WSU Running Game a Constant Struggle

While Alex Brink continues to rack up the passing yards on a weekly basis, a crucial element to the WSU offense has fallen off the face of the earth: the running game. In what is considered a staple of the modern version of the Dennis Erickson-Mike Price one-back offense, WSU has emphasized balance in recent years as a key to offensive success. And in the Bill Doba era, which has seen Mike Levenseller and Timm Rosenbach design the offense and call the plays, the offense has been running at nearly a 50-50 run-pass ratio. But this year? Forget it. The balance has completely disappeared in 2007, and the trend is becoming a big worry for WSU.

Right now, the offense is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. That's good for 108.6 yards per game, which places them ninth in the Pac-10. That's ok, you say, WSU still leads the conference in passing yards per game at just a shade under 300, so big deal. Well, it is a big deal because WSU's offense needs that balance to be successful. Alex Brink is who he is, a solid player who is at his best when he has a strong running attack behind him. But force Alex into 2nd or 3rd and long, and like any QB in the nation, it's a whole different deal. But to really put that 108.6 rushing yards per game in proper perspective, you must realize that it is the lowest per-game average in the Bill Doba era. But the further you go back, the worse it gets. Going back to 1997, 108.6 is the lowest yards per game over that span. The second-worst rushing mark is 114 yards, turned in by a dreadful 1999 team, a team so bad that Mike Price dubbed himself the "King of Poop Island".

It's even worse when you look at just the last couple of years to see how important the WSU running game actually is to wins and losses. Late last year the season fell apart in a three-game losing streak, as WSU struggled vs. Arizona, ASU and UW. In the Arizona and ASU losses, the Cougars were held under 100 yards rushing. In both losses they were held to under two yards per carry. In the season finale against UW, they did barely crack the 100-yard mark at 102 yards, but it came on just 3.3 yards per carry. That's even worse than the 3.6 yards per carry they are averaging this year.


The proof is in the stats, and WSU was 4-2 in 2006 when they were able to crack the century mark in rushing yards. That translates to a 2-4 record in games when held under 100 yards. This year the trend continues, as the Cougars are 2-1 in games where they went over 100 yards, but an alarming 0-4 when they fail to better the century mark. That puts them at a combined 2-8 over the last two years when held under 100 yards rushing.

Why the trouble in running the ball? It's likely a combination of many things. The WSU defense has been one of the worst in recent school history. When you can't keep the opposition out of the end zone, your offensive approach changes and you are forced to throw the ball simply to stay in the game. The offensive line has seen some shuffling due to injury and some baby-faced lineman have been thrown to the wolves. Bill Doba said earlier this week that they are simply too young and not strong enough to blow the opposition off the ball, so the running game is going to be a season-long struggle. They have to get bigger and stronger before they can manhandle the opposing defense, and right now it's just about young players trying to survive.

The starter, Dwight Tardy, is a solid, gritty back with some pop, but he's exactly not a home-run threat. His strength is not making something out of nothing. With the struggles of the offensive front, he doesn't have much of a chance to make a big impact. The depth isn't strong behind Tardy either. Chris Ivory has shown flashes of being a pretty good back, but he's had some injury issues since week one. WSU also lost their best playmaker off the team from last year, WR Jason Hill, to the NFL. It's been an adjustment to life without his big-play presence on the outside. Brandon Gibson has had a big year in Hill's place, but he's battled some nagging injuries himself and had to sit out of the Oregon blowout a few weeks ago. Gibson should be back after practicing this week, but it's hard to know how well he'll play against a fast, aggressive UCLA secondary.

The bad news for the Cougars is that UCLA has been a strong rushing defensive team this year. They give up just 2.5 yards per carry and have allowed a Pac-10 low three rushing TD's for the season. While four turnovers were the highlight to UCLA's victory last week over Cal, lost in the shuffle was the fact that UCLA held Cal to just 67 rushing yards on 30 attempts. That's good against anyone, but especially Cal, a team that averages over five yards per carry and have 17 rushing TD's this year. Last year WSU handled UCLA in Pasadena, 37-15, but WSU's running game was a big part of that win. They had over 100 rushing yards, including two fourth-quarter rushing TD's to break open what was a tight game.

Add it all up and it makes it fairly obvious what UCLA is going to try to do this week. UCLA defenders will likely attack the WSU offensive line, stuff the running game and dare Alex Brink and company to beat them over the top. We'll see what WSU has left in the tank, but if they continue to be one-dimensional on offense, it could be another tough day in Pullman.