Cougars Back in Martin Stadium to face Stanford

Saturday, November 16

Pullman, WA

1:30 PM

Washington State University

Stanford

November 11, 2019 | Football

WSU Game Notes - Stanford Mike Leach Press Conference

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

STANFORD at WASHINGTON STATE
1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019 • Pac-12 Network
Martin Stadium (32,952) • Pullman, Wash.

COUGARS BACK IN MARTIN STADIUM TO FACE STANFORD
Washington State (4-5, 1-5 Pac-12) returns to Martin Stadium for the first time in three weeks to host Stanford (4-5, 3-4 Pac-12) at 1:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.

SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars have claimed the last three meetings with Stanford after posting a 41-38 come-from-behind road win last year. WSU trails the series with the Cardinal 17-8 when playing in Pullman but won the last meeting, 24-21 in 2017. The Cougars are looking to claim its fourth straight win in the series for the first time since recording eight straight wins 1957-64.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State entered the week with a 4-5 overall record and 1-5 in Pac-12 Conference play after dropping a 33-20 road contest to Cal last Saturday. The Air Raid leads the nation in the passing (433.1), is seventh in total offense (510.9) and No. 10 in scoring (39.8). The Cougar defense entered the week sixth in the Pac-12 in takeaways (14) and second in fumble recoveries (8). Head coach Mike Leach is in his eighth season at Washington State and owns a 53-45 record with the Cougars.

COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• 3 WSU receivers are on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List (Arconado, Patmon, Winston Jr.), most in Pac-12
• WSU has seen 25 players make their WSU debuts this season and 17 make their 1st career start
• WSU's roster features players from 19 states and from British Columbia, American Samoa and Australia
• Since 2015, WSU owns 41 wins, tied for 3rd-most among Pac-12 schools (UW - 45, Stan - 44, Utah - 43)
• Since 2015, WSU owns 27 Pac-12 wins, 4th-most among Pac-12 schools (Stan - 30, USC - 30, UW - 29)
• WSU is the only Pac-12 team with four shutouts since 2013 (6+ seasons) (Utah - 3, Stan and UW - 2)
• WSU has beaten Stanford three straight years for the first time since 2001-03
• WSU has produced an All-America offensive lineman in each of the last 4 seasons
• 3 starters from the 2018 team have made starts in the NFL this season;
QB Gardner Minshew II (JAC), LT Andre Dillard (PHI), S Jalen Thompson (ARZ)

INDIVIDUAL (Player Notes Pages 12-19)
• Mike Leach owns 53 wins at WSU, 3rd-most in program history
• Leach was named the 2018 AFCA National Coach of the Year and 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year
• Under Leach, WSU has recorded 13 4th-quarter comebacks in his 7+ seasons (Utah, at Stanford in 2018)
• QB Anthony Gordon leads the country in passing yards (3,794), passing yards/g (421.6) and passing TD (34)
• Gordon set WSU and Pac-12 single-game records with 9 TD passes against UCLA
• RB Max Borghi is 4th in the Pac-12 with 10 total TD and 7th with 112.8 all-purpose yards/g
• Borghi is only Power-5 player with 550+ rush yards, 400+ rec yards and 10 total TD
• Borghi is 2nd in the Pac-12 with 6.8 yards-per-carry, leads all RB nationally with 52 receptions
• Borghi is 1st player in WSU history to score 10+ TD in each of his 1st two seasons
• WR Brandon Arconado leads the Pac-12 with 5 100-yard efforts, 3 straight 100-yard games
• WR Easop Winston Jr. is tied for 11th in the country with 9 TD receptions, 4th in the Pac-12 with 59 catches
• Winston Jr.'s 14 receptions at Arizona State are tied for most rec by a Power-5 player in the country in 2019
• K Blake Mazza was named 1 of 20 Semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, is 15-for-15 in FG attempts
• LB Jahad Woods is 2nd in the Pac-12 with 92 tackles, owns 6 games with 10+ tackles in 2019

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the middle of the 2003 season, ESPN's College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak reached 237 last Saturday after appearing in Tuscaloosa. The first appearance came in Austin, Texas (10/4/03) and the streak began two weeks later in Madison, Wisc. (10/18/03). Two flags – Ol' Crimson and Gray – have been flown in the background of the GameDay set by dozens of friends and alumni. The Gray flag was added in 2014 after Whitey was retired in honor of Steve Gleason's "No White Flags." Appearance No. 217 was its first in Pullman (10/20/18), a 34-20 win over Oregon.

