Cougars and Red Raiders set to clash

If the spirit of the late coach Mike Leach has its way, Saturday’s 7 p.m. game between the Washington State Cougars and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Pullman could feature plenty of passing yards, an abundance of touchdowns and perhaps even a memorable ending after dark.

WSU will host Texas Tech for the first time in Pullman on a weekend in which the athletic department is posthumously inducting the late Leach into its Hall of Fame.

Leach’s legacy; familiar faces on both sides

WSU is 0-2 all-time versus Texas Tech, both games happening in Lubbock, Texas, in 1963 and 1964.

That is ancient history compared to the various connections past and present between these two programs, many of them thanks to Leach, who coached 10 terrific seasons at Tech from 2000-09, never missing a bowl game, and eight transformative years on the Palouse from 2012-19, in which WSU made a program-record five straight bowls and won a program-record 11 games in 2018.

Leach’s impact on the very fabric of football is unquestionable. His Air Raid offense changed the game and his mentorship inspired some of the most influential coaches today, including USC’s Lincoln Riley and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who played QB at Tech in Leach’s first three seasons in Lubbock.

Kingsbury returned to lead his alma mater in 2013, coaching the Red Raiders for six seasons before making the jump to the NFL.

While at Tech, Kingsbury hired Zach Kittley, who started as a student assistant for Tech before being promoted to graduate assistant. Kittley spent five years learning about the Air Raid offense and coaching quarterbacks, including future Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.

In 2018, Kittley got his first full-time gig as the offensive coordinator and QB coach at Houston Baptist, where he met quality control coach Ben Arbuckle — WSU’s future offensive coordinator.

Kittley took Arbuckle under his wing, trusting the former college gunslinger to work with the QBs his second year, hiring him at his next gig at Western Kentucky and teaching him everything he knew.

Together, and then apart when Kittley got the OC job at Tech in 2022 and Arubuckle got the co-OC job at WKU, they led offenses to the top of the national ranks.

“The biggest things that coach Kittley taught me really weren’t even football, you know, he taught me a lot of ball and everything but he just taught me probably the biggest thing in the building is have a personal relationship with everyone,” Arbuckle said. “Let everyone know that you care about them and in return show them the respect they deserve and they’ll respect you back.”

In a way, the late Leach is Arbuckle’s great-grand coach. Leach taught Kingsbury who taught Kittley who taught Arbuckle.

That resonates in terms of tradition and success (WSU was fourth in the nation in passing last year), but it also presents a unique challenge in this particular matchup.

“They have our playbook. We have their playbook,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “Who’s gonna execute, and who’s gonna play harder and go out there and win a big-time football game in a great environment?

“So the challenges are high, but we feel confident that we can go out there and play our game, too.”

An added challenge is that WSU’s former offensive line coach Clay McGuire is back with his alma mater Texas Tech. McGuire worked with Leach for the majority of his WSU tenure and returned to Pullman in 2022 as one of Dickert’s first hires.

“We changed up all our signals, what we call everything,” Dickert said. “I think that’s natural. Imagine they did the same thing. So it’s just one of those things where don’t overthink it either, right? I mean, coaches, you can be paranoid about every little thing, but it’s still going to come down to who can block, run, tackle and play better in the fourth quarter.”

WSU replaced one former Texas Tech offensive lineman with another in hiring Jared Kaster, a former Tech All-American center, as the Cougars’ new offensive line coach.

Kaster has continued his vision for how the WSU O-line should perform with the prime example being the line’s performance versus Portland State. Dickert said the Portland State win was Christian Hilborn’s best performance at right tackle of his career and an encouraging debut for Devin Kylany at center.

Individual Cougs have friends on the Red Raiders. Texas-born WSU edge Raam Stevenson has a friend on the team and transfer wide receiver Tre Shackelford’s best friend from his day’s at Austin Peay is Tech’s nationally renowned kick returner: Drae McCray.

The two are on strict no-contact this week.

“I haven’t talked to him. I’m straight serious right now, straight serious,” Shackelford said. “That’s not usually like me. I’m usually (friendly) with him, but nah, this week we mean business. We’re chasing something bigger.”

Scouting Texas Tech

Arguably Texas Tech’s best receiver was WSU’s best receiver last year. Josh Kelly, who led the Cougs with 61 catches for 923 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago, transferred to Tech and immediately filled up the stat sheet in his Red Raider debut.

In the team’s 52-51 overtime win over Abilene Christian, Kelly hauled in 10 catches for 156 yards and a TD. Texas Tech is perhaps most dangerous on the ground, where senior running back Tahj Brooks, one of the most prolific RBs in the country, is questionable to play with an injury.

Although Texas Tech’s defense allowed 506 passing yards to a Football Championship Subdivision school last week, they stepped up at the end, preventing a 2-point conversion and the Red Raiders’ high octane offense took care of the rest.

Tech was the only school in the country last week to have a 300-yard passer, a 150-yard rusher and a 150-yard receiver.

Meanwhile, WSU quarterback John Mateer excelled in his first career start feeding the ball to Wazzu’s many playmakers for 352 passing yards by the time he left the game in the middle of the third quarter in WSU’s 70-30 win over Portland State.

Senior receivers Kyle Williams and Kris Hutson torched the Vikings defense, racking up triple-digit numbers through the air and dozens of yards after catch on just four receptions each. Williams had 105 yards after catch in a 141-yard receiving day.

True freshman running back Wayshawn Parker excelled in his collegiate debut, taking the rock eight times for 96 yards and catching one 52-yard, wide-open receiving touchdown for WSU.

The Cougar defense — the pride and joy of Dickert, the former defensive coordinator — allowed 30 points to an FCS team with several caveats. Because the offense scored so much, the defense spent about 40 minutes on the field, replaced most of their starters in the third quarter and took control of the game after PSU’s opening drive TD. While all of these things are true, the Cougs can count on being on the field for the whole game against the Big 12’s Texas Tech.

A lot is at stake for the Cougs as they get another chance to prove they belong in a power conference. A Power Four opponent is in town and the bright lights of FOX will be broadcasting the game to a college football world that agrees on one thing: The Pirate is greatly missed.

The basics

What: WSU vs. Texas Tech

Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Saturday Sept. 7

Location: Gesa Field, Pullman

TV: FOX

Radio: KHTR-FM (104.3), KCLX-AM (1450)

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.