First look: WSU looks to earn bowl eligibility in rematch against Oregon State

Nov. 24—PULLMAN — Here is a first look at Washington State's home game against Oregon State on Saturday.

What is it?

Looking for its sixth win to secure bowl eligibility for the ninth time in the last 10 full seasons, WSU will meet OSU for the second time this season, a rare in-season home-and-home series between the Pac-12's two holdovers. In both teams' regular-season finale, the Cougars will be looking to exact revenge on the Beavers, who earned a win earlier this month in Corvallis.

Where is it?

Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman.

When is it?

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Where can I watch it?

The CW will broadcast the game.

Who is favored?

As of Monday afternoon, WSU was around a 13.5-point favorite in most sportsbooks.

How did the Cougars fare last week?

In a 24-20 loss to No. 21 James Madison, WSU's defense gave up two back-breaking plays that gave control to the Dukes, including a 68-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and a 58-yard touchdown rush in the fourth. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus totaled two scores, one on the ground and one through the air, but he also tossed a pick-six that handed JMU its first touchdown of the game.

The Cougars used a 17-point first half to head into halftime with the lead, but their offense didn't look the same in the second half. Because both teams engineered long drives, WSU only saw three series in the second half, but it produced only a field goal from those. After the Dukes took the lead on their long rushing score, the Cougs got the ball back, but their drive sputtered out after eight plays.

In the end, it was the fifth loss in six regular-season road games for WSU, which has had trouble with what Rogers and Eckhaus called "finishing games." The Cougars have held the lead in each of their last three road games — against Virginia, Oregon State and now JMU — but they faltered in the second halves of each, totaling a combined six points in the second half.

In Saturday's second half, the Cougars produced 75 total yards. They posted 40 through the air and 35 on the ground. It leads to this question: Have they gotten conservative with their play-calling in the second half? On Monday, Rogers said after his defense secured a critical fourth-down stop in the third quarter, "I regret not being maybe more aggressive from that point on."

"We flipped the field," Rogers said, "and then that's kinda the fickle part of sports: One play killed us to tie it. And then I felt like we could have been, should have been maybe more aggressive or creative the rest of the way. It's frustrating. We also have to execute the same things that we executed the first half the right way."

WSU played from the middle of the third quarter on without center Brock Dieu, whose injury prompted coaches to sub in backup Kyle Martin, whose only other college experience came against Oregon State on Nov. 1, when Dieu also left with an injury. Dieu was able to return for this one, but after he got hurt again, he re-emerged on crutches, his foot in a boot.

The Cougs' defense was also dinged in some uncharacteristic ways. Under defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit, that unit had done well to limit explosive plays almost all season, especially in the last few games. They were undone by two from the Dukes: The 68-yard pass came on a fake QB draw, which JMU had run successfully earlier in the game, and their 58-yard scoring rush came up the middle, catching WSU defenders out of place.

Scouting Oregon State ...

Since earning their first FBS win of the season over WSU on the first of the month, the Beavers (2-9) have lost two straight, including a home setback to Sam Houston (which was previously winless) and a road defeat to Tulsa. OSU is still operating under interim head coach Robb Akey, but the program's head coaching search is in full swing, and according to a Sunday report from Oregon Live, it could include Montana State head man Brent Vigen.

OSU was off last week, enjoying its second and final bye week of the season. In the Beavers' loss to Tulsa, they didn't just use their regular two quarterbacks, Maalik Murphy and Gabarri Johnson. They even handed the fourth quarter to true freshman QB Tristan Ti'a, who completed 8 of 11 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

It wasn't a great game for OSU running back Anthony Hankerson, who torched WSU for 132 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in their first clash. Against Tulsa, Hankerson produced 46 yards on 19 carries, ending his streak of four straight games with at least 100 yards rushing.

But Ti'a, a former four-star QB prospect, may be the place for WSU to focus. Ti'a found ways to spark the Beavers' offense in ways that Johnson (who started) and Murphy could not. In the Cougars' and Beavs' first meeting of the season, Murphy was in at QB when OSU recorded its one touchdown, which came on a rush by Hankerson.

"We gotta make sure that we're not taking anybody for granted or checking out, because we got a game to finish," Rogers said. "I do believe in finishing, as much as it may not seem like I put emphasis on that. We break everything down on focus, finish. We have since we started here. We have an opportunity to be bowl eligible. We've been competitive against a lot of really good teams. There is no out. We've lost, and we gotta find ways to win, and that's on me and the staff and the players buying into it, regardless of the record itself."

What happened last time?

OSU earned its first FBS win of the season — only its second win total — with a 10-7 victory over WSU on Nov. 1. The Beavers notched only one scoring drive, but that was enough to topple the Cougars, whose offense looked out of sorts amid a depleted offensive line.

Washington State had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but kicker Jack Stevens misfired on a 32-yard field goal try, one of his two misses on the season.