Washington State didn’t impress much in
Price’s first three years, but in 1992 Drew Bledsoe led the
Cougars to a 9-3 record in his junior and final season in
Pullman. Two years later a very nasty defense (they allowed 10 or
less points in seven games) was the main reason why the Cougars
went 8-4, including a 23-6 win over Washington. Then came a 3-8
and then a 4-7 campaign. Not exactly sustained success.
But 1997 of course brought unprecedented
glory: a 10-1 regular season record, a Top-10 ranking, and a
near-upset of eventual co-National Champion Michigan in the Rose
Bowl. Had Ryan Leaf stuck around for another year, he might have
not ended up with the sad legacy he currently possesses. But then
again, he probably would have. Since Leaf’s departure (and
eventual NFL disgrace), Washington State had won only three
Pac-10 games coming into the 2001 season.
Which lead of course to this season, where
the Cougs have seemingly surprised everyone but their coach.
Price, the Dean of Pac-10 coaches, has made a living of having a
great season amid two or three previous bad ones, a “diamond
in the rough” of sorts. Washington State is 5-0, its best
since a 7-0 start in 1997. The 34-27 win last week over Oregon
State represented the lowest offensive output for the
Cougars, and folks all over eastern Washington are thinking big:
Giddy Coug fans are even hoping for a 7-0 start this time around
if they can sneak away with a win in Palo Alto on Saturday.
Another soft opponent awaits (Montana State) next weekend –
a Cougar victory would certainly set up a large showdown with
Oregon on Oct. 27 in Pullman.
So how has Washington State gotten to this
point? As with many former successful Cougar teams, offense has
played a major part. While he doesn’t fit the mold of his
large and cannon-armed predecessors, Jason Gesser is one of the
better signal-callers the conference has to offer. The
redshirt-junior combines an accurate arm with a veteran-savvy and
field awareness. He’s completed 60% of his passes in 2001
for 1300 yards and 14 touchdowns, with only five interceptions.
He struggled at times with his poise last year, but definitely
was one of those young quarterbacks who grew as the season went
on. Washington State lost three overtime games in 2000 to some
very tough opponents. Gesser himself was instrumental in bringing
Washington State back to respectability, throwing for almost 2000
yards and 16 touchdowns while leading the conference in passing
efficiency.
Stanford received a huge break when Dave
Minnich, Washington State’s leading rusher, injured his knee
against Oregon State. The 27-year-old former Marine underwent
arthroscopic surgery this week and will miss up to a month. Until
the injury, Minnich had gained a conference-leading 589 yards,
scored five touchdowns and posted an impressive 4.7
yards-per-carry average. He had a career day against an Oregon
State defense that has already given up huge chunks of yardage in
each game they’ve played. Minnich, who rushed for almost 800
yards last season, even threw a touchdown pass in the win over
the Beavs last week.
The better Washington State squads always
seem to possess good receivers in bunches, and this team is no
different. Nakoa McElrath is the game-breaking threat of the
bunch, a player who in his short career has averaged over
19-yards a reception. He already has a gaudy 34 catches and 598
receiving yards and 8 (!) touchdowns. He’s 6’2”,
195 lbs, not an especially impressive target physically, but her
has a great sense for the ball. The Cougar receiving corps also
has Mike Bush, a star on the hoops squad. In his first season of
college football, Bush thus far has 20 catches and 441 yards,
good for a hefty 22-yard average. At 6’6” he is also a
big target and the tallest receiver Stanford defensive backs will
face all year. He also tortured Cal to the tune of 144 receiving
yards on only five grabs.
The offensive line doesn’t possess any
great giants, but it did open huge holes for Minnich last week
against Oregon State, allowing him to roam free for 195-yards.
Senior Joey Hollenbeck is the most experienced of the bunch. They
aren’t that big by today’s standards either: two
lightly-used freshman, the ironically named Sam Lightbody and
Price Alley are two of the only three 300-pounders. Junior guard
Phillip Locker is the other.
The Cougar defense itself is giving up an
average of around 16 points-per-game in 2001 against teams that
wouldn’t exactly be confused for offensive juggernauts. The
secondary isn’t bad and has several stand-out players.
Cornerback Billy Newman had 100 tackles in 2000 while also
sneaking in for three sacks and four interceptions. Newman was
the only Cougar to make 1st Team All-Pac-10 honors
last season.
Fellow corner Erik Coleman himself is
explosive at times, as evidenced by an interception he returned
34-yards for a touchdown off Jonathan Smith or Oregon State last
week.
The defensive line and linebacking corps isn’t
especially dominant. However they possess Menlo Park’s own
Tupo Tuupo (not to be confused with Samoa Samoa, the Cougs’s
leader in passing in 1980), as well as linebacker James Price (72
tackles in 2000). Tuupo is an imposing figure at 6’3”,
276 while Price hails from Anchorage, Alaska. To him, Pullman
makes a good summer home.
The kicking game is basically average:
nothing special, but nothing atrocious. Alan Cox is averaging
around 39 yard per punt, while Drew Dunning does an adequate job
at the placekicking duties. The junior kicked a career long
49-yard field goal two weeks ago at Arizona.
PREDICTION: Mike Price is 0-5 career
at Stanford Stadium, while the Cougars haven’t won here
overall since 1988. That Dennis Erickson brought his Aloha
Bowl-bound hoodlums into Palo Alto and sneaked away with a 24-17
win. The Cougars may be solid this year, but that won’t cut
it against Stanford. Gesser will throw at will at times but he
alone will not lead Washington State to a 6-0 start: 38-28,
Cardinal.