Sep. 12— Washington State 's offense had another troubling performance. And the defense wasn't great either. Playing their second straight road game against a power-conference opponent, the Cougars struggled mightily during a flat Week 2 effort, falling 34-7 on Saturday against Kansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
Offense causes more concern
The Cougs had no rhythm for three quarters last week during their Apple Cup loss. On Saturday, WSU's offense looked considerably worse . The group failed to score, punted eight times, went three-and-out (or four-and-out) on six possessions, converted on 2 of 12 third downs and finished with a measly 166 total yards during one of their least productive offensive games in recent memory.
The play calling was often conservative. Openings weren't there for deep passes. The ground game was thoroughly uninspiring, resulting mostly in small gains, or no gain at all. The Cougs only got into scoring position on one drive — their first — and that ended in a tipped short-range field goal that looked like it was going to miss no matter if Kansas State got a hand on it.
Quarterback Caden Pinnick had a miserable outing, completing 9 of 20 passes for just 65 yards. Misreads were prevalent, and receivers couldn't separate downfield. WSU did end up surpassing 100 rushing yards, but much of that came in the later stages with K-State ahead comfortably. The Cougars too frequently ran into walls for minimal gains.
Clearly, offense is the most glaring issue for this WSU team.
Defense can't hold forever
The bright spot in last week's loss, WSU's defense had a tough outing against the Wildcats, surrendering 487 yards and plenty of chunk plays — including five rushing plays of 15-plus yards, topped by a 75-yard K-State touchdown run through a wide-open gap early in the third quarter that deflated WSU's hopes of a comeback.
It certainly didn't help that WSU's defense was constantly put in difficult positions by its offense. The defenders were on the field for long stretches as K-State's offense plugged away downfield with several long drives. The Wildcats had possession for over 34 minutes. K-State's time of possession in the first half doubled WSU's. It's hard to defend effectively without time to rest.
That said, WSU's defense couldn't come up with big stops, allowing K-State to convert on 8 of 10 third downs in the first half. When Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson escaped pressure in the pocket, he found faults in WSU's pass coverage — two of his three TD passes came on broken plays. And the Cougs just couldn't get to Johnson in the backfield, failing to record a sack and managing four TFLs in the run game, allowing the Wildcats to pile up 295 rushing yards (7.4 yards per carry).
Cougars safety Jaylen Thomas tried to singlehandedly keep his team afloat in the first half, jumping out routes for two second-quarter interceptions. He returned his first pick, early in the second quarter, to the K-State 45-yard line, but the Cougars offense did nothing with it, immediately turning the ball over on downs with some head-scratching play calls — four consecutive runs up the middle.
Thomas' second pick resulted in WSU's only score. K-State quarterback Avery Johnson got greedy with seven seconds left in the first half, tossing an errant pass toward the sideline. Thomas was in perfect position, snatching a pick and racing 50 yards to the end zone to cut the deficit to 17-7.
After an hour-long weather delay during the half, it felt like WSU could come out of the break with momentum. Instead, the Cougars went three-and-out to open the third quarter, and the WSU defense was sent right back out. On the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage, K-State running back Rodney Fields Jr. gashed the Cougs' defense, darting through an open lane in the left side of the line and loping 75 yards for a touchdown, putting K-State up 24-7 and extinguishing any momentum WSU thought it had.
Rough start for new Cougs
Of course, it's a less-than-desirable start for new coach Kirby Moore and Co. Two difficult road games against Power Four teams resulted in an expected 0-2 record. Week 1 had promising signs. Week 2, not so much.
But the Cougars should get a reprieve next week, when they host FCS Duquesne. Perhaps the team will get a much-needed confidence boost. Maybe it'll give the Cougs and new offensive coordinator Matt Miller, who's taken plenty of heat over the past two weeks, a chance to sort out some of their many issues offensively and find a flow.
Without trying to sound too optimistic, it's important to remember that this WSU team is operating with a completely reworked roster and first-year staff. It takes time to build confidence and stability in new schemes. Having said that, it doesn't inspire much confidence getting steamrolled by a K-State team that's also playing under a first-year coach. The Cougars need to sort a lot out soon, because Arizona is coming to town in two weeks before the Pac-12 schedule begins.
