(Photo: Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)
Both Arizona State Football (5-2) and Washington State (4-4) have had to do some soul searching coming into Saturday’s Week 9 matchup, but for different reasons.
The Sun Devils are coming off a bye week, which could not have come at a better time after they were upset by Utah 35-21 two weeks ago. The Cougars are adjusting to a new coaching staff, after head coach Nick Rolovich and four assistants were fired after failing to comply with Washington State’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Heading into Saturday’s day game at Sun Devil Stadium, there’s pressure on both ASU and the Cougars to get back in the win column.
The Sun Devils are looking to redeem themselves. ASU took many critics by surprise when it upset UCLA at the Rose Bowl at the beginning of October. The team then established a winning reputation after beating Stanford, who had just beat then-ranked Oregon the previous week.
The Sun Devils were in the driver’s seat to lead the Pac-12 Conference’s Southern Division and seemed destined to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl in January. But suddenly the car came to an abrupt stop, as the Utes stood in the middle of the road, blocking Arizona State’s way.
“Football is a game of momentum,” Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards said. “When you have it, it’s fun to have and it’s fun to watch. When you don’t have it, how do you stop the momentum of [not having] it? How can I stop momentum to get it back? That’s the Utah game for us.”
Now the Sun Devils’ fate is up in the air and the need to beat the Cougars is crucial in regaining that winning reputation and rebuilding a postseason resume.
The Sun Devils have had an extra week to re-evaluate all three aspects of their game and regroup before facing Washington State.
“I think it’s always good to get a bye to reflect on the things that you need to work on,” Edwards said.
Meanwhile, Washington State is also hungry for a win, but for the Cougars, the need to win is for themselves. The Cougars lost 21-19 to BYU last week, just five days after Rolovich was fired.
Interim head coach Jake Dickert, who is in his second year on staff and also serves as Washington State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, has done a fairly decent job leading the Cougars through tough circumstances. Despite the loss to BYU in Dickert’s first game as head coach, the Cougars managed to keep the score close and it was a one-possession deficit throughout the game.
Washington State had been gaining momentum before Rolovich’s dismissal, winning three of their four last games. Before the loss to BYU, they had won three straight games which included a victory against the leader of the Pac-12 North: Oregon State.
The Cougars’ offense is led by sophomore quarterback Jayden de Laura. The second-year thrower leads the Pac-12 in passing touchdowns with a total of 15 and ranks second in the conference in passing yards with 1,733.
Some of de Laura’s notable offensive weapons include two senior wide receivers, Calvin Jackson and Travell Harris. The veterans have scored a combined nine touchdowns in 2021. Jackson has collected 528 receiving yards, which is second-most in the Pac-12. His teammate, Harris, is close behind with 525 receiving yards, ranking the senior third in the conference for yards through the air.
On the other end of the ball, senior linebacker Jahad Woods is a defensive leader for the Cougars. Woods ranks fifth in the Pac-12 for total tackles with 61 and is the only Washington State linebacker to be ranked in the top ten of the conference.
“Lot of experience on both sides of the ball,” Edwards said of the Cougars.
