Washington State Cougars vs. Cal Preview: Can Cal’s Defense be This Bad?
By Ben Renner
The Washington State Cougars face Cal at home tonight at 7:30. Expect points in bunches from Mike Leach’s crew against the Bears’ 126th-ranked defense.
The 24th-ranked Washington State Cougars (7-2) will try to stay undefeated in Pac-12 play in Pullman tonight. The Cal Bears (4-5) have struggled on defense this season and are coming off a 66-27 beatdown at the hands of the Washington Huskies last week.
Although the Bears have the second-worst scoring defense in the nation, they can still put up points. They are second in the Pac-12 (behind WSU) and seventh in the nation in pass plays over ten yards, and they will throw, throw, throw against the Washington State Cougars. Davis Webb, a transfer from Texas Tech, has posted a 135.5 Quarterback Ranking so far this season and has completed 61% of his passes for over 3000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Of his 11 interceptions on the season, three of them came against Washington’s ball-hawking secondary last week.
You know how this goes. If the Washington State Cougars can make enough plays batting down passes and blowing up the screens that Cal head coach Sonny Dykes is so fond of, they’ll be able to outscore the Bears. If Cal can hang in there against Washington State’s defense and put up enough points to overcome their inept defense, they’ll have a chance to pull out an upset.
More from Washington State Cougars
- Washington State Football: What you need to know for 2018 Alamo Bowl
- Washington State Football: 6 takeaways from 28-15 Apple Cup loss
- Washington State Football: What you need to know for UW 11/23
- Apple Cup: History leading up to the 2018 edition
- PAC-12 Football Power Rankings week of 11/21 – Emerald City Swagger
The Cougars are sure tacklers and match up well defensively with the Bears, but they can’t go to sleep on the screen game from Cal, and they have to get pressure on Dykes to keep him from burning them on the occasional deep ball.
Luke Falk should have another banner day against Cal’s defense in the beautiful weather in Pullman this weekend. With national coverage, this game could be a coming out party for the Washington State Cougars if they can handle their business tonight.