Cal Football: First Look at Washington State, Unbeaten Before Late Collapse vs. Oregon

WSU, which hosts Cal next Saturday, has undergone big changes in a year.

The Washington State team Cal will visit on Saturday allowed a total of 38 points in its first three games, including a road win over then-No. 19 Wisconsin.

The Cougars gave up 29 points in the fourth quarter alone on Saturday night in a crushing 44-41 defeat to visiting Oregon.

Which WSU team can Cal expect to see in Pullman?

Cal coach Justin Wilcox, in the aftermath of the Bears’ 49-31 win over Arizona, said he wasn’t aware of the Cougars’ outcome. But he was respectful of the next team on the Bears’ schedule.

“They’ve got a good defense, they’ve got a new quarterback, they spread the ball out,” Wilcox said. “We’re going to want to build on the momentum we created today offensively and we’re going to need to improve defensively and kind of get back to tackling and covering and rushing where we have been in the past and not what we showed today.

“It’ll be a tough game. We know that going up there, it’s a tough place to play. Our guys will be excited, though.”

Washington State coach Jake Dickert / Photo by James Snook, USA Today

There is a lot about the Cougars that has changed since they beat Cal 21-6 in Berkeley last Oct. 2.

Coach Nick Rolovich was fired barely two weeks later for failing to meet requirements as a state employee to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Rolovich has since filed a lawsuit against the university.

Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert, whose unit was fifth nationally last season with 29 takeaways, was elevated to interim coach and given the permanent job after the Cougars snapped a seven-year losing streak to Washington by thumping their rivals 40-13 in the Apple Cup.

The Cougars’ best player on each side of the line of scrimmage this season is transfer:

— Quarterback Cameron Ward, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore, played two seasons at Incarnate Word, where last fall he was the Southland Player of the Year and a second-team FCS All-American after passing for 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He set program records with 610 passing yards and seven TDs in a win over Southeastern Louisiana.

Ward already has thrown for 1,102 yards and 10 touchdowns (also five interceptions) in the Cougars’ AirRaid offense this season, and had 375 yards through the air in the Cougars’ loss to Oregon, completing 29 of his first 33 attempts.

“You saw the best of Cam today,” Dickert said, alluding to Ward’s improvisational skills. “He has magic in his hands.”

Dalyan Henley makes a tackle against Idaho / Photo by James Snook, USA Today

— Linebacker Daiyan Henley, a senior transfer from Nevada, was projected last week by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., as a first-round NFL draft pick next year. The 6-2, 232-pounder already has 8.5 tackles for loss, including four sacks, and 38 total tackles and an interception through four games.

A wide receiver when he arrived at Nevada, Henley transitioned to defense after the 2018 season and last year totaled 103 tackles, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

The Cougars’ 3-0 start included an attention-grabbing 17-14 win at Wisconsin, the Pac-12’s only non-conference road victory over a ranked opponent. There was less to glean from victories over FCS Idaho and winless Colorado State, one of the nation’s worst teams.

Still, WSU was getting love from AP Top-25 pollsters, collecting 60 votes for 30th in the rankings a week ago. The fourth-quarter collapse against the Ducks dropped them to 38th place with just four votes.

Cougar fans certainly were excited for the game, selling out Gesa Field and cheering their team to a 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

“It hurts,” Dickert said after the late cave-in. “We’ve got a lot of kids who are disappointed in there. They should be proud of the way they played and fought. … To win big football games, you gotta execute in the biggest moments. Oregon did and we didn’t.”

Oregon ran up 624 yards against WSU in the Pac-12 opener for both teams. WSU, which entered the game second in FBS with 14 sacks, had none against the Ducks, who still haven’t allowed one this season.

“It wasn’t just one thing. It was them out-executing us in the fourth quarter,” Dickert said. “We didn’t have an opportunity to rush the passer and affect the quarterback and we didn’t make plays in the secondary.”

The final nail in the Cougars’ coffin was a 27-yard pick-six by Oregon’s Mase Funa, pushing the margin to 44-34 with 1:01 to play.

Ward, asked how he can improve on his performance, went straight to the point. “Not turn the ball over,” he said. “That’s really all I got to say. I can’t have a pick-6 in the two-minute drill to try to beat a Top 25 team. Just can’t do that.”

Cover photo of WSU quarterback Cameron Ward by James Snook, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo