However, he is still the best QB on the Cougars’ roster and the man capable of transforming the offense into keeping pace with now-No. 24 Washington for three quarters and nearly beating top 20 Ole Miss and Virginia earlier this season.
But against Oregon State, Eckhaus’ second interception killed a promising Cougar drive at the 25-yard line in the second quarter.
Eckhaus stood in a relatively clean pocket and chucked the ball where he thought wide receiver Josh Meredith would be 20 yards down the field only for Oregon State’s Jaheim Patterson to reel it in before Meredith could get there.
Rogers said in his postgame news conference Saturday that Eckhaus, who has thrown four of his eight interceptions during the past two games, “was a little banged up.”
When asked if the team would consider switching back to Week 1 starter Jaxon Potter, Rogers said, “No.”
Eckhaus’ turnover tendencies cost him the job to Potter out of fall camp, with coaches praising Potter’s ability to minimize negative plays. Then Potter threw three interceptions in the first half of WSU’s 59-10 loss to North Texas in Week 3 and Eckhaus has held the job since.
Poor playcalls
There are three playcalls that stood out as puzzling from offensive coordinator Danny Freund on Saturday.
Attempting to protect a 7-3 lead in the fourth quarter, WSU took two deep shots — one which Eckhaus threw inches away from Meredith’s hands and the other which bounced off Tony Freeman’s hands. WSU punted and OSU put together a lightning-quick, four-play touchdown drive that spanned 64 yards to take the lead for good.
Why take two consecutive deep shots deep in OSU territory when all you need is 10 yards for a first down to sustain the drive and drain the clock?
Later, on fourth-and-7, Eckhaus found wide receiver Jeremiah Noga on a crossing route, but the former Beaver was tackled well behind the first down marker for just a 2-yard gain and a turnover on downs.
Why complete a pass to a receiver well short of the first down on a fourth-down attempt? Of course, Noga was likely the checkdown option, which rolls into the question of execution on the part of the rest of the offense.
Then, with the game on the line in the closing minutes, Eckhaus rolled out to his right and looked to throw on third-and-4 after WSU had run the ball to great success on that drive. He found no open targets and took an unadvisable sack out of bounds, setting up kicker Jack Stevens for a difficult right-hash 32-yard field goal, which he missed.
In three critical fourth-quarter drives, the Cougars failed to find offensive success. Part of that is on the players and the other part is on the coaches failing to put their players in a position to succeed.
WSU has three more chances to seek redemption. At 4-5, the Cougars need two more wins to earn bowl eligibility for the ninth time in the last 10 full seasons.
Anything less than a bowl game at this point after the team flashed its potential would be a failure.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
