COMMENTARY: After two-game skid, fans should know who the WSU Cougars are

The Washington State Cougars played another football game on Saturday in which they allowed their opponents a season-best offensive performance, failed to score more than a single touchdown in the third quarter and saw the game come down to who had enough time to score last.

The Cougars’ 41-38 loss to Oregon State followed an eerily similar script to Wazzu’s three-point loss from the week prior to New Mexico.

That game came down to an 11-play, 75-yard game-winning touchdown drive in which New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier attempted one pass and all 75 yards were gained on the ground.

Wazzu left Albuquerque, N.M., with its second loss and plenty of lessons to learn.

However, similar trends continued in Corvallis.

Oregon State relied on a dominant 484 yards of total offense and a 55-yard fourth-quarter field goal to win, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Beavers scored a season-high 41 points a week after being shut out by Air Force in a 28-0 loss. Junior OSU quarterback Ben Gulbranson got the starting nod and completed 22-of-34 passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. OSU has had three different starting QBs in 2024, making changes based on performance rather than injury.

WSU linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah continued an excellent season with a fourth-quarter pick-6 to give Wazzu the lead. However, it was Oregon State that tied the game with 2:45 to go and stripped WSU senior receiver Kyle Williams of the football at midfield, setting up the Beavers’ game-winning kick.

While WSU’s defense has been particularly poor — conceding 38 and 41 points in consecutive weeks — the Cougars have been playing close games all year.

WSU has won three games in which it trailed in the fourth quarter, overcoming a 14-point deficit at home versus San Jose State on Sept. 20, using an Ethan O’Connor pick-6 to take the lead at Fresno State on Oct. 12 and scoring two touchdowns to overcome a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit at San Diego State on Oct. 26. Dickert entered the year 0-10 in games in which the Cougs trailed in the final stanza.

Facing a majority-Mountain West schedule after the implosion of the traditional Pac-12, expectations were that WSU should blow out most of the opponents on its schedule. In every game but two this season, WSU was the favorite — even being double-digit favorites on the road.

The reality has led to much more exciting and frustrating football. However, many Coug fans were optimistic in November with dreams that an 11-1 team would have an outside shot at the inaugural expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

While realistic and pessimistic fans may have doubted that the Cougars, even at 11-1, would be picked for the College Football Playoff because of their shaky play against inferior opponents, the reality is an 11-1 team would still have a chance by simply winning.

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks are the only undefeated team remaining in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Everyone else in the running for a playoff spot has lost at least once, with many losing two or three games. Look at Boise State (10-1) which barely beat a 2-9 Wyoming Cowboys squad on Saturday but is currently in line to receive a bye in the playoffs.

If the college football powers that be had their way, Boise State would not make the playoff either and it would be an all-Big Ten, SEC affair with maybe a spot or two for the Big 12 and ACC, but that is neither here nor there. The point is that the Cougs had the chance to preserve even the hype and anticipation that playoff contention brings and they did not.

Many have called for WSU defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding to be fired. For two years, Schmedding has led a WSU defense that has had its moments, such as two stellar Apple Cups, but has largely failed to show any signs of progress, instead costing the Cougars multiple games, including the last two versus New Mexico and Oregon State.

Dickert has largely avoided giving a direct answer on Schmedding’s future.

“Just like anything else in our program, I’m in a constant evaluation on what’s best for the team,” Dickert said. “And as we go throughout this game, I think it’s important that we finish what we started.”

It is likely that WSU’s 3:30 p.m. meeting with Wyoming on Saturday and the following bowl game will be Schmedding’s final two games as the Cougars’ DC. In the present state of college football in which universities are reliant on alumni and fan donations to sustain success and build up a name, image and likeness (NIL) pool big enough to attract and retain talent, WSU would be smart to honor fans’ investment with a standard of success and consequences for not reaching that standard.

Some fans would see their investment better honored by immediate action, even if simply performative to address the defense.

However, Dickert has a standard for how he wants to treat his staff, at least in the public eye and wants to see the Cougars “finish what they started.”

With rumors swirling about 29-year-old offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle getting a Power Four position and Schmedding’s struggles, WSU could very well be in the market for two coordinators, just like they were two years ago, when Dickert lost his Year 1 coordinators to other schools and hired Arbuckle and Schmedding.

I respect Dickert’s declaration to finish what they started, especially with Senior Day and a bowl game remaining on the calendar. The 2024 WSU Cougars have the chance to become just the seventh team in school history to win double-digit games and have a chance to be undefeated at home with a win on Saturday.

I do not know how Dickert is handling this behind closed doors. Two weeks ago, Dickert said he would take a larger role in defensive play calling during games. The extent of his involvement is unknown, but the results of whatever efforts and measures were taken are clear.

The reality is WSU’s two-game slide is a reflection of how the team has played all season.

Much to the Cougars’ credit, they have made the plays with their backs against the goal line multiple times.

Kyle Thornton’s goal-line tackle in the Apple Cup, Quinn Roff’s strip-sack on the final play of WSU’s 54-52 double overtime win over San Jose State (the last in a string of clutch plays by the Cougs in that game), O’Connor’s pick-6 to beat Fresno State and Al-Uqdah’s interception in San Diego to set up a game-winning drive are all plays that have defined WSU’s season. But take each of those plays away and the Cougars’ are a four-win team.

In Year 3 under Dickert, the Cougars’ ability to make those plays in the first place has been an accomplishment. Quarterback John Mateer is one of the top signal-callers in the country and WSU has navigated the first year post-Pac-12 with class and grit.

Does that mean WSU’s defensive failures are acceptable? Of course not. Wazzu’s biggest problem has not been the problem of a poor defense, but rather an inability to fix the problem.

That needs to change if the university expects alumni to continue investing in the program.

This is who the Cougars are ... so far.

Who will they be on Saturday?

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.