It may be two vastly elements of diversity in play, but both the Cougars and the Sun Devils are looking to get back to their winning ways and keep hope alive in their respective division races. Let’s take a look at the opportunities and challenges ASU’s next opponent can present.

Washington State Offense

A nationally prominent recruit from the state of Hawaii as a four-star prospect from the 2020 class, Jayden de Laura, came to Pullman and instantly was injected into the Cougar offense as he started all four games as a true freshman during WSU’s COVID shortened campaign last year.

Though Washington State obtained the services of former Tennessee starting quarterback Jarrett Guarantano by way of the transfer portal, de Laura has started six of the eight games played by WSU this year, including each of the past four.

Statistically, de Laura ranks second in the conference and 31st nationally by averaging 247.6 passing yards per game and leads the conference and is tied for 16th in the nation with 15 touchdown passes. His six interceptions, however, are tied for the second-most in the Pac-12. In his six games as a starter, he averages 263.0 passing yards per game.

The past three games have been among the best statistical performances of the season for de Laura, as he had 257 passing yards last week against BYU, 289 versus Stanford, and a career-high 399 against Oregon State.

As the season has progressed, de Laura has not shown to be a distinct threat on the ground as he had 14 carries for 65 net yards and one touchdown in his first two games, but in the five since he has just five net yards on 13 carries.

Still one of the more underrated all-purpose offensive players in college football despite playing in his fourth year with the Cougars, Max Borghi is a dynamic, savvy running back that can create damage in a hurry.

On the year, Borghi has 100 carries for 504 yards (5.0 avg.) with eight touchdown runs, placing him in a tie for third in the league in rushing scores while ranking him seventh in the conference in rushing yards per game.

Borghi’s workload in a traditional running back role has hit an all-time high the past two weeks, as he set a career-high with 17 carries two weeks again against Stanford and topped that last week with 18 carries against BYU, and he had five combined rushing touchdowns in those two games.

However, this season he has been used in a much more one-dimensional role than ever before, as he has just ten catches on the season – four of which came last week against BYU. Across the 2018-19 seasons under Mike Leach at WSU, Borghi had an incredible 139 total receptions.

Deon McIntosh has been a solid complement to Borghi this season, rushing for 285 yards on 60 carries (4.8 avg.) in seven games with one touchdown. Also a capable pass-catcher, McIntosh has 11 receptions for 93 yards with a score.

McIntosh missed last week’s game against BYU but could possibly return against ASU. He was featured quite a bit in a three-game stretch earlier this season as he had 38 carries across the Utah, California, and Oregon State games, with at least a dozen carries in each outing. He has had at least 50 rushing yards in four of his seven games played this year.

In Washington State’s typical four-receiver sets, the group of Travell Harris, Calvin Jackson, Jr., De’Zhaun Stribling, and Donovan Ollie has started every game this year.

Harris and Jackson are clearly the preferred targets as they have combined for nearly half of WSU’s total receptions on the year (92 of 186). The Cougar duo makes Washington State the only team in the Pac-12 and one of only six FBS teams to have two players with at least 40 receptions each so far in 2021.

Harris currently ranks 14th nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 51 receptions, totaling 525 yards with five touchdowns. Jackson has a team-high 528 yards on 41 receptions with four touchdowns to rank second in the conference in receiving yards and fourth in total catches.

The output has been very consistent for Harris, as he has had between five and eight receptions in every single game this year, with a season-best 147 yards on eight receptions against Oregon State. Jackson has been a little more up-and-down, at least by comparison, as in four games, he has between six and nine catches, while in the other four, he has had between two and four receptions.

Stribling has 27 catches for 309 yards with three touchdowns – all stand as third-best on the team this year. He had a standout performance against Utah, with season-highs of six catches for 93 yards. However, since that game, he has been held to between 27-37 receiving yards in each contest.

With Stribling, Harris, and Jackson, WSU has the only trio of teammates in the Pac-12 with at least 25 receptions each.

Ollie ranks fifth on the team in receptions (15) and sixth in receiving yards (161), and like Stribling, he had his best day of the year against Utah as he had five catches for 45 yards. In the past two games, he has a combined one catch for 22 yards.

Though neither has started a game this year, Lincoln Victor (17-202-1) and Joey Hobert (12-172-1) have shown some productivity in 2021.

The Cougar offensive line figures to start tackle Liam Ryan and guard Jarrett Kingston on the left side, either Brian Greene or Konner Gomness at center, either Cade Beresford or Rodrick Tialavea at right guard, and Abraham Lucas at right tackle.

Lucas is one of the most established and talented linemen in the Pac-12 Conference, as he is a three-time Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick (2018-20). He has started all 38 games Washington State has played since the start of the 2018 season, including all eight this season.

Ryan and Kingston have started all eight games of the 2021 season together on the left side, while Beresford has started seven of eight at right guard. Greene started the opener as well as the last three games at center, while Gomness started the four games in between.

Washington State Offense Summary

Though the pass game remains one of the better ones in the Pac-12, this isn’t the Mike Leach type of attack that was seen for years recently at Washington State, as the Cougars rank 40th nationally in pass offense. Collectively, the team ranks 87th in the nation in total offense and 91st in scoring offense (24.9). In seven games this season against FBS opponents, WSU averages just 22.1 points per game.

A primary key in this exchange will be for ASU to pressure de Laura and force sacks and mistakes, as WSU ranks 89th nationally in sacks allowed per game (2.5), and de Laura is tied for the second-most interceptions thrown in the Pac-12 (six). ASU’s recent uptick in forcing interceptions would be a tremendous trend to continue for the Sun Devils on Saturday. Also, the return of Chase Lucas will be a significant asset in ASU’s defense of WSU’s receiving combo of Harris and Jackson.

Washington State Defense

Along the defensive line, tackles Antonio Pule and Christian Mejia are joined by edge defenders Ron Stone, Jr. and either Brennan Jackson or Willie Taylor III.

Stone has been one of the most productive Cougar defenders this season as he has 41 tackles with team-highs of 8.5 tackles-for-loss with 4.0 sacks. He is in a five-way tie for second in the Pac-12 in total sacks and stands alone at second in the league in TFLs.

Jackson was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selection in 2020 and has 29 tackles, including 2.5 for loss with 2.5 sacks this year. Mejia has 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and Pule has six tackles, including a sack.

At linebacker, WSU features a pair of heavily seasoned defenders in Jahad Woods and Justus Rogers that likely will be tested frequently with ASU’s run game.

It comes as little surprise that Woods is WSU’s leading tackler this season, as he has 61 total stops and ranks second on the team with 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Woods is fourth in the Pac-12 in total tackles and currently ranks fifth all-time on WSU’s career tackles list. With five tackles this weekend, he would surpass former Arizona Cardinal Deone Bucannon for fourth all-time at Washington State.

Woods has been a three-time Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selection, earning such distinction following the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons.

Rogers ranks second on the team and 10th in the conference with 47 total tackles and is tied for third on the team with 4.0 tackles-for-loss. He has never missed a game in his Cougar career, having appeared in all 51 contests that the program has played from the start of the 2017 season to the present day. He also has made 25 consecutive starts entering this weekend, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Derrick Langford, Jr. and Jaylen Watson are slated to be joined by free safety George Hicks III, strong safety Daniel Isom, and nickel defender Armani Marsh.

Hicks leads all Cougar defensive backs with 42 tackles, adding an interception. Marsh has 40 tackles with an interception and three pass breakups, while Isom has 38 tackles and also has one interception and three pass breakups. Langford has 29 tackles and an interception, while Watson has 21 tackles with one interception with three pass breakups.

Langford and Watson have started all eight games together at cornerback this season, as has Isom, primarily at strong safety with one start at nickel. Hicks and Marsh both have six starts.

Isom and Watson were both Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selections in 2020.

Washington State Defense Summary

Statistically, Washington State has generally been mediocre on defense this season as the Cougars rank 77th in total defense and 65th in the nation in scoring defense (25.12). However, in the past five games, Washington State has allowed 24 or fewer points on four occasions.

On four occasions, Washington State has allowed well over 200 rushing yards to an opponent – 222 by Utah State, 212 by Utah, 309 by Oregon State, and 238 by BYU last weekend – with three of these four being three of WSU’s four losses on the year. In a game where ASU would benefit from getting back to basics and sticking with the strength of its ground game, these figures must be mighty appealing.

That said, the Cougar defense is the “reward” part of their risk-reward involvement with turnovers, as Washington State ranks in the nation’s top-15 in turnovers forced (16), but the team is tied for 99th nationally with 13 turnovers surrendered.

Washington State Special Teams

Kicker Dean Janikowski – no relation to Sebastian – has connected on 7-of-8 field goals this season but hasn’t had a single attempt beyond 39 yards. Punter Nick Haberer averages 43.2 yards on 30 punts.

Travell Harris is a highly capable returns specialist as he averages 24.4 yards on eight kickoff returns and 10.3 yards on ten punt returns.

Overall Summary

Amid the chaos and controversy surrounding the termination of Nick Rolovich as head coach -- what all along generally seemed like a foregone conclusion from the start of the season – Washington State is still alive in the race for the Pac-12 North title as it has a win over Oregon State and has yet to play Oregon and Washington.

However, even after eight games, it’s hard to truly peg the Cougar team this year, as WSU could contend for the division title, or it could just about as easily drop three of its final four games and fail to reach bowl eligibility.

Saturday’s game can’t definitively be called an ‘elimination game’ for either team in terms of contention for a division title, but the winner at least remains alive in that conversation while the loser will stumble to what could prove to be an insurmountable disadvantage.

Sun Devil fans certainly hope that the bye week was used not only to get healthy, with starters such as Chase Lucas and Johnny Wilson back in the fold but also to create at least some traction on improving the issues that plagued ASU through the miserable second half against Utah.

ASU should be able to run on the Cougar defense – and would be wise to do so very often – in a game that should present opportunities for the Sun Devils to rely on their typical strengths on offense and defense to gain advantages.

Above the Xs and Os of the game, the entire team needs to understand the assignment of the magnitude of this game and both the boost that an emphatic win could provide as well as the downward spiral a lackadaisical loss would create.

After a deeply dejecting collapse at Utah, during ASU’s bye week, virtually every game result in the Pac-12 Conference was an outcome that creates at least some – and in some cases a great deal of – benefit to the Sun Devils. Now, however, it is up to ASU to do its part to help truly swing momentum back in the Sun Devils’ favor.

Familiar Faces

Washington State OL Brock Dieu (Queen Creek Casteel HS) and OL Dylan Mayginnes (Chandler Hamilton HS) are Arizona natives.

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