Colorado State Football: First Look At The Washington State Cougars

The Rams get a chance at revenge when they open 2023 against Wazzu. Here’s a first look at the Cougars.

Colorado State Football: First Look at the Washington State Cougars

The Rams get a chance at revenge when they open 2023 against Wazzu. Here’s a first look at the Cougars.

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One of the Mountain West’s biggest non-conference home games.

Colorado State Football: First Look at 2023 Non-conference Opponents

Washington State | Colorado | Middle Tennessee State | Utah Tech

After facing off with Utah State, Colorado State, and Fresno State over the past two seasons, Mountain West fans have gotten pretty familiar with the Washington State Cougars.

Wazzu did a pretty good job of righting themselves following some difficult circumstances in 2021 and their first step toward re-establishing themselves as a Pac-12 dark horse will begin in Fort Collins this September, where the Rams get a shot at reversing the result of last year’s lopsided loss.

Location: Pullman, Washington

Conference: Pac-12

Series History: The all-time series between Colorado State and Washington State is tied, 1-1.

2022 Record: 7-6 (4-5 Pac-12)

Head Coach: Jake Dickert (third year, 10-9 overall). Dickert took on the head coaching role in the second half of the 2021 season, in the wake of the Nick Rolovich saga, but he held the line well enough to shed the interim label. His first full year in charge began with some promise, a 4-1 start which included a big road win at Wisconsin, but the Cougars offense couldn’t find a rhythm in the heart of its conference schedule and a three-game losing streak to USC, Oregon State, and Utah cemented them as a good but not great Pac-12 team.

Key Players

Cameron Ward, QB

Ward’s much-hyped arrival from Incarnate Word wasn’t quite as explosive as Cougars fans may have hoped, but he more than held his own in the Pac-12. Despite absorbing 46 sacks, the most in that conference, he completed 64.4% of his passes for 3,231 yards (6.5 yards per attempt) with 23 touchdowns and a 1.8% interception rate. With improved protection, Ward could be as dangerous as he was in 2021, when he was a Walter Payton Award finalist and threw 47 touchdowns for UIW.

Brennan Jackson, EDGE

One half of Wazzu’s veteran pass-rushing duo, Jackson landed on the all-Pac-12 second-team defense last season after making 41 total tackles and posting career bests with six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson also finished in a tie for third among conference edge defenders with 25 stops, meaning that Clay Millen will need to keep an eye on him at all times.

Ron Stone, EDGE

The other half of that pass-rushing duo? That’d be Stone, who followed up a first-team all-Pac-12 campaign in 2021 with a second-team nod by collecting 34 total tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Most interestingly, PFF credited him with 11 quarterback hits, one of just three defenders in the Pac-12 to reach double digits, so he could easily cause problems for Colorado State’s revamped offensive line.

Chau Smith-Wade, CB

Though he was only an all-conference honorable mention in 2022, Smith-Wade posted an 83.1 PFF overall grade which is the highest among all Pac-12 cornerbacks returning for 2023. That came on the strength of 44 total tackles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles, and that’s more than enough for Smith-Wade to belong in the conversation as the best cornerback in the Pac-12.

Nakia Watson, RB

Watson had a unique task in replacing Max Borghi last year but his first full season as a starter worked out just fine. He led the Cougars with 769 rushing yards (5.3 yards per attempt) and added 30 receptions for another 295 yards through the air, ultimately accounting for 13 total touchdowns. For that, PFF tabbed him with a 74.4 overall grade for 2022, the best figure of any Cougar on offense back for the fall.

Overview:

Offense

Despite the arrivals of Ward and offensive coordinator Eric Morris, the Cougars were merely okay on offense in 2022, ranking 64th among FBS teams with 2.24 points per drive and 60th with 46.6% of available yards earned per drive. Injuries and inconsistency on the offensive line played a big part in that, as they help to explain why Wazzu also finished 90th overall by sack rate and stuff rate allowed.

That line was plenty young, too, and could be better with their first trials out of the way. Redshirt sophomores Christian Hilborn and Fa’alili Fa’amoe started 20 games between them last year — Hilborn spent time at tackle and guard while Fa’amoe was elevated to a starting role at right tackle midway through of the season — while junior center Konner Gomness provides a steady presence in the middle.

Ward and Watson make for a fine backfield duo, but one of Wazzu’s biggest challenges will be incorporating a number of transfer portal wide receivers to replace their top four pass catchers from 2022. As it happens, they raided the Mountain West to do so, bringing in Josh Kelly (Fresno State), Isaiah Hamilton (San Jose State), and Kyle Williams (UNLV) to complement the likes of Leyton Smithson (30 catches, 285 yards, one touchdown) and Lincoln Victor (26-245-0). New offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who went to Pullman from Western Kentucky, will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.

Defense

Dickert’s background as a defensive coordinator paid dividends for this unit, which allowed only 2.02 points per drive (46th in FBS) and 48.3% of available yards per drive (80th). With a handful of stars ready for another go, the main task is about filling in the blanks around them.

Up front, that means figuring out who will start between Jackson, Stone, and Quinn Roff (7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) at defensive tackle. Sophomores David Gusta and Ty Garay-Harris got their feet wet in limited action last year, but they also added Na’im Rodman, who had 17 starts in 42 games at Colorado, through the transfer portal.

They’ll also need to figure out their situation at linebacker, where veterans like Kyle Thornton will compete for reps with transfers Ahmad McCullough (Maryland), Devin Richardson (Texas), and Davon Hicks (USF). The situation in the secondary, at least, looks much more promising with Smith-Wade and sophomore safety Jaden Hicks (76 tackles, six pass breakups, two TFLs, one INT) leading the charge and former Utah State defenders Cam Lampkin and Dominic Tatum providing support. The Cougars finished third in the Pac-12 with 47 total passes defended last season, meaning that opposing quarterbacks won’t always have it easy against them.

Early Prediction

On paper, the Rams look like they should be much improved and might be in a position to exploit Wazzu’s offensive line concerns, but that may also be true of the Cougars defensive line against CSU’s own starting five on offense. It should be closer than last year’s contest, but Ward might ultimately be the difference maker in this one.

Washington State 34, Colorado State 20

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