PULLMAN, Wash. — On Saturday, Washington State became the first FBS team to lose the Arizona State since October of last year.
It marked the fourth straight loss for the Cougs.
Now, that perfect 4-0 start to the season is a distant memory as WSU sits at 4-4.
"I understand the criticism, I can take criticism, you know, I get that. And I understand the seat that I sit in and the responsibility that I have to getting the team ready," Washington State head coach Jake Dickert said.
"We have to be better. Period. And I think that's top to bottom, that's coaching, that's putting our guys in the right situations to execute," Dickert said. "You know, the players making sure energy and effort levels are right on game day. And then we're straining to finish. So there's some tight football games that we haven't been able to get over the hump on. But there's still time left in the hourglass and we still have an opportunity to finish strong this season."
So, what has to change?
Coach Dickert didn't give specifics other than the defense needs to improve their tackling. The Cougs have given up an average of 40 points over the past three games, which now has the former defensive coordinator stepping in to help.
"This week, you know, I'm gonna be heavily involved in the game planning. You know, normally I spread my time between both sides of the ball and equally in special teams. And, you know, I'm gonna be through every phase of it and trying to find an edge and you know, that isn't a panic thing. That's just something where I feel like I can be an asset of this moment and trying to find ways to be better," Dickert said.
Lucky for WSU, on paper this week's matchup is very winnable. The Cougs are back in Pullman hosting a 2-6 Stanford Cardinal team.
"It just takes one to get back and get that feeling back. You know, we talked about it this morning. Five weeks ago we're on top of the world and that team's still sitting in that room," Dickert said.
Washington State hosting Stanford will kick off at 6 p.m. this Saturday at Gesa Field.
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