Washington State Football: 3 Takeaways from WSU win over San Jose State

The Washington State Football fans watched their Cougars follow an opening game win last week with a shutout over San Jose State on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the game.

Last week, the 2018 edition of Washington State football played like they had something to prove. Yesterday they continued their early string of good performances with a 31-0 shutout over an out-classed San Jose State Spartans team. Here are three takeaways from the win.

1) The offensive line looks good

Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew should feel very comfortable in the pocket. No Cougar QB has been sacked in the last 11 quarters, dating back to last December’s Holiday Bowl. The unit has managed to keep up their level of play despite some major turnover.

The new starting linemen include both guards Liam Ryan, and Josh Watson, as well as right tackle Abraham Lucas. There may be new faces, but the mission is still the same, protect the quarterback and open holes for the running attack.

Although the focus wasn’t on the run Saturday, the Cougar ground game still averaged four yards-per-carry. QB Gardner Minshew also had enough time to throw for 414 yards and three touchdowns. The O-line has one more game before PAC-12 play starts in two weeks, so far they look ready.

2) Gardner Minshew can handle leading the “Air Raid”

As mentioned earlier Minshew had a good day against the Spartan defense. Three touchdowns were almost four as he just missed Tay Martin for a score early in the second quarter. It would have been Martin’s third scoring catch, but two TDs to his favorite target is still O.K.

Minshew threw two picks, one of them came as a result of a deflection. The second came on the next drive. He straightened himself out after that, throwing for one more touchdown and running one to the house himself.

More importantly, his 414 yards went to 10 different receivers, eight of them had multiple catches. That shows Minshew can find different targets in Mike Leach’s complex offense. Additionally, he doesn’t have a problem taking off with the ball if he sees an open lane.

3) How about that defense!

The Washington State defense is off to a great start. The numbers don’t lie, in two games they have allowed a total 19 points and 315 yards. Additionally, the Cougar D has forced three turnovers, sacked the opposing QB eight times, and have made 18 tackles for loss.

Mike Leach, who didn’t have many overly positive things to say about the game in his press conference, but still managed to compliment his defense.

“Anytime you get a shutout, it doesn’t matter who you get a shutout against, that’s a fantastic effort,” he said. “I thought we tackled pretty well…the other thing, some our defensive linemen improved.”

109 yards allowed by the Cougs defense was the fourth lowest in team history, missing the school record by 12 yards. That happened 24 years ago when Washington State held Oregon to just 97.

Eastern Washington had better be ready next week because Washington State has proven they can easily handle similar competition.