COUGARS IN THE RANKINGS
Washington State reached No. 19 in the week four Associated Press Top-25 Poll after starting the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll, just the second time in the last three seasons appearing in the preseason poll and just the fourth time since 1952. The Cougars finished 2018 ranked No. 10 in both the Associated Press Poll and Coaches Poll, their highest ranking to finish a season since finishing the 2003 season ninth in the AP poll. The No. 10 ranking was the highest by any Pac-12 Conference team, the first time that happened in conference history.

COUGARS FEATURED ON HBO'S 24/7 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
HBO Sports' landmark franchise 24/7 broke new ground this October with an all-access college football series chronicling four programs in-season; Florida, Penn State, Arizona State and Washington State. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, the voice of HBO Sports' Emmy award winning documentaries and HARD KNOCKS franchises, the series documented the head coach, players, assistant coaches and more over one week during the regular season. WSU was featured with an hour-long special highlighting the home game against Colorado.

AIR RAID
The Air Raid has put up big numbers in 2019
• vs. New Mexico State, 6 passing TD to 5 different WR, 618 yards of total offense, Max Borghi 128 rushing yards
• vs. Northern Colorado, 4 players caught TD passes, 2 had rushing TDs, 594 yards in total offense
• at Houston, 440 passing yards, 7.3 yards-per-play
• vs. UCLA, 63 points, 720 yards of total offense, 570 passing yards, 9 passing TDs, 150 rushing yards
• vs. UCLA, the 2 teams combined to set a Pac-12 single-game record with 130 points, WSU's 720 yards of total offense is 2nd-most in WSU single-game history, Anthony Gordon's 9 TD passes was a WSU/Pac-12 record
• at Arizona State, recorded 466 passing yards and 3 passing TD
• vs. Colorado, recorded 497 yards of total offense, 4 different players caught TD, combined to rush for 128 yards
• at Oregon, 406 pass yards, 3 passing TD, 6.9 yards-per-play
• at California, 407 passing yards, 9 different players caught a pass
• WSU leads the country in passing (433.1), 7th in total offense (510.9), 10th in scoring (39.8)
• WSU has 3 players on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List (nation's top receiver); Brandon Arconado, Dezmon Patmon and Easop Winston Jr., the most in the Pac-12 and second nationally only to Alabama's 4
• WSU has seen Max Borghi post 3 100-yard rushing games (New Mexico State, UCLA, Colorado)
• WSU has led the Pac-12 in passing in 6 of Mike Leach's 7 seasons, finishing 2nd to Cal (Jared Goff) in 2013
• WSU has led the nation in passing three times under Mike Leach (2014, 2015, 2018)
• WSU has produced an All-America offensive lineman in each of the last 4 seasons
(LT Joe Dahl, 2015; LG Cody O'Connell, 2016; LG Cody O'Connell, 2017; LT Andre Dillard & RT Abraham Lucas, 2018)

MIKE LEACH AMONG NATION'S BEST
Now in his 18th season as a head coach and 8th in Pullman, Mike Leach owns a 137-88 career record including a 53-45 mark at WSU
• his 53 wins at WSU are 3rd-most in school history, O.E. Hollingberry (93, 1926-42), Mike Price (83, 1989-2002)
• is the 1st Cougar head coach in school history to lead WSU to four straight bowl games
• is tied with Mike Price for the most bowl appearances with 5
• 2nd Cougar Head Coach to be named National Coach of the Year (2018 AFCA), Mike Price in 1997
• Named a George Munger Coach of the Year semifinalist (2016, 2017, 2018)
• 2015 Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year and 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year

