Apple Cup notebook: Leach’s Cougars without special motivation

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 21, 2017

By Theo Lawson

The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN — Mike Leach said he expects his Cougars will be raring to play by the time 5 p.m. rolls around Saturday, but the fact the opponent is wearing purple and gold should have nothing to do with that, Washington State’s football coach said.

On Monday, Leach diffused the notion that the Cougars might be pouring any extra heart or soul into their preparation for Saturday’s Apple Cup. They’ll be charged up, all right, but Leach said that has nothing to do with the pomp and circumstance of a rivalry game.

In other words, the Cougars are self-sufficient. They don’t have to find extra ways to motivate themselves.

“You do your best all the time, so there really hasn’t been any holding back, effort, focus with regard to our team,” Leach said. “So it’s not like there’s some extra private reserve in the cellar of the bank that we are able to draw from because all the sudden, this is a game that gets a lot of attention around here.”

The Apple Cup is predictably the hottest ticket on WSU’s schedule this season, but it’s not the first time this season the Cougars have played a ranked opponent with major ramifications. WSU played host to fifth-ranked USC in the fifth game of the season, then welcomed No. 21 Stanford in the home finale three weeks ago.

The Cougars were victorious in both those games — perhaps because Leach and his staff were able to successfully drive home the “treat ‘em all the same” mentality to their players.

“They’ve already gotten both barrels, all cylinders, all the metaphors you want to use, all year long and no, there’s no special extra stuff,” Leach said. “We’re going to have great practices and go out there and just worry about being the best we can be.”

Pettis on WSU’s radar

The Cougars will have to be crisp on offense and defense to pull out an Apple Cup win on Saturday, but they’ll also need to be sharper than usual in the game’s third phase: special teams.

Especially when they’re punting to the Huskies.

Washington’s Dante Pettis, the fast, shifty senior who broke the NCAA record for career punt-return touchdowns earlier this season, is naturally on the Cougars’ radar.

“He’s a real quick guy,” Leach said. “The other thing about him is he’s always fired up to get the ball, fired up to take off with it and that type of thing.”

Pettis became the record-holder when he returned his ninth career punt for a touchdown two weeks ago in a 38-3 win over Oregon. The record-breaker was a 64-yard return.

The UW receiver’s ability to elude a hoard of tacklers in tight spaces is what makes him such a threat in the punt return game. In addition to the aforementioned record, Pettis also became the first player in NCAA history to return a punt for a touchdown in three consecutive games.

“He’s a quick, shifty guy,” Leach said. “Of course, some of the credit also goes to those other guys on their special teams that are doing the blocking.”

The Cougars have been relatively clean in punt coverage situations this season, but kickoff returns have been a different story. Against Stanford, they gave up 173 yards on five kick returns, forcing kicker Erik Powell to make two touchdown-saving tackles.

“I think punt (coverage) has been decent,” Leach said. “… We’ve gotta be better at covering kicks.”

The Cougars can rest easy knowing Pettis only returns punts.