WSU welcomes Texas Tech for evening showdown in battle of explosive offenses

PULLMAN – On Friday evening, Washington State was set to induct Mike Leach into the school’s hall of fame, recognizing the impact the late coach had on its football team, on its athletic program as a whole.

“I give Coach Leach credit for making Washington State football relevant and believe,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said earlier this week, “and to do those two things against all odds, against resources, against what recent history was at that moment – I mean, that’s not easy to do.”

On Saturday , Dickert’s Cougars will try to honor Leach by taking down the other program Leach impacted most, Texas Tech, in a 7 p.m. showdown on Fox.

It’s the second straight year hosting a power conference opponent in a nonconference matchup for WSU, which kicked off its season with a blowout win over FCS Portland State last week. The Cougars looked efficient on offense and a tad slow on defense, allowing 30 points, much to the chagrin of a defensive-minded guy like Dickert.

If there’s good news for his WSU team in there, it’s that Texas Tech isn’t coming off anything better. In a 52-51 overtime win over FCS Abilene Christian, the Red Raiders had to get two stops in crunch time to hang on, overcoming ACU’s 506 passing yards and turning back the Wildcats’ 2-point conversion attempt in OT.

WSU and Tech figures to be a high-scoring affair, the kind to be expected of teams that rose to prominence on the strength of the Air Raid offense, which Leach installed at both. The Cougs threw 24 passes last week for 413 yards. The Red Raiders finished with 42 for 378.

“We’re not gonna win this football game 10-7,” Dickert said.

Part of that is because of the overlap in these programs, in the personnel they share and the adjustments they’ve made as a result. Texas Tech’s offensive line coach, Clay McGuire, did stints at WSU from 2012-2017 and 2022-23. One of the Red Raiders’ best receivers, Josh Kelly, broke out as a Cougar last fall. Many Cougars enjoy friendships with the Red Raiders, especially native Texans such as edge Raam Stevenson.

Washington State’s offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, mentored under current Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley at their previous two stops, at Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky years ago.

Ahead of this game, Dickert said, the Cougars have switched up many of their offensive calls and signals so that McGuire and the Red Raiders don’t pick up anything in advance. He suspects Texas Tech has done the same. Dickert knows coaches can be paranoid creatures, but in this case, it makes more sense.

One matchup that might have Dickert’s attention more than the clash of offensive lines: Kelly against the WSU secondary. He’ll likely be matched up against Cougars cornerback Steve Hall, who took a gift-wrapped interception back 100 yards for a touchdown against Portland State last week.

A week ago, Kelly led Texas Tech with 10 receptions for 156 yards and a score, part of quarterback Behren Morton’s 30-for-42, 378-yard, five-touchdown effort. Kelly is for the Red Raiders much of what he was for the Cougars – an every-down player, a reliable receiver whose speed and hands make him a threat all over the field.

Can the Cougs contain him and the rest of the Texas Tech wide receivers, including wideouts such as Coy Eakin and Florida transfer Caleb Douglas? What about tight end Jalin Conyers, who WSU ran into at Arizona State last season, plus running back Tahj Brooks? That much may go a long way in determining the outcome of this one.

“He did a lot for our football team and our program,” Dickert said of Kelly. “He’s tough to defend in the slot, and he’s good in their offense.”

On the other end, the Cougars’ offense is fresh off a sterling outing, the team’s first 70-point outing since 1997.

Redshirt sophomore John Mateer completed 11 of 17 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns, finding senior Kyle Williams for two touchdowns, and one apiece to Austin Peay transfer Tre Shackelford and Kris Hutson, who reeled in a 30-yarder in the end zone.

Perhaps more encouraging for WSU, though, was its rushing attack. True freshman Wayshawn Parker finished with 96 rushing yards, the most by a Cougars running back in two seasons, and Leo Pulalasi added 54 yards on eight carries. Mateer joined the action, using his speed to total 55 rushing yards – 40 on one touchdown rush alone.

There might be a lot of offense on display come Saturday night. The Cougars just hope they can eke out a tad more.

“They have our playbook. We have their playbook,” Dickert said. “Who’s gonna execute, and who’s gonna play harder and go out there and win a big-time football game in a great environment?

“So the challenges are high, but we feel confident that we can go out there and play our game, too.”