YOUNG COUGS TAKE THE FIELD
• 24 total freshman have played this season, 17 redshirt-freshmen and 7 true freshmen
• 25 players made their WSU debuts; CB Derrick Langford, DB Daniel Isom, RB Deon McIntosh, FS Bryce Beekman, OL Hunter Mayginnes, LS Tyler Williams, DL Brennan Jackson, LB Travion Brown, DL Nicholas Sheetz, QB Gage Gubrud, DL Lamonte McDougle, WR Brandon Gray, DB Chad Davis Jr., DB Shahman Moore, OL Cade Beresford, LS Simon Samarzich, WR Mitchell Quinn, OL Seth Yost, WR Lucas Bacon, DL Cosmas Kwete, LB Peni Naulu, DB Trey Davis, DL Michael Van Beek, DL Christian Mejia, CB Armaunie Archie
• 13 freshmen have made their collegiate debuts including 7 true freshmen; LB Travion Brown, DL Cosmas Kwete, LS Simon Samarzich, DL Nicholas Sheetz, LB Peni Naulu, DB Trey Davis, CB Armaunie Archie
• 17 players have made their first career start; CB Armani Marsh, END Karson Block, NT Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei, FS Bryce Beekman, SS Daniel Isom, QB Anthony Gordon, X Rodrick Fisher, Liam Ryan made his 1st career start at left tackle, Rob Valencia made his 1st career start at left guard, Tyler Williams as the field goal longsnapper, Simon Samarzich as the longsnapper on punts, CB Derrick Langford, CB George Hicks III, NT Dallas Hobbs, NICKEL Pat Nunn, DL Tristan Brock, NICKEL Travion Brown

FRIENDLY CONFINES OF MARTIN STADIUM
WSU went 7-0 at home in 2017, 6-1 last season and own a 3-1 mark in 2019 to push their Martin Stadium record to 16-2 over the past three seasons. The Cougars saw their 13-game home winning streak snapped in the 2018 Apple Cup, ending the third-longest home winning streak in program history and at the time, was tied for the 5th-longest active home streak in the country.

COUGARS IN CLOSE GAMES
Since 2012, the Cougars have played a number of close games under head coach Mike Leach and own a 24-18 mark in games decided by one possession including a 10-9 mark in games decided by three points. Last season WSU went 4-1 in games decided by one possession while this season, WSU has gone 1-3.

GORDON SHINES IN STARTING ROLE (Ratings Based On PFF College) (GORDON NOTES PAGE 14)
Not much was known about redshirt-senior quarterback Anthony Gordon outside of the program prior to his first career start in the opener against New Mexico State but the Pacifica, Calif. native put on a show in the win. Gordon started the game by completing his first 15 passes and led WSU to points on all nine of the drives he started including the first six that resulted in touchdowns. Gordon finished the night 29-of-35 for 420 yards and five touchdowns, tying Luke Falk (2014 at OSU) for the most touchdown passes in a Cougar starting debut.
• Gordon enters the week leading the country in passing yards (3,794), passing yards/g (421.6), passing TD (34) and total offense (425.4)

IT'S A CITY SITUATION
Since 2015, the Cougars have seen six players from San Francisco City College take the field and the 2019 roster holds four players from the school; QB Anthony Gordon, WR Easop Winston Jr., OL Robert Valencia, CB Derrick Langford. Past Cougars who played at SFCC, DB Shalom Luani (2015-16) and S/KR Rob Taylor (2016-17)
• In their only season played together at SFCC in 2015, Winston Jr. tallied 62 receptions for 986 yards and 12 touchdowns while Gordon threw for 3,864 yards and 37 touchdowns, leading SFCC to a 2015 California JUCO title
• In 2019, Gordon has connected with Winston Jr. for 59 receptions for 719 yards and 9 TD
• Against Northern Colorado, Gordon connected on all 6 of his targets at Winston Jr. for 6-113-2 TD
• against UCLA, Gordon threw 4 TD to Winston Jr., tying the WSU record for receiving TD
• at Arizona State, Gordon and Winston Jr. connected on 14 catches for 118 yards, 1 TD and 7 first downs

