WSU rewind: In blowout win over Hawaii, Cougs unlocked their pass rush by getting creative up front

PULLMAN – In the days leading up to his Washington State team’s home matchup with Hawaii, Jake Dickert could hardly stop emphasizing the need to rush the passer.

Entering Saturday’s game, the Cougars had posted just six sacks, which ranked No. 117 nationally. They weren’t generating the pressure they needed to. Their defense was putting up fine numbers, but without meaningful pressure on the opposing quarterback, WSU couldn’t rely on such stingy defense.

In a 42-10 win, the Cougs (6-1) passed that test with flying colors. They registered 23 total pressures. They pocketed four sacks, two from defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh and one apiece from linebacker Parker McKenna and edge Andrew Edson, making Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager uncomfortable on too many occasions to count.

To accomplish that, though, Dickert and defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding changed things up. Schmedding dialed up a few linebacker and defensive back blitzes, which were in short supply in past games. They also had some of their edges line up even wider of the formation, meeting what Dickert called a need to “cut some of” the edge rushers loose.

During a play late in the third quarter edge Syrus Webster, who tallied three quarterback hurries according to Pro Football Focus, lined up a few feet wider than he usually does. He used his speed to blow by Hawaii right tackle James Milovale, allowing a teammate to bring Schager down.

Early in the second quarterWebster lined up wide, much like he did all game, but this time he feigned pressure and backed off, putting him in position to bring down Hawaii running back Tylan Hines.

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“I think there’s a couple four-down things that were good, but I think our pressure rate today was way higher,” Dickert said. “Cutting those guys loose, putting the DBs in some situations to go get it, I thought was better. I think you get positive results from that.”

For WSU’s defense, which held Hawaii to an 0-for-8 mark on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down, the approach seemed to be to keep Schager contained in the pocket. He isn’t a true dual-threat quarterback, but he had rushed for 50-plus yards on three occasions entering this game, so the Cougs didn’t want to let him get to the outside and scramble for extra yardage.

Washington State passed that test, too. For the game, Schager totaled just five carries for 16 yards, tying for his lowest running output all season. If the Cougs were trying to turn him into a statue in the pocket, they succeeded, containing him on the outside and feeding him back toward the middle, where tacklers were waiting.

They showed it again midway through the fourth quarter. Once again, Webster lined up wide of the formation, but this time, Schmedding sent two extra blitzers: safety Tanner Moku and McKenna, both of whom surged through the left side, giving Din-Mbuh a chance to bring down Schager toward the middle. Din-Mbuh, who also logged three quarterback hurries, didn’t miss the opportunity.

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McKenna is flourishing into a nice weapon in blitz situations. He proved that earlier in the game, late in the third quarter, when he came unblocked through the middle, flattened Schager and forced a fumble, which defensive tackle Bryson Lamb recovered – exactly one week after being put on scholarship.

Here’s the clip.

In a big-picture sense, part of what keyed the Cougs’ success in the pass-rush game was the third downs they forced the Rainbow Warriors into. Of the eight third downs they faced, seven were third-and-6 or longer. Dickert and Schmedding feel much more comfortable calling blitzes in those types of scenarios, and thanks to the Cougars’ run defense, they faced lots of them.

Maybe this should be taken with a grain of salt – Hawaii ranks among the country’s worst rushing teams – but WSU’s run defense rose to the challenge in this one. The Rainbow Warriors totaled 22 carries for 104 yards. Take out running back Christian Vaughn’s 30-yard rush when the game was out of reach, though, and UH carded 21 carries for 74 yards, an average rush of 3.5 yards.

The Cougs can certainly work with those types of numbers, especially when they clean up their tackling issues like they did on Saturday. In this game, WSU missed just six tackles, the team’s fewest of the season. Linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah, who ranks seventh nationwide in missed tackles, made six tackles without missing any. Edson added four stops, also without missing any tackles.

“We did a good job mixing some things up, staying aggressive, forcing the quarterback, getting some hits, Dickert said. “It was that chess match as we went throughout the day, but I thought our defense did a phenomenal job.”

WSU still ranks among the country’s worst tacklers. The Cougars have now whiffed on 105 tackles, second only to 1-6 Akron, which has missed 107. But WSU has now missed 14 tackles in its last two games combined – it missed 24 alone against star running back Ashton Jeanty and Boise State last month – so the Cougs are trending in the right direction.

Turns out, they can help themselves by getting creative up front.