Jack Pedersen is used to getting an early start, but Washington State is going to need more than a morning routine to keep its season from slipping to 0-2.
The Cougars head to Kansas State for a 9 a.m. kickoff Saturday in Manhattan, a first-ever meeting between the programs and one that arrives with WSU as a heavy underdog. The Wildcats are about 17.5-point favorites, and the setup is as tough as the number suggests. Washington State is coming off a 24-10 loss to Washington in the Apple Cup, while Kansas State rolled past FCS Nicholls 71-3 in its opener.
For WSU, the assignment is simple on paper and demanding in practice: play much cleaner than it did last week. The Cougars turned it over three times, missed two field goals and didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter against the Huskies. Those mistakes buried any chance of a comeback and put extra pressure on a roster that still has a power-conference-heavy opening stretch ahead.
The offense may be missing one of its most important pieces, too. Tony Freeman, WSU’s top receiver and best punt and kick returner, likely won’t play after suffering a knee injury just 10 snaps into the Apple Cup. His absence was felt immediately last week, when the Cougars couldn’t handle one punt and one kickoff cleanly.
That leaves quarterback Caden Pinnick and offensive coordinator Matt Miller with a lot to sort out against a Kansas State defense that looked sharp in its opener. The Wildcats allowed just 102 yards to Nicholls, and their front is led by edge players who can make life miserable in a hurry.
Wendell Gregory, an Oklahoma State transfer, had four quarterback pressures last week, while Darien Whitaker added a strip sack and can also work on the edge. Mekhi Mason is questionable, but Gabe Powers and Logan Bartley each finished with five tackles.
Washington State’s offensive line is going to be under the microscope. The Cougars gave up three sacks last week, and this matchup brings another serious test with Gregory, Whitaker and Jordan Allen coming off the edge. WSU tackles Ashton Tripp and Jonny Lester will have to hold up, and the interior group - center Noah Dunham and left guard Kyle Martin among them - needs to be sturdier after Martin posted a PFF pass-blocking grade of just 8.7 last weekend.
If the Cougars are going to find some rhythm, they may need to move faster and get creative. If the run game can’t get traction inside, WSU may have to lean more on Caden Pinnick rolling out and on backs Kirby Vorhees, Maxwell Woods and Leo Pulalasi getting to the perimeter.
Pedersen, who has spent his fifth and final college season at tight end, said the group has to keep its focus on the next snap.
“After every drive, just looking forward to the next and what can we fix? Where can we be better?”
Pedersen said of his team’s offensive showing last weekend. “In my opinion, you don’t want to dive too deep into the iPads and everything.
You just wanna go play and be free. What’s done is done in those plays.
Let’s move on to the next drive and get better.”
There’s also a path for Washington State’s defense to make this a fight. The Cougars’ edge duo of Matyus McLain and Linus Zunk combined for nine quarterback pressures against Washington, and they’ll get another chance to disrupt a quarterback after Kansas State lost preseason all-Big 12 first-team selection John Pastore to a season-ending injury before the year. Junior Ryan Howard took over and played his first college snaps last weekend.
Avery Johnson, the Wildcats’ senior quarterback, exited midway through the third quarter of the blowout win over Nicholls, but if he’s moving normally, Washington State will still have to deal with a dangerous backfield. Joe Jackson, Jay Harris and Rodney Fields Jr. combined for 192 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week, with Fields earning a surprise start over Jackson.
Keith Brown said the run defense will be a major key.
“I think just stopping the run would be the biggest thing, which I think we’ve found that we can do a good job at. They do a lot more gap schemes than UW did,” WSU linebacker Keith Brown said.
“They do a lot of pullers, counters, pin-pull, stuff like that. So just being physical at the point of attack and then stopping the run, because they have three really good running backs, kinda like a three-headed horse back there.
So if we can stop that, then I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
If Washington State is going to pull off the upset, it likely starts with that front getting after the quarterback and the offense finally finding a cleaner, sharper gear than it showed in the Apple Cup.
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