COUGAR WIDE RECEIVER NOTES (Ratings Based On PFF College) (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 12-20)
• WSU's wide receiver corp is rated 5th-best in the country, tops in the Pac-12
• WSU has 3 players on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List (Brandon Arconado, Dezmon Patmon, Easop Winston Jr.), the most in the Pac-12 and second nationally only to Alabama's 4
• WSU owns 7 receivers with 30 catches and 7 players with multiple TD catches
• WSU owns 3 of the top 7 rated slot receivers in the Pac-12, Travell Harris (2nd), Arconado (4th), Renard Bell (7th)
• WSU opened 2019 with 10 receivers catching a pass against New Mexico State
• at least 8 receivers caught a pass in every game except at Oregon, 7 caught a pass

ALL-PURPOSE, ALL THE TIME (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 12-20)
The Cougar running backs serve all-purpose roles for the Air Raid. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the Cougar backs combined to record 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. The group just missed making it three straight seasons last year, combining for 974 rushing yards and 1,044 receiving yards while scoring 28 total TD.
• The 2019 running back group has combined for 1,146 all-purpose yards, 60 receptions and 12 total TD
• WSU averages 4.7 yards-per-carry led by Max Borghi's 6.8 yards-per-carry, 2nd-best among Pac-12 backs
• Borghi is 4th in the Pac-12 with 10 total TD, tied for 4th with 7 rushing TD
• Borghi is 1st player in WSU history to score 10 total TD in each of his 1st 2 seasons and is the 1st to do so in back-to-back seasons since WR Gabe Marks in 2015 (15 TD) and 2016 (13 TD)
• Borghi leads all RB nationally with 52 receptions and 20 missed tackles forced after the catch
• Borghi only Power 5 player with 550+ rush yards, 400+ rec yards and 10 total TD
• Borghi has recorded 100+ all-purpose yards 5 times this season, is averaging 7.3 yards per touch

ANOTHER NEW-LOOK OFFENSIVE LINE
Last year's Cougar offensive line featured three new faces and emerged as one of the best in groups in the country. The 2019 group returned four starters but had to replace 2019 NFL 1st-round pick and All-American left tackle Andre Dillard. Senior center Fred Mauigoa, a Rimington Trophy Watch List the last two seasons, leads the group and has now started 35 straight games. Redshirt-junior Josh Watson returned after starting the first 12 games of last season at right guard, only missing the Alamo Bowl, while redshirt-sophomore Abraham Lucas returned at right tackle after earning Freshman All-America honors last season. Redshirt-junior Liam Ryan started all 13 games at left guard last season and moved to left tackle while sixth-year senior Robert Valencia, started all nine games at left guard, returned after only starting in the Alamo Bowl at right guard where he earned the WSU "Bone Award" given to the team's offensive lineman of the game.

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTES (Ratings based on PFF College) (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 12-20)
• WSU has allowed 10 sacks on 486 dropbacks, fewest in the Pac-12 and tied for 7th-fewest in the country
• Each of WSU's 5 starting offensive lineman has allowed just 1 sack while playing 495+ pass blocking snaps
• WSU has blocked for three 100-yard rushing games by Max Borghi
• WSU returned 65 starts to its 2019 offensive line, the most OL starts returning since starting 2016 with 69 starts
• 3 former Cougar offensive linemen are in the NFL including a pair of starters;
- 2016 5th-round draft pick Joe Dahl starts at left guard for the Detroit Lions
- 2018 5th-round draft pick Cole Madison is a member of the Green Bay Packers
- 2019 1st-round pick Andre Dillard started at left tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles the last two weeks
• WSU produced the nation's best passing attack in 2018, rated the 2nd-best pass-blocking line in the country
• WSU allowed just 13 sacks in 2018 on 677 pass attempts, fewest sacks allowed in the Pac-12 and tied for 8th-fewest allowed in the country, allowed one sack for every 52 pass attempts
• WSU has produced an All-America offensive lineman in each of the last 4 seasons
(LT Joe Dahl, 2015; LG Cody O'Connell, 2016; LG Cody O'Connell, 2017; LT Andre Dillard & RT Abraham Lucas, 2018)

