tackling issues
2 stories filed under tackling issues on Wazzu. The newest of them: “San Diego exposed what keeps WSU from closing out wins” and “Eshelman gives Cougs hope, but D can't stop Oregon State”. Jaylen Thomas shook his head after the San Diego State loss, and you could see the frustration. Oregon State's offense did what everyone feared it would do. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every tackling issues story on Wazzu, newest first.
San Diego exposed what keeps WSU from closing out wins
Jaylen Thomas shook his head after the San Diego State loss, and you could see the frustration. The Cougars have a tackling problem, and it's not new. SDSU ran for 202 yards, and Lucky Sutton broke off runs of 46, 11, and 16 yards. The secondary missed its chances. Thomas knows it. So does the rest of the defense. Here's the thing: WSU's interior line is doing its job. Kaden Beatty, Jirah Leaupepetele, and the rest have made it tough to run up the middle. So opponents just go outside. That's where the tackling falls apart. The perimeter guys are athletic, but they're taking bad pursuit angles and missing wraps. Coach Kirby Moore wanted to hold SDSU under 150 rushing yards. They gave up 202. Then there's the pass rush. The Cougars came into this game ranked 131st out of 138 FBS teams in sacks. They didn't add any in San Diego. Pressure is there from McLain and Zunk, but they can't finish. This defense has pieces. But the little things, tackling, sacks, decision-making, are keeping WSU from closing out wins. If you want to dig into a Coug who did finish runs, check out our piece on Dan Doornink, a Coug and a Seahawk, who ran for 123 yards we still remember. Go Cougs.
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Eshelman gives Cougs hope, but D can't stop Oregon State
Oregon State's offense did what everyone feared it would do. The Beavers hung 48 points and 555 yards on WSU's defense, which had its worst game of the season. That's the headline, and it stinks. The Cougs are 1-6, winless against FBS teams, and next week brings No. 23 Boise State to Pullman. No rest for the weary. But there was a real bright spot, and it's worth talking about. Owen Eshelman should be the guy. The redshirt freshman threw for 289 yards and ran for 136 more, accounting for all six of WSU's runs of 10-plus yards. He made savvy decisions on the RPOs and gave the offense a pulse it's been missing. Branden Ganashamoorthy was open all day, catching 11 passes for 147 yards. If you want to feel a little better about what's happening, read "Owen Eshelman and Branden Ganashamoorthy made the scoreboard hurt a little less." The defense, though. Yikes. Tackling was an issue. Oregon State averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Running back AJ Newberry made a WSU defender look silly with a juke and a hurdle on an 88-yard screen pass. The Beavers scored on five of their first six possessions and led 27-3 late in the second quarter. WSU punted on its first four possessions. That's how you lose a game before halftime. It's painful to watch Oregon State become one of the best stories in the Group of Six while the Cougs search for an identity.