Analysis: In loss to No. 21 James Madison, Cougars' offense vanishes in the second half, which is becoming a trend

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Nov. 22—HARRISONBURG, Va. — It might be easy to acknowledge different factors that have contributed to Washington State's last three road losses.

A 22-20 setback to Virginia, could have been the result of being wore down against a deeper team. In a defeat to Oregon State, perhaps it was the impact of WSU's depleted offensive line on quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, who was said to be playing "banged up." Then, in a 24-20 loss to No. 21 James Madison on Saturday, you could point to a pair of back-breaking touchdowns the Cougs' defense surrendered.

But the bigger issue at hand for WSU, has been the lack of its offense — which has cost the Cougars at the worst times.

In the second half of the loss to JMU, Washington State generated just three points and produced 75 total yards. They posted 40 through the air and 35 on the ground. The Cougs may have only had three drives, a product of their own seven-minute series and an eight-minute drive from the Dukes, but they didn't look like the same team that had tallied 17 points in the first half. They looked sluggish and uninspired.

Part of the problem surely involved the loss of veteran center Brock Dieu, who exited in the third quarter with a foot injury, reemerging on crutches and his foot in a boot. That prompted WSU coaches to tap backup center Kyle Martin, whose only other college experience came earlier this month, in the Cougars' loss to Oregon State, when Dieu suffered a similar injury. Dieu has been WSU's best pass-blocker all year, according to Pro Football Focus.

But with Dieu or without, against Virginia or Oregon State or James Madison, the Cougars have rolled out the most unimaginative offenses in the second half.

Consider this: In the second halves of those games, WSU has scored six points, which came on two field goals. The group didn't score at all in the second half of a loss to OSU.

"I'm noticing we gotta execute, and we gotta put our guys in position to have success," WSU coach Jimmy Rogers said. "Can't kill ourselves."

If they're going to earn bowl eligibility, which would make nine of the last 10 full seasons this program has done so, the Cougars will have to do it in next weekend's regular-season finale because they hurt themselves against JMU. Eckhaus threw a pick-six in the first half, sure, but this was more about what he and WSU's offense didn't do. It was about how little the Cougars made adjustments.

In this loss to JMU, WSU called a run up the middle 24 times. The Cougars produced just 68 yards on those. That comes out to an average carry of 2.8 yards up the middle. Here is a list of those carries in the fourth quarter: 1 yard, loss of 1 yard, 2 yards, no gain. But WSU and offensive coordinator Danny Freund stuck with that approach, despite the fact that it was clearly going nowhere. Consider that one of the several strange decisions that Freund has made on the road this fall.

The other piece of the puzzle involves Eckhaus, who now has nine interceptions on the season. He's thrown seven in his last five games. He's shown some highs — look no further than his 48-yard bomb to wideout Tony Freeman in Saturday's second quarter — but he's also been subject to some concerning lows. His deep ball isn't always reliable, nor is his decision-making, which he showed on several occasions against Oregon State. It's probably fair to wonder how much trust Freund has in Eckhaus.

Asked whether that's changing the Cougars' offense, which seems less inclined to open things up downfield, Rogers kept things concise.

"We gotta get him comfortable, keep him in rhythm, try to keep him clean," Rogers said. "That one, I know he's gonna want back, for sure, and he's gonna want a couple of throws back. But again, it comes with playing the position."

But WSU is holding itself back in all kinds of other ways. The Cougars were whistled for six penalties for 45 yards, and all things considered, that isn't so bad. But they're coming at the worst times for WSU. The most glaring example came in the fourth quarter. On a critical third down from the JMU, the game deadlocked at 17-all, the Cougs couldn't get their play off. Flag. Delay of game.

After the game, Rogers said this about the penalty: "I didn't call a timeout on the delay of game just because it was so hard to get, and I thought it would be worth using that time out otherwise."

For his part, Eckhaus also took responsibility for that.

"I think we already burned one timeout," he said. "We had two timeouts in the fourth quarter. You wanna try to preserve your timeouts as much as you can. Just bad management on the clock. I'll take the blame for that one."

Plus, after a media timeout in the first quarter, the Cougs were late taking the field. They were hit with a delay of game call, the kind of pre-snap penalty that has plagued the group all season. It borders on mind-boggling: How on earth can you not get your call in after a timeout? How else are you spending that time?

At this point, these Cougs are who they are. Their offense comes and goes, especially on the road. Their quarterback is turnover-prone. Their OC might not have full trust in him. Their defense has often found ways to mask those problems, but when they aren't perfect, the cracks in the offense begin to show. Maybe that's just how it goes in a season like this for WSU: new head coach, 75 new players, banged up offensive line, QB who doesn't fit the mold of the kind Rogers likes best.

But even with all that, the Cougars can still make a bowl, which would amount to a successful season in Rogers' debut year. Beat two-win Oregon State in Pullman, where the Cougs have looked like their best selves, and they'll punch their ticket. Freund is here to stay, at least for another year, which makes this more about the offseason.

Can Rogers, Freund and Co. land their QB of the future? Can they build a more stable offensive line? Only time will tell, but with a bowl game appearance, they can foster the type of momentum that would make that venture far easier.

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