Positive results vs. pass-heavy opponents
In every season Pete Kwiatkowski (minus 2020) was in Seattle, he faced off against Washington State and Mike Leach’s high-powered passing attack. The Cougars averaged 13.7 points over those six games and lost every one of them. Graham Harrell’s air raid offense experienced the same fate at USC in 2019, throwing three interceptions and only getting 14 points on the board.
This will bode well against opponents such as Red River rival Oklahoma. Yes, the foundation of Lincoln Riley’s offense is to run the ball behind a solid offensive line. However, we have seen how dynamic his passing game can be with quarterback Spencer Rattler and wide receivers such as Marvin Mims. Rushing three and dropping eight into coverage became Kwiatkowski’s counter to the pass-heavy offenses. Expect a lot of that in Dallas in October.
Comparing Washington State to Oklahoma may seem unfair given the success and level of talent at both schools. However, the Cougars were still one of the top statistical offenses in the country during Leach’s tenure in Pullman. Going up against some of the top offensive minds within the conference will not faze Kwiatkowski.
“It’ll be fun to go out there and try to defend those high-powered offenses,” said Kwiatkowski on 950 KJR in Seattle.
Competing against a Sarkisian offense in practice every day will help sharpen that iron even further.