The Monday After: I'm not angry, just disappointed

In partnership with

With a couple of days to digest and process WSU’s come-from-ahead loss to No. 18 Virginia, I find myself oscillating between optimism and anger.

Optimism because I fully expected the Cougars to struggle from the jump after traveling all the way across the county again to take on a quality opponent with a banged-up roster; anger because [GESTURES WILDLY WITH BOTH ARMS AT THAT ENTIRE STEAMING PILE OF A FOURTH QUARTER].

On some level, I do feel like it’s a little inappropriate to feel angry about a two-point loss on the road to a ranked opponent, particularly given everything the team went through to get to this point. In the context of the coaching change and roster turnover in the offseason, the horrible losses not that long ago that made it seem like the season might be spiraling, flying to the eastern time zone to take on a ranked opponent for the second consecutive week … man, a two-point loss is an objectively incredible result. 

I’m going to assume, though, that there isn’t a player or coach or fan who watched the game who feels that way today.

Which is where the anger comes in. It’s one thing for an outmanned and depleted team to have to hold on for dear life and not be able to do so; it’s another for an outmanned and depleted team to have to hold on for dear life and not be able to do so because they started vomiting all over themselves in the final frame like a bunch of sloppy freshmen wrapping up their first fraternity party.

That stench tends to linger.

I don’t want to handwave the circumstances that were stacked up against WSU. Without a doubt, the end result is understandable on an intellectual level. We all hoped for a better fourth quarter, but we also can’t say that the way it turned out was entirely unexpected, given that injuries have robbed both lines of their depth and the travel over the last month has assuredly taken a toll on their legs.

The differences between the start and end were stark. The defensive front was regularly winning at the line of scrimmage through the first three quarters, holding Virginia’s vaunted rushing attack to just 53 yards on 18 attempts before fading badly in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, a makeshift offensive line that was able to create some running lanes in the first half hit a bit of a wall in the second half, and then increasingly struggled to give quarterback Zevi Eckhaus even a couple of seconds to set up and throw. The stats aren’t pretty:

It was disappointing … but not at all surprising. I honestly expected to see that fade start in the 2nd quarter, not the 4th. What was surprising was that even with all of that, WSU still would have been in a great position to win the game – or at least get to OT – if not for the cascading series of avoidable events leading to those final two points. That’s a tough pill to swallow. 

First, with WSU still leading by three after giving up a 9-play, 97-yard touchdown drive, Eckhaus threw an inexplicable interception deep in WSU territory. I praised him last week for being smart with the ball, and Saturday was pretty much the opposite of that, as he threw a pair of picks to go with a TD that could have easily been a pick itself if the safety hadn’t turned himself around. WSU’s defense did the job, limiting Virginia to just a field goal, but those three points were directly attributable to Eckhaus.

Along the way, coach Jimmy Rogers made an inexplicable blunder, challenging the recovery of a fumble. You might recall that I advocated last week for Rogers to use a challenge on a questionable call that wasn’t buzzed for review. But that was in the first half, not in the final six minutes of a tight game. And when the refs stuck with what was a plainly obvious call – Virginia ball – WSU was docked a timeout. One that they definitely could have used later!

Then, of course … the kickoff. 

Rogers said today that Kirby Voorhees was simply trying to get Layton Smithson’s attention, so that Smithson would signal for a fair catch. It was an error of epic proportions, one that never should have happened. But it did, and at that point, what became most important was to not turn that one error into two or three.

It’s not surprising that WSU tried to make a couple of safe throws on the first two plays; it’s also not surprising that Virginia was all over it, given that Virginia had spent the second half chasing Eckhaus all over his backfield.

Which brings us to the safety.

Well, almost. Before the safety, Rogers burned another timeout. Why? There’s literally no justification for it. You know what would have happened if Eckhaus had just walked over the sideline to get the play and taken a delay penalty? WSU loses ½ of a yard. Hell, Zevi could have stood over there for five minutes while they get the play right and the refs could have just kept going half the distance, half the distance, half the distance, until there was a credit card between the ball and the goal line. I know that’s ridiculous, but it shows just how meaningless a penalty would have been. Just save the timeout, and get the play right. Instead, WSU gave away another precious chance to stop the clock in the very likely event they’d have to punt after the next play.¹  

Even if we set aside the game management implications of the timeout, you better make sure the right play comes out of it. Given the two passes on first and second down, I get why maybe they’d decide to go with a give-up run. But here’s the thing: That running play was completely doomed from the start. Virginia was undeniably selling out for that safety. Look at the linebacker and corner creeping toward the line:

For whatever reason, Eckhaus either didn’t recognize he needed to get out of the play, or didn’t have the freedom to. There was a chance to hit Josh Meredith on a hot read from the slot, but Virginia was so confident they were facing a run, the safety only half-heartedly heads down to cover him. 

The game wasn’t technically over at that point. But it really was, and pretty much everyone knew it. To self-immolate in such a fashion — while being so close to winning — is just really damn demoralizing. 

One might even say anger-inducing!

I keep having to remind myself, though, that in this weird season, a single result that isn’t highly embarrassing and doesn’t portend doom isn’t really worth getting mad about. A win here (or last week) would have been fun as hell and really cool and would have put the program one step closer to bowl eligibility and done wonders for the morale around the program. That matters!

But also, there’s no conference race to worry about. We’re not knocking on the door of the top 25. There are still five games left to get three wins, and if they play like they have the last two weeks, getting them won’t be a problem. Any bowl game – doesn’t matter which one – is the benchmark for success for this season. Better bowl games are cool, but not required, as we ride out our time in the wilderness with our first-year coach.

Besides, to be angry about how the game ended is to not recognize just how remarkable it was that they were even in that position to begin with. They weren’t up 20-10 because of things Virginia was doing wrong. There was zero flukiness about it. They were winning – repeatedly – at the point of attack. They were tackling well. They were imposing their will on the ground. For three entire quarters. 

I know games are four quarters. And that’s obviously what Rogers is preaching to his team this week. But as fans, we can point to everything leading up to the meltdown as just more evidence of proof of concept with Rogers.

“We continue to head in the right direction” is not what fans want to hang their hat on right now, but it matters.

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

1  That it ended up not mattering is beside the point.