'We work it every week': After giving up two huge plays, is WSU's defense still improving?

Nov. 26—As Washington State's regular season nears its end, as coach Jimmy Rogers' debut season sunsets, the Cougars have all but scrapped practicing tackling. At least in the most physical ways.

"We can't," Rogers said, "with the amount of injuries."

Ahead of the Cougars' regular-season finale, a home date with Oregon State set for Saturday afternoon, they are doing their best to stay afloat amid a barrage of injuries. WSU has gotten a few key pieces back, but most of those have been on offense. The Cougs' defense remains without a starting defensive tackle, two backups at the position, a starting safety and more.

So how on earth has that group improved at tackling?

In WSU's last time out, a 24-20 loss to No. 21 James Madison last weekend, the Cougars missed only nine tackles. That ties for their lowest mark of the season. That unit did allow two massive plays, two long touchdowns that turned control of the game over to the Dukes, but all told, WSU permitted only 17 points. That is only three points off defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit's goal of 14 points per game.

Against JMU, only six WSU defenders missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, also tied for the group's fewest of the season. Linebackers Caleb Francl and Parker McKenna whiffed on a pair each, linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen missed one and defensive tackle Darrion Dalton missed one, as did defensive end Malaki Ta'ase.

But that is the entire list. For the Cougars, if there is a silver lining to be found in this kind of game — the type where they were undone by explosive plays, which the group had done so well to limit in recent games — it is in the tackling. It also figures to bode well for the Cougs' bowl chances. They can earn postseason eligibility Saturday against OSU, which claimed a 10-7 win in the teams' first meeting earlier this season.

But the same question remains: How are the Cougs still improving on defense in some ways this late in the season?

"It comes down to the space that you have in front of you and your speed of your breakdown prior to coming in on the tackle," Rogers said. "Not dropping your head, not getting a wide base, keeping your elbows in tight with your near foot up on contact, and really hammering that home and working the detail of how to come in on tackles.

"We work it every week, just in our angle pursuit. You also have to trust your teammates that they're gonna play with the same type of effort if we're going to be a great tackling team, because you're not always guaranteed to be the most athletic, but if you play together, you can have success."

For WSU, this could be particularly relevant against Oregon State, which forced Cougar defenders to miss 18 tackles in Corvallis earlier this month. In their upset win, the Beavers got 132 yards and the game-winning touchdown from running back Anthony Hankerson, whose streak of 100-yard games came to an end in his group's loss to Tulsa on Nov. 15.

In either case, WSU has had plenty of the kind of success Rogers mentioned lately. Francl may have missed a pair of tackles against JMU, but he also authored two of the game's biggest plays — for either team, on either side of the ball. The first came early in the game, when JMU QB Alonza Barnett's pass was tipped, only for Francl to soar in, dive for the ball and intercept it, the third pick of the season for the Cougs.

He also helped secure one of the biggest stops for WSU, which at one point was backed up deep in is own territory, JMU facing a fourth-and-short. The Dukes tried to run up the middle, but they were met by Francl, who made the first contact on the play, swinging the game.

"My job is just to set the edge on my guy. It's my man going down on him," Francl said. "So credit to Gavin (Barthiel, linebacker). He kinda took on both blocks. They both went down on him, and I just went off his back side and got to the ball, got to his legs, just tried to wrap him up, and the rest of the guys were there to finish him off."

"The ups and downs in his career, the one thing that's always stayed consistent is his work ethic and his dedication," Rogers said, "and his overall willingness to put his body on the line for his teammates. I'm proud of him, too. He was a non-scholarship player, too, that's proven that he can do it at this level, for sure."