After what seemed like an eternity, the Washington State football team came back from a 21-point deficit to remain undefeated. Here’s what we learned.
Wow, what a game. After trailing by 21 points deep into the second half, and having lost their starting quarterback Luke Falk to a brutal strip sack midway through the second half, Mike Leach’s Washington State squad rallied behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilinski.
While the Cougars are typically known for their high-powered offense, it was the team’s big-play defense, led by junior lineman Hercules Mala’afa, that really catapulted the Cougars into overtime with their two defensive touchdowns.
And that spark was all it took to set off a comeback for the ages.
Leach’s air raid offense came alive in the closing minutes of the game, and scored three additional touchdowns by the end of overtime, sparked by the team’s basically nonexistent running game.
After only earning 14 rushing yards in regulation, the Cougars’ three-headed monster came alive in overtime, and ultimately lead Leach’s offense to a 47-44 victory.
Now the owners of a 2-0 record, Washington State remains firmly in the running for the Pac-12 North, and could see its Sept. 29 game against USC become a benchmark game for the fate of the entire division.
After taking over a program that was more or less in disarray, this season could be Mike Leach’s best chance yet to finally deliver the Cougars to the College Football Playoff, and the team’s Week 2 victory over Boise State should help keep this dream alive.
Here are three things we learned in Washington State’s late-night Boise State victory.
3. Hercules Mata’afu is an absolute beast
After starting his career as an edge rusher for the Washington State Cougars in 2015, Hercules Mata’afa was moved to defensive tackle prior to the 2017 season to help strengthen the team’s interior pass rush.
And boy did he ever.
Even at an incredibly light 250-pounds, Mata’afa has excelled as a first-time defensive tackle, both against the pass and against the run. He possesses an otherworldly burst that would be impressive for a defensive end, but is absolutely unheard of for a defensive tackle. And in his first two games on the inside, Mata’afa has absolutely feasted on opposing quarterbacks.
In his first two years in Pullman, Mata’afa racked up 10.5 sacks for the Washington Cougars, and that trend doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon, even with a new position.
Only two games into the 2017 season, Mata’afa has already recorded three sacks at defensive tackle, and the season isn’t even a month old.
Throughout Washington State’s Week 2 game against Boise State, Mata’afa heard his name called early and often, including on a strip sack midway through the first quarter that knocked Boise State starting quarterback Brett Rypien out of the game. Against Boise State’s power-run game, Mata’afa held his own and absolutely destroyed the Broncos’ interior offensive linemen, who are far less athletic than the offensive tackles he’s used to facing off against.
Mata’afa is not only a terror for players in the offensive backfield, but also possesses the athleticism needed for defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to feel comfortable to drop his junior lineman into zone coverage to spy on athletic quarterbacks like Boise State’s Montell Cozart.
As the season progresses, only time will tell how Mata’afa’s game will continue to progress in his new position, but if Week 2 of the season is of any indication, he’s is a true game-changer, regardless of position, and should expect to hear his name called early in the 2018 NFL Draft.
2. Montell Cozart can really move the ball
Boise State has always been known as a running back factory, but the Broncos’ delivered a very balanced attack against the Washington State Cougars in their Week 2 game. In the first half, Boise State possessed the ball for 18 minutes, and earned 167 total yards on eight first downs — 97 through the air and 70 on the ground.
After starting quarterback Brett Rypien, who went 3-for-4 for 76 yards on the team’s first drive, was knocked out of the game early in the first half on a strip sack by Herculies Mata’afa, head coach Bryan Harsin inserted grad transfer quarterback Montell Cozart into the game which yielded surprisingly positive results.
In addition to completing all four of his first half passes for 21 yards, Cozart also rushed the ball five times for 28 yards, including a 13-yard run. His dual-threat playing style gave the Broncos a different look to exploit an unsuspecting Washington State’s defense.
And Cozart’s emergence as the team’s starter may have been a blessing in disguise.
Unlike the more traditional pocket-passing Rypien, Cozart’s ability to extend the play with his legs opened up a whole new dimension to the Broncos’ defense. His mobility made it harder for Washington State’s aggressive defensive line to finish on the pass rush, and opened up the vertical passing game for wide receivers like speedy Cedrick Wilson, who finished the game with seven catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.
At the end of regulation, Cozart helped lead his team to a 31-31 score while completing 10-of-15 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown while also rushing the ball 13 times for 66 yards and a score.
Even if Rypien is able to play in next week’s contest against New Mexico, Cozart’s impressive performance, and extensive skill set may have just earned the former Kansas Jayhawk a spot as the Broncos’ new starting quarterback.
1. Mike Leach’s offense is struggling
Mike Leach-coached teams are often notorious for their ability to score points and put up prolific numbers in the passing game, but in Washington State’s Week 2 game against Boise State, the offense failed to live up to expectations.
In the first half, Luke Falk, now Washington State’s all-time passing yards leader, only threw for 116 yards on 12 completions with no touchdowns. His team never really got into a rhythm offensively and only scored a touchdown on Mata’afa’s strip sack.
The one time Washington State’s offense got even remotely close to the red-zone, it ended up having to kick a 34-yard field goal.
While Washington State did fare slightly better in the second half than the first, finishing regulation with 367 yards passing on 41 receptions, this game seemed like a golden opportunity for the Washington State Cougars to put up huge numbers against an under-powered foe and really stake a claim for their place atop the Pac-12, but Leach’s squad may have left more questions than answers.
Falk was seemingly under pressure for the entirety of the night, sustaining a pair of sacks over the course of the game before ultimately leaving the game with an apparent head injury early in the fourth quarter on a strip sack that was returned for a score.
While Falk wasn’t particularly effective in the second game of his senior season, if he misses any serious playing time due to injury it will be absolutely devastating for Leach’s offense.
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Even though second-string quarterback Tyler Hilinski was able to lead his team back to a 31-31 tied at the end of regulation, this is Falk’s team. And if his Cougars are going to make a run at the Pac-12 North in 2017, it will need to be behind the arm of Falk.