Cougars still look suspect despite 31-14 win over Wyoming

Peyton Pelluer was a bright spot for the WSU defense with three tackles for loss vs. Wyoming. (AP)

Sounds crazy to be less than thrilled about a 31-14 Washington State victory over Wyoming Saturday night, but that’s how I felt after the game.

Yes, there were good things, particularly the defense in the second half, shutting out the Cowboys, led by Peyton Pelluer with three tackles behind the line of scrimmage and five combined sacks from Ivan McLennan and Kache Palacio. Pelluer was all over the place, recording nine solo tackles and five assists.

On offense, though the Cougs sputtered for most of the night, Dom Williams had two touchdown grabs, including a brilliant one-hander, and Keith Harrington rushed six times for 68 yards.

“He’s developing into a real weapon,” coach Mike Leach said of Harrington.

In an odd statistical development, Gerard Wicks rushed eight times for 33 yards and caught eight passes for 33 yards. He’s a weapon too. I like the running back’s potential.

But if you’re going to look at this game realistically – and some would say cynically and pessimistically – the Cougars made a bad Wyoming team look good. Let’s not forget that this is a winless Wyoming team, one that lost to North Dakota and Eastern Michigan on its home field.

Yet the Cowboys outgained the Cougars 409 yards to 378, including 296 through the air. Brian Hill rushed 20 times for 145 yards. Washington State’s defense, as noted, played much better in the second half, but there are still missed tackles galore, and the kickoff coverage unit is mostly suspect.

If I’m being honest, I know the Cougars are 2-1, but they have beaten a depleted-and-in-disarray Rutgers team followed by an unimpressive win over one of the worst FBS teams in the country.

Now they head to Berkeley in two weeks to face unbeaten Cal, coming off a 45-44 win at Texas. The Golden Bears are averaging 51 points and feature Jared Goff, the No. 1 NFL prospect at quarterback. It’s hard to picture a scenario in which he throws for fewer than 350 yards against the Cougs.

Then we go to Eugene to face the Ducks, and I know we played them tough last year, and might have even won if officials had seen the blatant pass interference in the fourth quarter, but to think this team is going to beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium is to not be thinking clearly.

The bye week should help with preparations for the Pac-12 portion of the schedule. But from what I’ve seen so far from the Cougars, there’s not enough there to expect more than two or three wins the rest of the way.

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.