Caden Pinnick – 6’0”, 192 – 3rd Year Player – UC Davis
Week 1 vs Washington: 16/25, 142 Yds, 0 Tds, 2 Int, 14 Rushes, 61 Yds, 1 Td
That stat line pretty much says it all. Pinnick isn’t so much a dual-threat quarterback as he is a single-threat quarterback, with that threat being his legs. He reminds me a little of former Wildcat quarterback Alex Delton. Physically, he can throw the ball, but his decision-making makes it a risky proposition. Of the 25 passes he attempted against Washington, only 5 went over 10 yards in the air. Interestingly enough, he completed all 5 of those passes (4 to his team and 1 to Washington).
The game plan against these types of quarterbacks isn’t hard to conceptualize, but the execution of said game plan can be an entirely different story. The defensive line has to be patient, stay in their rush lanes, and collapse the pocket around Pinnick. Kansas State needs to force him to step up in the pocket and into the lap of the waiting defensive tackles. The worst thing you can do is have a defensive end come off the edge hot, looking for a sack, and come up empty, letting him get to the perimeter where his legs become a problem. This isn’t a guy the defense should be chasing; he’s a guy they should be containing and encouraging to throw the football.
I don’t think Pinnick can beat Kansas State with his arm from the pocket. There’s a chance he can beat them by making plays in the open field. Patience will be a virtue for the Wildcat edge rushers on Saturday.
Leo Pulalasi – 6’1”, 208 – 4th Year Player – Washington State
Week 1 vs Washington: 5 Rushes, 13 Yards, 3 Rec, 12 Yds
Kirby Vorhees – 5’11”, 215 – 4th Year Player – South Dakota State
Week 1 vs Washington: 7 Rushes, 17 Yards, 2 Rec, 13 Yds
With Pinnick at quarterback, this team is all-in on running the ball; unfortunately, they weren’t particularly effective at it against Washington’s physical defensive front, despite starting two tailbacks and a running quarterback. All of Pulalasi’s attempts were A- and B-gap runs last week. He’s a big, strong back, but he never had a chance to get his long legs churning in the opener.
At 5’11”, 215, Vorhees is a compact ball of muscle. Like Pulalasi, he’s looking to run straight ahead as opposed to outflanking the defense; that’s Pinnick’s job. Washington State wants to use their running backs as sledgehammers to soften up the defensive front and push safeties and linebackers inside, so their quarterback can pull the ball and get outside. Washington didn’t allow them any success in the A gaps, and that’s going to be the task for Kansas State’s front 6 (or 7) tomorrow.
Darius Clemons – 6’3”, 217 – 4th Year Player – UMich/Oregon St.
Week 1 vs Washington: 3 Rec, 40 Yds
Daniel Blood – 5’11”, 190 – 4th Year Player – Missouri
Week 1 vs Washington: 5 Rec, 57 Yds
Another reason I expect the Cougs to lean heavily on the run game is the week-one knee injury to their dynamic slot receiver, Tony Freeman. It sounds like Freeman isn’t going to be able to go, leaving Clemons and Blood to pick up the slack. Out of the two, Blood looked more dangerous against the Huskies, including hauling in a game-high 32-yard reception down the right sideline. It’s possible Blood was open deep because the defense expected him to be closer to the line of scrimmage. For the most part, he’s responsible for the short and intermediate routes in this offense, which also happens to be where Pinnick wants to throw the ball.
Clemons did most of his work against Washington in the 10–20-yard range. He’s a physical receiver who doesn’t mind going over the middle and taking a hit to make a catch, but is more of a “catch it and get down” receiver as opposed to a “catch it and run” receiver. My only concern is Clemons using his strength to break an initial tackle and then finding room to run. Washington did a good job playing tight coverage and getting him to the ground on the initial tackle attempt. It would serve the Wildcats well to do the same.
Jack Pederson – 6’5”, 250 – 5th Year Player – UCLA
Week 1 vs Washington: 1 Rec, 3 Yds
With Freeman going to an injury in the first quarter, Pederson found himself on the field for 54 snaps. He’s a de facto offensive lineman in this offense and is much more likely to make an impact in the run game as a blocker than in the passing game as a receiver.
Ashton Tripp – 6’7”, 307 – 4th Year Player – Washington State
Kyle Martin – 6’3”, 310 – 2nd Year Player – Washington State
Noah Dunham – 6’5”, 292 – 3rd Year Player – Washington State
Nick Bakken – 6’5”, 305 – 2nd Year Player – South Dakota State
Jonny Lester – 6’5”, 320 – 3rd Year Player – Washington State
I thought this would be Washington State’s strength heading into the season, but that didn’t play out in the opener. As I mentioned earlier, the Huskies are stout up front, and the Cougar offensive line couldn’t push them off the line enough to give their running backs a chance to get started. This offense is built to run the football, but that can’t happen if there’s no place to run but into the arms of a waiting defender. I don’t think they have any option but to line up again this week, try what didn’t work in week 1 again, and hope for better results.
If I’m Cougar offensive coordinator Matt Miller, I’m looking at the middle of the Wildcats defensive line and feeling better about my chances of getting the interior run game going. We’ll find out tomorrow if the Kamari Burns and Travis Bates pairing can hold up against a team that makes a concerted effort to run in the A-gaps. This should be an interesting stress test for a position group, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more from Eli Jackson and De’Arieun Hicks in this game as Coach Peterson tries to keep his interior line from wearing down. I could also see 1st-year defensive tackle Carnell Jackson Jr. get some run as the only true nose tackle on the team. I’m not sure he’s ready yet, but he’s also 6’2, 350 pounds, and that could come in handy against a team that needs to run inside.
One potential issue for Kansas State is the health of middle linebacker Meki Mason. If Mason can’t go, Rex Van Wyhe is going to need to step up to help shut down the interior run game. In my humble opinion, playing a 4-3-3 makes more sense against a run-dependent offense like Washington State, but I’m not sure that’s an option for this defense without Mason on the field. Keep an eye on safety Logan Bartley; he may be playing a little closer to the line of scrimmage than usual tomorrow, and while I love Koy Beasley’s speed on the back end, Adrian Maddox could get some additional run as the more physical safety.
Washington State couldn’t get anything going on offense in the Apple Cup last week. The Huskies shut down the interior run, kept Pinnick from doing too much damage with his legs, and forced him to try and win the game from the pocket.
That seems like a winning game plan this week, too. Everything hinges on stopping the inside run.
If Washington State gets it going between the tackles, Pinnick’s ability to pull the ball and attack the edges is significantly more dangerous because the defensive ends will be looking to crash and the linebackers will be trapped inside.
If Kansas State stuffs the interior run, I’m not sure Washington State has a plan B. They didn’t last week.
In short, stuff the run, make Pinnick throw the ball, and don’t lose focus on the back end and cut someone loose deep and I don’t see a way forward for the West Coast Cats from Pullman.
Wildcats > Cougars in my humble opinion.
