Cougar gold
Sep. 11—The homecoming for Wisconsin native Jake Dickert couldn't have been any sweeter for him and his Washington State Cougars on Saturday in Madison, Wis.
Despite entering the game as 17 1/2 -point underdogs, WSU shocked No. 19 Wisconsin 17-14 at historic Camp Randall Stadium for its first regular-season road win against a nonconference ranked opponent since beating No. 17 Colorado in 2003.
"The biggest thing is I'm so proud of that locker room," Dickert said in a radio interview after the game. "(On) Jan. 9, we had a meeting and I asked them to believe in the change, believe in the 'New Wazzu' and we just detailed a plan and the way we were going."
Dickert, WSU's first-year football coach who was born in Waukesha, Wis., about 65 miles east of Madison, could be seen sharing emotional embraces with family after the game.
"I think it's just the start of what this team is capable of," Dickert said.
Here are three takeaways from the Cougars' magical day in cheesehead country:
Watson pirouettes on his old turf
Wazzu running back Nakia Watson ran for more than 500 yards in two seasons as a Badger, many of those coming at Camp Randall.
In his return, the junior scored both of WSU's touchdowns against his former team.
"Normally, I'm not a person that cries," Watson said. "But I cried a little bit, I'm not going to lie."
Watson had 65 yards of total offense, but half of those came on the most pivotal offensive play of the game.
As the pocket collapsed around WSU quarterback Cam Ward, the sophomore flung a pass out to Watson, who started the play as a blocker.
Watson caught the ball, spun out of a tackle and raced 31 yards for the go-ahead touchdown that put WSU up 17-14 after the extra point.
He also had a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter for the game's first points.
How they sealed it
With the Badgers 17 plays into a drive deep in WSU territory, the Cougars found a clutch defensive play when they needed it most.
Sophomore edge Quinn Roff flew in and punched the ball out of the hands of Wisconsin tight end Clay Cundiff at the 11-yard line and safety Sam Lockett pounced on the loose ball.
WSU took over up by three points with five minutes remaining and never let go of the football from there.
The Cougars milked the remaining clock across a 10-play, 43-yard drive that ended with Ward heaving the ball out of bounds as time expired.
And the celebration was on.
More physical than the Badgers?
WSU's defense put together a truly tireless performance.
Despite being on the field for 38 minutes, including 23 of the 30 minutes in the first half, the Cougars held Wisconsin scoreless for three of the four quarters.
The two Badger touchdowns came in the second quarter and Wisconsin led 14-7 at halftime.
WSU limited star running back Braelon Allen to 98 rushing yards — just the second time he failed to reach the century mark in 11 games.
Linebacker Daiyan Henley led the team in tackles for the second consecutive game with nine.
But the biggest positive for the WSU defense was no single player outshined another.
Seven players contributed to the team's seven tackles for loss and 24 recorded at least one defensive statistic.
WSU also had two forced fumbles and an interception in winning the turnover battle 3-2.
Twice the Badgers had to settle for field-goal attempts and they missed both times.
"Kudos to Wisconsin, they're a fantastic team, (Allen) is a great player, but hey — it's Washington State today baby," an emphatic WSU edge Brennan Jackson said in a radio interview on the field.
Washington St. 0 7 10 0 — 17Wisconsin 0 14 0 0 — 14
Second Quarter
WSU: Watson 2 run (Janikowski kick), 9:10.
WIS: Cundiff 17 pass from Mertz (Calvaruso kick), 6:05.
WIS: Cundiff 10 pass from Mertz (Calvaruso kick), :20.
Third Quarter
WSU: FG Janikowski 26, 11:20.
WSU: Watson 31 pass from C.Ward (Janikowski kick), 5:12.
A: 74,001.
WSU WIS
First downs 10 22
Total Net Yards 253 401
Rushes-yards 22-53 44-174
Passing 200 227
Punt Returns 2-8 2-9
Kickoff Returns 2-82 1-19
Interceptions Ret. 1-6 2-21
Comp-Att-Int 17-28-2 18-31-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-13 1-4
Punts 4-40.5 3-46.333
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards 5-50 11-106
Time of Possession 21:58 38:02
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Washington St., Watson 10-33, Jenkins 6-27, (Team) 1-(minus 1), C.Ward 5-(minus 6). Wisconsin, B.Allen 21-98, Mellusi 15-44, Guerendo 3-14, Bell 3-12, Mertz 2-6.
PASSING: Washington St., C.Ward 17-28-2-200. Wisconsin, Mertz 18-31-1-227.
RECEIVING: Washington St., Ollie 5-34, Victor 3-33, Stribling 3-16, Bell 2-49, Riviere 2-40, Watson 1-31, Jenkins 1-(minus 3). Wisconsin, Cundiff 4-59, Dike 4-31, Lewis 2-62, Bell 2-17, B.Allen 2-12, Guerendo 2-12, Eschenbach 1-23, M.Allen 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS: Wisconsin, Calvaruso 51, 43.
Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.
Quotes of note
"We trust ourselves in the building and we understand what we have. We have something special, so it's always going to be Cougars vs. everyone." — edge Ron Stone Jr. on WSU being heavy underdogs.
"My grandma told me something today, your grandpa would be so proud if my grandpa was still here. That's a special moment. Special people that just know me as Jake Dickert. That's always what we've been. I'm just proud to be able to win this game with all of them here cheering us on." — Dickert, who had more than 200 supporters at the game.
"When I spin off him, I see nothing but green grass and I see OP (Orion Peters), one of our receivers, blocking downfield. He had his guy, and I knew it was going to be a touchdown from there." — running back Nakia Watson on his second touchdown.
WSU 17, Wisconsin 14
Stars of the game
WSU junior running back NAKIA WATSON totaled two touchdowns against his former team and racked up 65 yards of total offense.
Junior edge BRENNAN JACKSON had six tackles, was in on a sack and had 1.5 total tackles for loss for a WSU defense that held Wisconsin scoreless for three quarters and held prolific Badgers running back BRAELON ALLEN to fewer than 100 yards rushing.
Key plays
On Wisconsin's final offensive play, WSU edge Quinn Roff poked the ball out of Clay Cundiff's grasp and safety Sam Lockett recovered the fumble deep in Cougar territory. The Badgers were in field goal range and in a position to tie or take the lead.
WSU quarterback Cam Ward fired a ball to Watson out of the backfield, who spun out of a tackle and ran 31 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Up next
WSU (2-0) hosts Colorado State (0-2) in a nonconference game at 2 p.m. Saturday (Pac-12 Network) at Gesa Field in Pullman.
