Bill Doba's WSU defense had a big improvement last week vs. Arizona State. They held the Sun Devils to 23 points, and the game came down to a final missed field goal before the whole thing as decided. The Cougar D played fast and aggressive, and it appeared that Doba finally decided to cut the youngsters loose and see what kind of damage they could do. Andy Mattingly, the 6-4, 230lb true sophomore linebacker with the quickness of a safety, had the game of his life, with 17 tackles, four sacks and five tackles for loss, the latter of which tied a school record.
So it looked like the defense finally turned the corner. But alas, things seem like they might be going in reverse this week. Doba did something he hasn't done all year last week, and that was blitz repeatedly, well over 50% of the time according to Mattingly. But this week will be different, for the opponent in Oregon will dictate the defensive approach. And that, overall, is not a good thing. The success against ASU, while encouraging to see the defense get after it, might have been a bit of a mirage. ASU employs the one-back offense under Dennis Erickson, and the WSU program has basically been running the same offense since the late 1980's. So they knew what they were doing to see last week, and, bottom line, they knew they could blitz.
This week? Not so much. Oregon, with Dennis Dixon at QB, loves to spread you out and dissect you with the quick passing game. Blitzing is pretty much out of the question, as Dixon and his receivers would be able to do whatever they want against an approach like that. Take away the pass? No problem for Oregon, just hand it to RB Jonathan Stewart and watch him get seven-plus yards per carry, which is what he's averaging right now as the top running back in the conference. To make matters worse, the last offense WSU saw like this on the road was against Arizona, and we know what happened there - over 500 yards of total offense and 48 points in a blowout in Tucson. Willie Tuitama threw for five TD's, and a true frosh running back named Nicholas Grigsby had 186 yards in his first-ever start. Uh-oh.
And finally, speaking of Andy Mattingly, how does Bill Doba reward his young rising linebacker for a major breakout game against an unbeaten opponent? By removing him from the starting lineup, that's how. Kendrick Dunn is back this week after missing the ASU game with an injury, so Doba is giving the JC transfer his job back, even though Mattingly might have had the best game at linebacker for WSU since Will Derting roamed the Palouse. WSU is a 17-18 point underdog, and sure, this season has seen it's share of craziness. I guess if Stanford can waltz into the LA Coliseum and beat USC, then anything can happen in the Pac-10. But add it all up, it could be a long, rough afternoon in Eugune for Doba's defense.
