WSU football (4-4) hits the road to take on Oregon State (1-7) at home this Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The Cougs are coming off a dominant 28-7 win against the Toledo Rockets and the score does not begin to do WSU justice. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus had a day in the air, with 159 yards on two touchdowns and two interceptions. Eckhaus was also the team’s leading rusher, with 74 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, which is as many carries as running back Kirby Vorhees had. Vorhees had 15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The defense had a day as well. The Cougars’ front seven only allowed 61 yards on the ground vs Toledo. Although the pass rush could not do much, with only one sack from defensive end Jack Janikowski, Wazzu’s secondary was lockdown, only allowing one touchdown in the air on 238 passing yards from Toledo. Linebacker Parker McKenna was also able to snag an interception, the first of the season for the senior backer.
“The [cougar defense] did an incredible job,” said Eckhaus
Despite coming off a must-win against Toledo, the Cougs are facing a team with some momentum coming into this game as well. The Beavers went into their bye with their first win under their belt in a 45-13 beatdown. This success came after Oregon State benched quarterback Maalik Murphy for sophomore backup Gabarri Johnson. Johnson breathed life into this team, as the Beavs put up 35 unanswered in the second half, pulling away with their first win of the season after an 0-7 start.
Although the record may say otherwise, OSU has some talent on both sides of the ball. Senior running back Anthony Hankerson has rushed for 671 yards and six touchdowns this season on 154 carries. Standout wide receivers Trent Walker and David Wells Jr. have been quite the duo this season as well, combining for 902 yards and three touchdowns on 75 receptions.
This team looks to have rekindled its spark with Johnson as the signal caller. In the second half against Lafayette, Johnson had seven completions on 79 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Johnson proves to be quite the dual threat, too, with six carries for 82 yards and a touchdown in his first start.
This rushing attack with Johnson at the helm could look to be hard to contain for the Cougs as they allow, on average, 4.2 rush yards per play, and 133.6 rush yards per game to opponents. The Beavs combined for 365 rushing yards against Lafayette, showing just how dangerous this rushing attack is.
There is a reason the Beavers started 0-7, the Cougars will look to take advantage of those weaknesses. Where Oregon State really struggles is on defense. They have let up on average 35.6 points per game in comparison to WSU’s 26.7. The Beavs also become completely helpless as a unit in the red zone, as opposing teams have had a 95.45% scoring percentage in the red zone against the Beavs this season. This will be key for their matchup against Wazzu, as the Cougs are the most efficient team in the red zone in all of college football, with a 100% scoring rate in the red zone.
Even with these faults, WSU is going into the Beavers stadium just as they have found some juice on offense, and it would be a hasty move to count them out.
“These guys will be ready to play, so we need to get ourselves ready to play,” said Cougar football head coach Jimmy Rogers.
As the Cougars look to stay in bowl game contention and earn a winning record and the Beavers look to end off a disappointing season with some momentum, this looks to be a strong matchup for the first Pac-12 game of the college football season.
