Nov. 12—PULLMAN — Not long after his Washington State club took its sixth straight loss, a 42-39 setback to Cal on Saturday, Jake Dickert made a note about the Golden Bears’ offense — and how different it looked than what he was expecting.
“Coming into this game, the last three weeks, they only ran 12 personnel I think 15 times,” Dickert said. “They ran it every play this week.”
Twelve personnel means the offense has one running back, two tight ends and two receivers on the field at the same time. Since quarterback Fernando Mendoza took over the reins a few weeks ago, the Golden Bears spread their offense out, putting four receivers out there and letting Mendoza spin it.
Except Cal realized something about Washington State and its defense: It has a really tough time stopping the run, moreso than most teams in the Pac-12. So Cal eschewed finesse for beef, and WSU couldn’t do much to stop it, letting running back Jaydn Ott rattle off 167 yards and a touchdown on his own.
The proof was on the field. It was also in the numbers. For the game, Mendoza threw just 21 passes, happy to let Ott rumble for chunk gains. Some of those numbers are skewed because the Golden Bears’ defense scored two touchdowns, taking away two drives from Mendoza and the Cal offense — but now for the third time in four games, WSU’s opponent has thrown 26 passes or fewer.
That isn’t just teams sticking to the run because that’s they’re style. They’re doing it because the Cougars aren’t providing much resistance.
The best evidence on Saturday came in the fourth quarter, right after Washington State kicker Dean Janikowski missed a 42-yarder, one of two costly misfires on the afternoon. Cal took over at its own 25. In five plays, all rushes from Ott, the Golden Bears covered 75 yards for a touchdown. WSU couldn’t stop Ott from breaking a 52-yarder,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/washington-state-rewind-against-cal-045900130.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2023-11-13 04:59:00
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