PULLMAN, Wash. — Following Washington State's first win in the Jake Dickert era after trailing heading into the fourth quarter on Friday night against San Jose State, the Cougs have an extra boost of confidence heading into a matchup with 25th ranked Boise State on Saturday.
This marks the first true road game for WSU following a trio of home games and the neutral site Apple Cup game at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The Cougs faced the top wide receiver in the nation on Friday night in San Jose State's Nick Nash. He torched WSU for 16 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns Friday night.
Now, the Cougs will face arguably the best running back in the nation in Heisman Trophy contender Ashton Jeanty.
"He is averaging 10 yards a carry," WSU head coach Jake Dickert said. "He is strong. He has one of the best stiff arms I have seen in a long time, so if you think you are going to tackle him above the waist, it is not happening. You have to get through his legs and kill his motors and gang tackle with this guy, it is not going to be just one person, and you have to keep your leverage. He is just a really talented football player. They use him in a multitude of different ways in the pass game, screen game and every time he touches the ball, he can go to the hut. I think he has three runs over 70 yards, so no one is catching him either."
Slowing Jeanty down at all costs figures to be WSU's best chance to stay in Saturday's game.
"It is quite the task," Dickert said. "We know we need to load the box up and force them to throw and trying to limit and control his running will be a big step, so it is quite the challenge for our guys up front."
The Cougs were unranked in the latest AP top 25 poll, just a few votes behind the Broncos. However, the Cougs opened as 7.5-point underdogs heading into Saturday's game.
Despite that, WSU is focused on entering a hostile environment Saturday and rising to the occasion.
"Our guys are ultimate competitors," Dickert said. "They want to go into the biggest arenas, play on the biggest stages and our guys are just excited about playing against really good competition in a good environment."
"Players at Washington State, we always have a chip on our shoulder," WSU senior edge Quinn Roff said. "I don't think facing a ranked team (elevates) that, I mean we already faced two teams who were supposed to beat us this season and we beat them, so going into it, they are just another nameless, faceless opponent. We are just going to focus on the things we can control, focus on our game plan and preparation and then go out and get it done."
Kick off Saturday night is set for 7 p.m. local time on the blue turf in Boise.