MAZZA NAMED LOU GROZA AWARD SEMIFINALIST
Redshirt-sophomore Blake Mazza was named a Lou Groza Award Semifinalist last week. Mazza is one of 20 kickers up for the award given to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker. Former Cougar kicker Erik Powell received the same recognition during the 2017 season. Three finalists will be announced Nov. 25 and the winner Dec. 12. • named to Midseason All-America Second Team by The Athletic
• 15-of-15 in field goal attempts, longest consecutive FG streak in WSU history, 2nd-most in the Pac-12
• Leads Pac-12 in PAT (41-41), tied for No. 14 in the country
• Tied for 6th most points by a kicker in the country (86)
• 2 FG of 50+ yards attempts (50 vs. New Mexico State, made career-long 51-yarder at Utah)
• Last season, 3rd in the Pac-12 in points (90) and set a single-season record with 60 made extra points

SPEED D (PLAYER NOTES PAGES 12-20)
The "Speed D" defense enters the week sixth in the Pac-12 with 14 takeways and tied for second in the league with eight fumble recoveries. Since 2015, the Cougars are 28-5 when forcing multiple turnovers including a 4-0 mark when doing so in 2019. Last season, WSU led the Pac-12 in sacks (38), was second in takeaways (23) and 5th in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (23.3), the 9th-best mark in WSU single-season history.

NEW MEXICO STATE - 3 takeaways, 7 pts, 317 yards of total offense, 3 sacks
NORTHERN COLORADO - 4 takeaways, 139 passing yards allowed, 9 tackles-for-loss
at Houston - 2 takeaways, 128 passing yards allowed, 2 sacks
UCLA - 1 takeaway, 4.1 yards-per-rush attempt allowed, 5 tackles-for-loss
at Utah - 5 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks
at Arizona State - 5 tackles-for-loss, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble
COLORADO - 7 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, 141 pass yards allowed
at Oregon - 5 tackles-for-loss, 3 sacks, limited Justin Herbert to 222 passing yards and 0 TD
at California - 6 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks, 230 passing yards allowed

FOUR FORMER WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS
This past summer, the Cougars awarded scholarships to four former walk-ons. (stats prior to 2019)
Karson Block (RS-Sr., DL) - Pac-12 All-Academic 2nd Team, 12 GP, 11 tackles
Oscar Draguicevich III (RS-Jr., P) - All-Pac-12 HM, WSU record 45.7 avg in 2018
Clay Markoff (RS-Jr., RB) - Pac-12 All-Academic 2nd Team, 16 GP, special teams
Armani Marsh (RS-So., CB) - 5 career games played, competed for starting CB spot

FOUR COUGS EARN BACHELOR'S DEGREES
Four current Cougars entered the 2019 season already owning their bachelor's degree.
WR Brandon Arconado (management information systems)
QB Gage Gubrud (business)
OL Robert Valencia (social sciences)
WR Easop Winston Jr. (sociology)

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
The Cougar roster features a number of players who have family members who played professional sports.
• QB John Bledsoe's dad, Drew Bledsoe played at WSU from 1990-92, was the No. 1 overall pick by the New England Patriots in the 1993 NFL Draft and played 14 seasons
• LB Travion Brown's great, great uncle is Jackie Robinson (dad's side)
• P Oscar Draguicevich III's dad, Oscar played professional soccer for 10 seasons including 3 for the San Jose Clash of the MLS
• WR Calvin Jackson Jr.'s dad Calvin Sr. played DB at Auburn, played 6 NFL seasons with Miami
• CB Derrick Langford's dad Derrick Sr. was a 52nd-round MLB draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1994
• NT Lamonte McDougle's dad, Stocker played OL at Oklahoma for offensive line coach Mike Leach and 7 NFL seasons, uncle Jerome McDougle played DL at Miami and 4 NFL seasons
• RB Deon McIntosh' brother RJ played DL at Miami and is with the Giants
• WR Dezmon Patmon uncle, DeWayne Patmon played LB at Michigan and 2 seasons for Giants
• DL Will Rodgers III's uncle is former NBA start Jason Richardson, played 13 NBA seasons
• S Tyrese Ross' dad, Dominique Ross played FB for Dallas Cowboys in late 1990's
• RUSH Ron Stone Jr.'s dad, Ron Sr. played OL in the NFL for 13 seasons, 3x Pro Bowler, 2x Super Bowl Winner
• CB Marcus Strong's brother, Victor played DE at Oregon State and in the NFL for 6 seasons
• QB Trey Tinsley's dad, Scott played QB at USC and for Philadelphia Eagles in late 1980's