Washington State 2009 Keys to the Game

In a game that in which the outcome attempts jumps out as a foregone conclusion as a “W” for the Bears, I think it’s only fair to really stop and think about the 2009 version of the Washington State Cougars.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The Cougs were embarrassingly bad in 2008. In fact, I’d go so far to say that I thought they were more pitiful than Washington, and the Huskies didn’t even win a game. Some of the shellackings put up on WSU were nearly criminal. Let’s also not forget which team began the group beatdowns, as Cal rolled WSU 66-3 for the Cougars’ worst margin of loss at Pullman in well…ever I think.

Make no mistake about it though,:the Cougars are much better this year. Their record may not indicate it, and they might still be a bad football team, but I expect them to put up a far better fight than last year. In fact, I think given Cal’s unpredictability and questions on defense, I would be surprised to see this game played pretty closely for the first half.

The Bears can and absolutely should win this game however, assuming they take care of business in a couple of areas. Let’s break it down.

More Pass Pressure
So there’s good news and bad news for Cal’s pass rush this Saturday. The good news is that the Bears may not need to try all that much facing off against a Washington State offensive line that has given up a conference high 30 sacks on the year (averaging 5 a game). The bad news is that the offensive line should see the return of several players including B.J. Guerra, Zack Williams, and Steven Ayers as well as one of the best centers in the conference in Kenny Alfred.

In general, I’m not really of the type to be screaming bloody murder at my television if the Bears aren’t getting pass pressure every down of every game. Quite frankly, there’s a time and place for bringing the heat, and if the quarterback has a bit more time to throw back there, some times it isn’t such a bad thing.


With that said, I think the Bears really have struggled a bit in pressuring the quarterback in the past several weeks, especially considering they were playing against freshmen quarterbacks for USC and UCLA, who most certainly could have been forced into errors with enough heat. Yet, the Bears managed just one on Matt Barkley, and three on Kevin Price, with two of those coming in the last few minutes of the game.

For the most part, given that Cal typically only uses three linemen on defense, I feel like the defensive line has done their job for the most part. Tyson Alualu still might be the best defensive end in the conference, and Derrick Hill has quietly had a solid season. Cameron Jordan has been a bit more unexpectedly quiet, but can still be seen active in each play.

The bigger issue lies in the lack of a consistent pass rush from the linebackers. Many times, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory appears to be content rushing only three to four linemen each play, but he appears to be getting lackluster results even when he does decide to send an extra man or two to pressure the quarterback. The linebackers simply aren’t getting enough penetration fast enough (not quite a “that’s what she said” moment).

I really agreed with what HydroTech over at the California Golden Blogs wrote about in his UCLA recap in regards to seeing more twisting and delayed blitzes.

"Naturally, the next step to counter good pass blocking and a QB that steps up into the pocket is to delay blitz, and twist the defensive ends in. Gregory finally got around to using the delayed blitz late in the game and it led to a nice Eddie Young sack which stopped a UCLA drive on a critical 3rd down. But we never quite saw the defensive ends twisting in. By that, I mean, the defensive ends would take a step up the field as if on their normal pass rush, then cut back inside behind the inside pass rushers. Well, since Cal uses the 3-4, the twisting would probably be done by one of the DEs and an outside linebacker rather than both of the DEs. By twisting, the outside pass rushers are relocated to the inside and right into the area where the opposing QB will be stepping up into the pocket."

The Washington State game could a prime opportunity to try out more pass rush plays involving twisting and delayed blitzes. With an offense predicated on quick strikes and a near obsolete running game, Cal’s ability to create pressure and chaos in the backfield will be the key between the Cougars scoring 13 and 26.

Cal’s pass rush has stumbled enough in recent games that I would become far more concerned if we were unable to consistently do so. I’m not going to lie here. I’m expecting at least five sacks and two interceptions here, and would be disappointed with anything less than three and one respectively. Just keeping it real. It comes down to a “if not now, then when” type of thing.

Convert in the Red Zone
I’m really looking at the numbers on WSU’s season pretty thoroughly, and the one stat that really jumps out to me is their strength on red zone defense. The Cougars currently lead the conference in this category, allowing just 67.86 percent on 28 attempts. Granted, 16 of their 19 scores resulted in touchdowns, but it’s still something to watch out for given how many times opponents have been the WSU’s red zone.

We all know that Cal’s offense is certainly capable of putting up points. The Bears currently lead the conference in scoring at 32.8 points per game. We also the Cal offense is also incapable of finding the endzone. No need to go back to the 6 combined points against Oregon and USC. Ok, I just did.

Unfortunately for the Bears, they haven’t consistently scored touchdowns in the endzone, currently ranked 7th in the conference in scoring 17 of 20 tries there, with just 13 touchdowns. Again, Washington’s best hopes in keeping the game close with the Bears lie in their effort to keep the Bears’ offense to field goals in a lower scoring affair.

However, if the execution matches clever playcalling and focus inside the 20 yard line, and the Bears can put on 6 points on each trip, rather than 3, the game might be decided by the second quarter.

Special Teams Needs a Turnaround
Usually when teams lose to inferior opponents, you can really look at a number of silly areas that cost the favored team…silly penalties, poor individual decisions, a lack of effort that result in turnovers, and sloppy special teams.

Now I don’t think any one unit would really cost the Bears the game on Saturday. I think it would require a complete systematic meltdown ala the Autzen Atrocity (again, copyright BearswithFangs). And I bring up this point not so much as a concern with what WSU does well on Special Teams, but what we do poorly.

The Bears currently rank dead last in opponent punt return yardage, allowing 14.1 yards per return and a score. The Bears also rank 6th in kickoff return yardage.

I hate to beat a dead horse here, but I should continue to bring it up as long as it continues to be an issue. Give the Cougars field position and they just might make something happen.

Looking Ahead…but not too far ahead
I’m trying not to disrespect the Cougars that much here. I sincerely believe they a far better team than they were last year, and will be out to earn some respect, even if they can’t get the win. But Cal plays too well at home and is far too deep to bet against the Bears. Just don’t be too surprised if it’s a bit more uncomfortable for some fans’ liking early on.

Cal 41 WSU 13