First look: Washington State hosts Texas Tech in evening showdown on national TV
PULLMAN – Here’s a first look at Washington State’s home game against Texas Tech on Saturday.
What is it? For the second straight season, Washington State is hosting a nonconference game against a power conference opponent, welcoming the Big 12’s Texas Tech to Pullman for an evening kickoff. The Cougs will try to make it two straight wins after toppling the Big Ten’s Wisconsin last fall.
It’s a meeting of the two programs that the late coach Mike Leach impacted most, coaching Texas Tech in 2000-09 and WSU in 2012-19.
Where is it? Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman.
When is it? Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. local time.
Where can I watch it? Fox 28 will broadcast the game.
Who is favored? As of Monday afternoon, WSU was about a 1.5-point favorite in most sportsbooks.
How did the Cougars fare last week? In a 70-30 season-opening win over FCS Portland State, WSU scored quickly and efficiently. Quarterback John Mateer turned a slow start into an 11-for-17 passing effort, totaling five touchdowns through the air and one on the ground, helping the Cougars run off eight straight touchdown drives at one point.
WSU also enjoyed a sterling showing on the ground. True freshman Wayshawn Parker logged 96 rushing yards, the most by a WSU running back in two years. Mateer added 55 rushing yards, and running back Leo Pulalasi chipped in with 54, bringing the Cougs’ rushing total to 224, the program’s most in a single game since a win over FCS Northern Colorado last season.
At the heart of that effort was Washington State’s run-blocking, which received a Pro Football Focus grade of 85.4, the Cougs’ highest in a single game since 2018. It may not be wise to draw sweeping conclusions from a win over an FCS opponent, but that was a real struggle all of last season, and WSU appears to be headed in the right direction in that department. After the game, WSU coach Jake Dickert pointed to wide receiver Kyle Williams’ downfield blocking on a long touchdown rush from Parker, which was the kind of effort that freed up the Cougs’ rushing attack.
“Our guys went and made a ton of plays,” Dickert said. “Just a lot of things to clean up, from effort, finish to pad level to communication. Up front, I thought it was really solid, but I think we’re capable of more. So you take a critical look at every deal.”
More of a question mark was the Cougars’ defense, which permitted 30 points to an FCS opponent picked to finish 10th in the Big Sky Conference this season. On its opening series, Portland State marched 65 yards and scored a touchdown, making Washington State’s starters sweat. The Cougs missed 17 tackles in the game, their most against an FCS foe since a 2019 win over Northern Colorado.
Dickert thought his club wasn’t aggressive enough at the line of scrimmage, didn’t tackle well enough, didn’t communicate well enough. Four Cougars missed two tackles each, including starters in safety Jackson Lataimua and linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah.
“One hundred percent (of those problems) are fixable,” Dickert said Monday. “Their scheme keeps you on your heels. I didn’t feel like we were attacking. From my point of view as a coach, we gotta have more things to cut our guys loose. I think the option kinda hesitated what we wanted to do, the unbalanced stuff, obviously the running quarterback – there’s a lot of different things that they do.”
WSU was without punter Nick Haberer, who missed the game with a back injury. On Monday, Dickert said Haberer will be a game-time decision for Saturday’s game.
Dickert also declined to address the nature of the injury to cornerback Jamorri Colson, who missed the final handful of fall camp practices, leading Dickert to say last week he’ll be out “an extended period of time.”
“We’re not gonna disclose (that),” Dickert said. “Jamorri is gonna be out for a little while, and we’ll let you know when he’s gonna be back.”
Scouting Texas Tech … Texas Tech is coming off a 52-51 overtime win on Saturday over FCS Abilene Christian, surviving the Wildcats’ two-point conversion attempt to win the game. In the final seconds of regulation, ACU found itself inside the Texas Tech 5-yard line, but the Red Raiders held the Wildcats to a game-tying field goal to send the game to an extra session.
Tech quarterback Behren Morton completed 30 of 42 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns, finding former WSU receiver Josh Kelly for one of those scoring passes. The Red Raiders also carded 161 rushing yards, including 151 from senior running back Tahj Brooks, and receiver Coy Eakin hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from Morton.
Brooks, who carried 27 times and also caught three passes in that game, was listed as questionable for this Saturday’s game with an arm injury. It’s hard to overstate the importance of that development. Brooks is regarded as the Red Raiders’ best player, appearing on the watch list for the Maxwell Award (college player of the year) and the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
“I believe at the end of the season, 12 games from now, Texas Tech’s offense will be top 10 in the country,” Dickert said. “I think since they went to this quarterback last year, it just kinda clicked. They’re rolling. He’s confident. They got a bunch of receivers around there.”
But the Red Raiders’ defense, which received an overall grade of 61.4 from Pro Football Focus, left a lot to be desired. ACU quarterback Maverick McIvor hit on 36 of 51 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns, completing seven passes to receiver Blayne Taylor, who racked up 141 receiving yards and one touchdown.
It has been at least 20 years since Texas Tech last gave up 50-plus points to an FCS opponent.
“They put a great game plan together,” Dickert said. “And you can’t just say, oh, let’s just do what ACU did, right, because they’re making those corrections right now, and they’ll be ready for that.”
On Saturday, WSU won’t just be reuniting with Kelly, who led last year’s Cougars team with 923 receiving yards on 61 receptions, including eight touchdowns. It’s also the return of former WSU offensive line coach Clay McGuire, who coached the Cougs’ offensive line in 2022-23 and from 2012 to 2017.
What happened last time? The Cougs and Red Raiders have only met twice in program history, clashing in 1963 and 1964, both times in Lubbock. Texas Tech won the first game, 16-7, and the second game, 28-10.