Sep. 19—PULLMAN — Here is what to watch for when Washington State hosts San Jose State at 7 p.m. Friday.
When San Jose State has the ball …
The leader is quarterback Emmett Brown, who transferred from WSU to SJSU last offseason. With nearly 1,000 passing yards and a 61% completion rate to his name, he’s developed into one of the country’s most potent arms, using a group of talented receivers around him to make San Jose State’s offense a handful to defend.
WSU cornerback Steve Hall will likely get the assignment on SJSU’s best wideout, sixth-year slot receiver Nick Nash, at 6-foot-3. He leads the country with six touchdown receptions, best among any position group, and his 485 receiving yards are also tops nationwide. He’s become a key cog in the Spartans’ offense, using his tall frame to catch passes others might not .
The Cougars would also do well to contain the Spartans’ running back tandem, Floyd Chalk IV and Jabari Bates, who have combined for 224 rushing yards and two touchdowns, both from Chalk, who has a slightly bigger role. At 5-7, Chalk is undersized, making WSU’s tackling game even more important.
The Cougars have missed 51 tackles in three games this season, second most in the country, highlighting two trends: They’ve played some tough competition (they’re one of only four teams in the country to take down two Power Four teams), and they’ve had some real issues bringing down ball-carriers. They’ve missed at least 17 tackles in all three games, wins over FCS Portland State, Texas Tech and rival Washington.
“Tackling is tracking and it’s all angles,” WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. “Against Texas Tech, I thought that was one of the best right defensive tackling performances we’ve had in a while, and to follow it up, I mean, once again, give credit to (UW running back) Jonah Coleman. This guy is hard, hard, hard to bring down. It’s two years of evidence that that is very difficult to do.
“So a little bit of that little bit of confidence, strike zone, sometimes you’re ducking your head, you’re not wrapping and squeezing. There’s a lot of things that go into that piece that we’ll continue to work on.”
If there’s one area of SJSU’s offense WSU’s defense might exploit, it’s the line. That unit has permitted two sacks, one from tackle Peseti Lapuaho and one from center Hudson Mesa, the latter of whom has allowed a team-high six pressures. SJSU’s offensive line has yielded 25 total pressures.
When Washington State has the ball …
For WSU quarterback John Mateer to improve on his Apple Cup outing, a three-touchdown showing last weekend in Seattle, he might focus on one area above all: avoiding turnovers.
San Jose State’s defense is tied for the national lead with 10 takeaways, six interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Six Spartans have one interception apiece, and three defenders — linebackers Taniela Latu and Jordan Pollard and reserve safety Larry Turner-Gooden — have forced one fumble each. The Spartans don’t waste much time thinking on defense — they just attack.
The best-case scenario for WSU involves the Cougars’ offensive line, which played its best game of the season last weekend against the Huskies, protecting Mateer. He completed 17 of 34 passes last week for 245 yards, but several of those completions were on the run, prompting Dickert to plan for a better rhythm in the passing department this week.
“So many of them are off of John scrambling, so we have to find a better rhythm,” Dickert said. “We need to get Kyle Williams the ball more in different ways. So there’s so many different challenges. Obviously, we didn’t get the run game going efficiently enough to stay ahead of the chains.”
Williams, the Cougars’ top receiver, has just four catches in the past two games. Part of that, Dickert said on Monday, has to do with Williams’ health. He has played the past couple of weeks at about 70%, Dickert said, working through wear and tear. Williams’ status for Friday’s game doesn’t appear to be in doubt, but it’s clear he hasn’t played entirely like himself lately.
The good news for WSU is that other players have picked up the slack. Receiver Josh Meredith had the best game of his career last week, with seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Running back Wayshawn Parker, a true freshman, added 10 carries for 49 yards, including one 37-yarder.
Those guys get the challenge of facing an SJSU defense that ranks tops among Pro Football Focus defensive grades in the Mountain West Conference.
