PULLMAN - Given the recent history of Washington State football, perhaps the most remarkable Cougar statistic this year isn't Luke Falk's nation-leading passing yardage or the fact that three WSU receivers are among the top six in the Pac-12 in receptions per game.
Those are the types of numbers that everyone expects of Mike Leach-coached teams.
But it's more or less astonishing to see the Cougars ranked second in the conference in pass defense, just a year after finishing second-to-last in the country in that category.
Here's the catch: Of the top 38 quarterbacks in national passing totals, the Cougars have faced only two. And the one they're preparing for this week - a true freshman, oddly enough - might be second to none in terms of well-rounded talent in the passing game.
Josh Rosen of 18th-ranked UCLA (7-2, 4-2) will presumably put a big dent in the Cougars' defensive stats when the teams clash Saturday (7:45 p.m., ESPN) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Washington State (6-3, 4-2), rated 30th in the national coaches' poll, is looking for its fourth win in its last five games.
Rosen, 18, was a ready-made package out of St. John Bosco High in Los Angeles County: 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, with brimming self-assurance, an academic record to match his athletic accomplishments and long-range ambitions of joining the extremely short list of Jewish quarterbacks to play in the NFL.
He enrolled at UCLA last winter, participated in the Bruins' spring workouts and eventually outdid veteran Jerry Neuheisel for the starting job. He launched his college career in spectacular fashion, endured some rough waters in the following weeks and now seems on the rise again as the Bruins ride a three-game winning streak.
Unsurprisingly, UCLA coach Jim Mora said this week that some of Rosen's best qualities aren't necessarily evident in his stat profile, which at the moment includes 2,562 passing yards for 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's completing 61 percent.
"He has just really good football intelligence," Mora said. "Sees things quickly and adjusts, and just really understands concepts, both offensively and defensively. We all see the physical skills but what people don't see is the way he studies during the week and practices during the week, and how that manifests itself in terms of his precision on the field on Saturday.
"What's remarkable about him is the way he can come off the field after a series and tell you exactly what just went on. He sees everything. It's pretty impressive in a young guy."
Leach is making similar comments about his quarterback, the sophomore Falk, who shares with Rosen a number of physical attributes as well as a solid grounding in quarterback fundamentals.
They're part of a new breed of smart, meticulously trained QBs. While Rosen was leading a high-school team that employed a spread offense similar to that of UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, Falk was quarterbacking a Logan (Utah) High club whose attack resembled the Air Raid of WSU coach Mike Leach.
"What I've seen in the years I've been involved in college, in recruiting guys and evaluating high-school talent," said Mora, who spent almost three decades in the NFL before taking the UCLA helm in 2012, "is a lot of these guys are more advanced because they've got personal coaches they work with at a much younger age.
"Their high-school teams are doing more things that are similar to college football. And I think there's a greater focus at an earlier age on developing their skill set and also the mental aspect of the game."
So this could be the beginning of an interesting rivalry. The two quarterbacks face different challenges Saturday, but if the numbers hold true they'll both have to earn their yardage. The one team ahead of Washington State in those conference pass-D statistics is UCLA.
---
Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.
