In WSU's lopsided win over FCS Duquesne, the Cougars' halftime adjustments shone brightest | Analysis

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Sep. 19—PULLMAN — If you listened closely during Washington State players' jog to the locker room, when they were up just one score on winless FCS squad Duquesne here on Saturday afternoon, you would have noticed them.

Boos.

After a hapless two offensive showings to open the season, losing two straight games to open the year for the first time in a decade, WSU needed a sharp offensive showing in Saturday's game. In the first two quarters, the Cougars delivered anything but. They lost a turnover, missed a field goal and got two touchdowns called back on penalties, heading into halftime facing all the same problems they did in their first two games.

At that point, WSU faced something of a crossroads: In the second half, would the Cougs show more of the same in a listless win over an FCS club? Or would they kick their offense into gear and turn a close game into a blowout, inspiring something resembling confidence for those in their orbit headed into a home tilt against Arizona the following weekend?

If there's anything to take away from Washington State's 48-7 win over Duquesne, it's this: The Cougs ensured the latter by making adjustments, which was a key reason behind many of their biggest problems on offense in their first two games. They played with tempo, activated their rushing game and bought time for quarterback Caden Pinnick, who supplied the first passing touchdown of his WSU career.

So if you're looking for an answer to the question that will hover over this game — were the Cougars actually better on offense in this one, or was Duquesne just a bad FCS team? — that's a good place to start. The Cougs used adjustments to win this game, which is the kind of trend that can travel across the rest of their season. They deserve credit for that, regardless of the opponent.

In particular, offensive coordinator Matt Miller deserves his due. After WSU's losses to Washington and Kansas State to open this season, he was pilloried. Plenty of that he deserved. Some he didn't. The most salient criticism he received, though, was his inability to make adjustments in time. His offense looked slow and unimaginative, but the Cougs spent plenty of those two games in theoretical striking distance, which is why it was fair to critique the speed with which he changed things up.

Duquesne had no business sticking around for two quarters, but look at the totality of what WSU accomplished on offense: 316 rushing yards, including 116 from running back Maxwell Woods and another 109 from fellow tailback Kirby Vorhees. The Cougars scored touchdowns on three straight series to open the second half, and they converted 6 of 9 third-down chances, turning around what had been a serious problem. And Pinnick looked far more comfortable in the pocket, thanks in large part to a far better game from WSU's offensive line.

The Cougars had two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 2005, and their 316 rushing yards are the program's most in a single game since the same season.

An interesting dynamic at play here: At the beginning of the game, Moore was seen carrying what looked like a playsheet, which he didn't do either of the first two games of the season. At the beginning of the week, he said he wanted to help in WSU's playcalling duties. So what kind of role did he play in the playcalling department on Saturday?

Pinnick said the job still belonged to Miller, while Moore "definitely had some input in it." For his part, Moore said this: "It was a collaborative effort. Thought everyone did a really good job. Thought Matt called a good game, and we had a lot of good dialogue on the headset. Obviously, the second half having a plan, and then the players did a really good job executing there."

Whoever was calling plays, some of the best adjustments the Cougars made in this one centered around their ability to simplify things. Pinnick completed 17 of 22 passes, and he got himself in a rhythm by hitting several quick stick routes and out routes, taking advantage of the cushion the Dukes were giving Cougar receivers. That's almost certainly something WSU coaches identified on film, and they deserve credit for cashing in when the game arrived.

In Saturday's second half, the Cougs were also a lot better on first and second down, which played a big role in their third-down woes in their first two games of the season. Here's a sampling of some first-down plays: Pinnick 12-yard competition to Darrius Clemons. Leo Pulalasi six-yard rush. Pinnick 26-yard rush. Woods 20-yard rush.

As a result, the Cougars faced only two third downs of nine-plus yards. Against K-State, that number was four. Against Washington, that number was two. Throughout the week, Moore sounded a bit like a broken record, indicating his team's third-down struggles had more to do with low-efficiency plays on first and second down. At least for one week, the Cougs turned that problem around.

In these kinds of situations, it's easy to chalk things up to a rousing halftime speech, like Moore got in front of everyone and delivered an address that got everyone going. That's not always the case. On Saturday, it might have been. According to defensive end Matyus McLain, defensive tackle Kaden Beatty provided some insight, remembering his 2024 season at Kent State, when FCS St. Francis beat the Golden Flashes.

"Like I told the guys in the edge room," said McLain, a transfer from FCS Idaho, "I'm like, last year when I was playing the FBS teams, I was the most excited I've ever been in my life. I wanted to prove that I belonged, and those guys have that mindset coming into this game every single time. They want to embarrass you."

Especially without star receiver and kick returner Tony Freeman, who is set to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, the Cougars deserve credit for kicking things into gear on offense in the second half. Their offensive line played a key role, and even on that front, coaches made an adjustment. They benched left guard Kyle Martin, who had collected an unsightly overall Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 27.7 through two games, including an 8.7 pass-blocking grade against UW and a 0.0 grade against K-State.

With Martin on the bench, WSU's offensive line looked like this: Left tackle Ashton Tripp, left guard Jonny Lester, center Noah Dunham, right guard Nick Bakken and right tackle Jaylin Caldwell. Lester had spent most of his career as a left guard, where he played his best games, and he looked better on the inside. Caldwell, a more natural tackle, came off the bench to play right tackle.

After the game, Moore wouldn't cop to making that arrangement permanent — "we're gonna need all six of those guys," he said — but headed into a home showdown against Arizona next weekend, that idea could have some real legs behind it, especially considering the way those five guys played in WSU's sterling rushing attack.

"In essence, yes, it was a little bit of a mismatch," Vorhees said, "but when the O-line is working and the O-line is all stepping to the right direction and all got their hands inside, running their feet, it's gonna bounce. It's gonna pop. It's just the nature of outside zone, but it's a big testament to these guys because it takes one play, two play, three play, pop — you know? So it's really the guys getting comfortable with how they're blocking versus how the defense is moving."

In short: Next weekend against Arizona, which should be 2-1 by the end of the night, WSU cannot afford to start so slowly. The Cougars won't be favored, and to pull that upset, they'll need to be far sharper on offense.

Practically speaking, that means cutting out the penalties — they were dinged for four holding calls, three on tight end Jack Pedersen — and showing more aggressiveness in two-minute situations. When the Cougars got the ball back with about 90 seconds to play here on Saturday, they looked content to run out the clock, perhaps costing themselves a chance at scoring right before halftime.

"I need to look at that one more (time)," Moore said. "I do think there was a slippery, slow, fine line with that. We got the ball first to start the second half. I can't remember the yardage on the first play, but I don't think it was a second-and-two, and so if you go three-and-out quick there, you might give the ball back to them a little bit quicker than you want to. We have to look at that. I think we could have had a better plan just altogether in that situation."

But broadly speaking, WSU looked far sharper on offense in this game, which is what the team needed to show after a lethargic two losses to start the season. To avoid a third next weekend, the Cougars will have to show the same willingness to make adjustments they put on display against Duquesne.

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