In Apple Cup loss to Washington, Cougars' third-down woes might have more to do with first and second down | WSU rewind

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Sep. 7—PULLMAN — Have your pick at what could be the biggest problem Washington State faced on offense in Sunday's Apple Cup loss to Washington.

Could it be the Cougars' turnover problem? Sure, they lost three. What about their running game? Possibly. They got only 48 yards from their running backs combined. How about their inefficiency in the kicking game? That's valid too — kicker Jack Stevens misfired on two field goals, including one that was moved back five yards following a presnap penalty.

The one that looms perhaps the largest, though, is this: WSU went 0-for-11 on third down. Good luck winning many games with that. In fact, it bothered quarterback Caden Pinnick so much that in a postgame news conference, he cut himself off from an answer on a different topic to say this: "I'm just thinking about the 0-for-11 right now."

That made things nearly impossible for the Cougars' offense, even when they climbed back into the game with two scores in the fourth quarter: a rushing touchdown from Pinnick and a field goal from Stevens, both of which pulled the Cougs to within one score.

But here's the interesting rub about that number: Rough as WSU's day on third down was, the Cougars put themselves in some tough situations thanks to their first- and second-down plays. That set up several challenging third -down looks, including two third-and-longs and three third-and-shorts. WSU's average yards-to-go on third down was about 7, which is far from an easy situation, especially in a raucous Husky Stadium.

After the game, WSU coach Kirby Moore seemed to be aware of the problem, possibly without seeing the numbers first: "You gotta go back to first and second down first, and we gotta be more efficient," Moore said. "We gotta create more explosives there on first and second down. And then third -and -long and XL, they've got a really good front, and sometimes that front was getting there a little bit quicker than we wanted it to. So that's something we gotta look at."

Here are a few numbers that illustrate the point.

On first down, the Cougars mostly excelled, averaging 7 yards per play. They ran 12 rushes for a total of 70 yards, which is an average rush of 5.8 yards. Pinnick also completed 10 of 12 passes on first down for 107 yards, an average of 10.7 yards per play.

But the Cougars also got behind the chains on a couple occasions. In one scenario, left guard Kyle Martin was called for a false start, underscoring his forgettable first start at the college level. And on another first down, WSU lost 2 yards, resulting in a second-and-12. That's no way to take down a Husky defense that's already on track to live up to its billing as one of the country's best units this fall.

For WSU, the bigger problem came on second down. The Cougars rushed seven times for a total of 17 yards, an average of 2.4 yards. That's about a 1.5-yard difference from their output on first down, largely explained by their insistence on running up the middle, which often went nowhere. That's one adjustment WSU offensive coordinator Matt Miller would be wise to make headed into Saturday's game at Kansas State.

Here are Pinnick's numbers on second down: 5-for-10 passing for 30 yards and one interception, which came on a dropped pass in the fourth quarter. Pinnick also took one sack on second down, which resulted in a 4-yard loss.

Overall, WSU's second-down plays went for an average of 2.4 yards.

"We gotta be more efficient and explosive on first and second down, and create more manageable third downs," Moore said. "Third-and-7-plus against anyone in college football, it's gonna be difficult. The protection's gotta hold up. Obviously, routes downfield. The defense usually has an advantage in those situations, so we have to do a better job on first and second down."

It's no secret that the Cougs slogged through a bleak third-down effort, and while they could have remedied that problem with better efficiency on first and second down, third downs are a part of the game. For the game, they averaged a shade under 2 yards per play on third down.

They also took two sacks on third down. WSU's offensive line gave up 13 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, four apiece from Martin and right tackle Jonny Lester, plus three from right guard Nick Bakken and two from center Noah Dunham. The Cougars likely won't play a better defense than the Huskies' this season, but those numbers must improve for their offense to follow suit.

At the same time, though, the bigger problem in the Cougars' third-down scenarios actually seems to be the first- and second-down scenarios that precede them. Look for Moore and Miller to make adjustments accordingly before they embark on their second straight Power 4 tilt to open the season.

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