’ game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“Third -and-5, we knew they’d come with a bunch of mesh game,” Dickert said. “Wanted to play a couple different zones, man, kinda change up those pictures. We didn’t fit it right. The first one was Cover 3. We missed it with the corner. Second one was a drop-two, when it got to the next zone, where the pressure didn’t hit. And they hit us in a couple man scenarios, so they did a good job changing it up, and we were never able to get one of those knocked out.”
Scouting Wyoming…
Wyoming, where Dickert coached three seasons of defense before coming to WSU, is 2-9 this season. The Cowboys have lost two straight, including five of their last six, most recently giving Boise State a close game in a 17-13 loss last weekend. Their two wins this season have come over Air Force and New Mexico.
Wyoming’s quarterback for this game will likely be junior Evan Svoboda, who has missed time due to being benched, coach Jay Sawvel said Monday. Svoboda was first pulled last month in the Cowboys’ loss to Utah State, and two weeks later, the 6-foot-5 Svoboda made an appearance at tight end in a loss to Colorado State.
In Svoboda’s place, Wyoming has turned to redshirt freshman Kaden Anderson, who started the last three games, completing 42 of 73 passes (58%) in that span. But he left the Cowboys’ loss to Boise State early with what turned out to be a concussion, prompting Svoboda to step back in. Anderson is questionable for Saturday’s game in Pullman.
The rest of Wyoming’s offense comes from running backs Sam Scott (who missed the Boise State game with an injury) and Jamari Ferrell, who has totaled 71 carries for 291 yards and one touchdown, good for an average rush of 4.1 yards. The Cowboys’ leading receivers are wideout Jaylen Sargent (21 catches, 488 yards, two touchdowns), tight end John Michael Gyllenborg (26 catches, 364 yards, two touchdowns) and receiver Chris Durr (26 catches, 291 yards, two touchdowns).
“They can match anyone’s physicality in the country,” Dickert said. “They’ve proven that throughout the course of the last how many years – they are a physical outfit. So you better bring your hard hat and your pail and your shovel, and you better be ready to go after this thing, because they’re gonna get you in a phone booth. They’re going to turn it into a war in the core.”
On defense, Wyoming is led by senior linebacker Shae Suiaunoa, who leads the team with 80 tackles; edge Tyce Westland, who is tied for the team lead with three sacks as well as 19 total quarterback pressures; and safety Wrook Brown, who has three interceptions this year. The Cowboys are allowing 30 points per game, but in their last two games, they’ve held Colorado State to 24 and Boise State – a likely College Football Playoff team – to 17.
“The big one is defensively, to hold Boise to 17 is a big deal,” Dickert said. “They really prevented all their shots. I think (star running back Ashton) Jeanty only had one big run, and I thought they did a good job of kinda limiting what they were able to do.”
What happened last time?
WSU and Wyoming’s last meeting came in 2018, when the Mike Leach-led Cougs opened a historic season with a 41-19 win in Laramie. In that one, quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 38 of 57 passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Cougars won the fourth quarter, 21-0, and cruised to victory.