Washington State Cougars: Takeaways from Week 6 win over Oregon State
The Washington State Cougars pulled off an upset, defeating Oregon State 31-24. The victory also pulled them to 3-3 on the season. Is this the win they needed to turn their season around?
The Washington State Cougars played their most complete game of the year this Saturday in their win over Oregon State. Jayden de Laura threw for almost 400 yards, and the Cougs ran for nearly another 100. WSU’s defense picked off two passes and kept the Beavers’ passing attack in check. They did give up a ton of yards on the ground but got the stops they needed to win the game. Here are this week’s takeaways.
1 – JdL comes through
The Cougars have their quarterback. Jayden de Laura was fantastic in this game and was the key to the team’s win. After an uneven first half, de Laura came out and sliced up the Beavers’ defense. If he continues to develop as this season goes on, the Cougs may have something special.
2 – Rolo Baffles
Nick Rolovich continues to underwhelm as the Washington State Cougars head coach. His decision-making and clock management in the first half were curious at best. Calling a timeout that kills your team’s momentum at a critical juncture is never a good idea. Sure enough, they gave up points on that final drive.
3 – DB to the rescue
Jaylen Watson is a clutch performer. He shut down the fake punt giving the offense great field position. Along with a key third down tackle that forced a field goal, that play was the difference between winning and losing.
4 – Hit me; I’m open
Someone probably should have covered Travell Harris. Harris went off for 147 yards on 8 catches. Averaging almost 20 yards per catch, all he missed out on was finding the end zone.
5 – The clock is ticking
The Rolovich watch continues. Rolovich’s confidante and Jeff George apologist June Jones made headlines by discussing his conversations with Rolovich regarding vaccines. It now seems a foregone conclusion that Rolovich will either resign or get a vaccine and have to miss two games.
The situation is a no-win for Rolovich. He either gives up his salary and possibly only chance to coach a Power-5 program, or he caves and gets a shot and misses games. If he chooses the latter, it begs the question, why didn’t he get the shot, to begin with, avoiding the drama and distraction all season?
There was no happy ending in this scenario, which is probably why he is the ONLY Division 1 coach not to get vaccinated.
What were your takeaways from the Washington State Cougars win on Saturday? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.