Cougars try to regroup for Utah
The aftermath of Washington State’s 39-36 loss at USC lingered into the next practice on Sunday when the Cougars started preparing for Saturday’s home game against Utah.
Washington State special teams coach Matt Brock talked to the media after practice and mentioned that his unit is back to normal after redshirt freshman kicker Blake Mazza’s field goal attempt from 38 yards with 1:41 remaining was blocked at USC.
“It was a breakdown in communication,” Brock said of the protection on the play. “We just didn’t execute real well, so it’s something we’ve gotta get fixed moving forward.”
Special teams players remained on the Martin Stadium turf for about 10 minutes Sunday night after coach Mike Leach broke the team’s huddle to cap the hour-long practice.
Brock wanted to point out that Mazza drilled a 50-yard field goal midway through the first quarter against the Trojans.
“That was a pretty good kick for him,” Brock said.
“Some confidence for him that he probably needed, we needed, as a team. We talk before the game about where he feels comfortable at. He told me he felt comfortable at the 50, and credit to him for giving me good information.”
As for Utah, Leach shares a common past with Utes coach Kyle Whittingham. Leach attended BYU while Whittingham was playing there in the early 1980s. Leach did not play football, but he closely studied the passing offense executed by legendary coach LaVell Edwards and offensive coordinator Norm Chow.
But the coaching philosophies of Leach and Whittingham are not the same. Leach is offensive-minded whereas Whittingham believes foremost in a strong defense.
Utah (2-1 overall, 0-1 Pac-12) has the nation’s No. 1 defense, allowing only 204.7 yards a game. Washington State (3-1, 0-1) has a passing offense that is No. 2 nationally at 401.8 yards per game.
“They’re really physical, they’re strong,” Leach said of Utah’s defense.
“They’re well coached. Kyle has always had a philosophy on defense. … His defenses are always very similar. They’re always very aggressive. They’re always very strong up front and the biggest thing I think is they do the fundamentals really well. They don’t try to fool you. They just come right at you.”