WSU’s defense showed up when it mattered most against rival UW

SEATTLE – The final box score won’t show it, but the WSU Cougars stepped up on defense in the biggest moments throughout their 24-19 Apple Cup victory over the rival UW Huskies.

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The biggest play of the day for the defense was undoubtedly the massive stop on fourth-and-goal from inside their own 2-yard line to seal the victory in the final minutes. But it wasn’t just that huge stop. The Cougs played a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense that was ultimately just enough to hold off the Huskies.

WSU surrendered 452 total yards and 326 through the air, which were both well over what WSU produced on offense. However, they held UW to just 4 of 13 on third downs and forced the Huskies to settle for field goals just about any time they got into scoring possession. UW finished with five scoring drives – one more than the Cougars – but came away with four field goals and one touchdown. Meanwhile, WSU produced three TDs and one field goal.

The ability to hold UW to field goals ultimately prevented a pair of failures in prime scoring chances from coming back to bite the Cougars. WSU failed to convert a fourth down inside UW’s 10-yard line on its opening drive and missed a chip-shot field goal later on.

“That defense, they could have bent a lot of different ways,” WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. “It wasn’t our best day, but when it mattered in that red zone, they came up with some big stops, and obviously the fourth-and-2 will be a legendary play in the Apple Cup history.”

The game-sealing, fourth-and-2 stop was made by the experienced tandem of sixth-year senior linebacker Kyle Thornton and edge rusher Andrew Edson.

“Those are two staple guys that you know exactly what you’re going to get,” Dickert said. “The word of the night last night was consistency, and those two guys just embody that. … Just a (heck) of a job by both those guys. We’re proud of the defense really in general, just to get leaned on a little bit the whole day, but also to step up and bow up when it mattered in the fourth quarter.”

Dickert credited the way his defensive staff disguised their play call on the fourth-and-2 stop. He felt it essentially baited UW into calling the option play it did.

“We showed them a look that we’ve done before, but we had a little bit of a change-up to it.  I’m not going to go deep into it,” Dickert said. “So, they thought they’d get the speed option out the back door and we didn’t give them the blitz of what it looked to be. I thought (UW) made the right call with what we showed them, but credit to our defensive staff. That’s two weeks in a row of just coming with a great plan and our guys just flying around making plays.”

One of the bigger keys for WSU defensively throughout the contest was its ability to slow down UW’s ground game. The Huskies did reach 126 yards, but were averaging 194.5 through their first two games. Standout running back Jonah Coleman, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Huskies’ first two games, was also held to just 75 yards.

“It didn’t feel like he was under 100 yards to be honest with you, but he’s a good player,” Dickert said. “He’s going to be one of those guys that’s hard to stop as they continue to build their program.”

Video: Caple’s reaction to WSU Cougars’ Apple Cup win

 

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