PULLMAN - Washington State football players, like many seekers over the years, believe they discovered something about themselves in Berkeley, Calif. Well, in San Fransisco, technically, since that's where the California Bears are playing at the moment.
The Utah Utes, for their part, know they discovered something about themselves there.
Since losing by 24 points at California last month, the Utes have reaffirmed their modus operandi - staunch defense, ball-control offense - and won three consecutive Pac-12 games.
They'll try to make it four when they play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Washington State, which is trying to confirm its own self-identity based partly on what happened in the Bay Area two weeks ago.
The Utes (6-4, 3-4) have gone from star-crossed to bowl-eligible during their three-game surge, holding opponents to 12 points a game and committing no offensive turnovers.
"This has been a team that's had a great deal of resiliency and mental toughness," seventh-year coach Kyle Whittingham said. "But since the Cal game - I guess you could call that a tipping point - we have certainly played better football. I think we found out a lot more about ourselves after that Cal game, about who we are and what we need to do to win a game."
For one thing, they need frequently to tuck the football to the gut of John White, who has rushed for 471 yards in those three games, pushing his season totals to 1,191 yards (second-highest in the league) and 12 touchdowns. The junior from Southern California is showing a durability that belies assumptions about 5-foot-8, 186-pound frame.
"John White is a terrific football player," Whittingham said. "He's tough. He reminds you of a big back. The more you feed him the ball, especially late in the game, the stronger he gets. But he does it at 185 pounds instead of 230 pounds."
Ball security is all-important for this team in general and for 6-foot quarterback Jon Hays in particular. A transfer from Butte College in California, which bills itself as the home of Aaron Rodgers, Hays is embracing a low-profile, decidedly un-Rodgersesque role for the Utes and has yet to crack four figures in season passing yardage.
In other words, the Utes desire above all to facilitate their excellent defense, which is allowing a conference-low 2.9 yards per rush. They've given up only five touchdowns on the ground, lowest in the country for any team not named the Crimson Tide.
"I think it's the best defense we've seen, along with Cal," WSU coach Paul Wulff said. "Just a very veteran, savvy football team."
To a coach's eye, the Ute that stands out is 325-pound nose tackle Star Lotulelei, who "rarely shows up big-time in the stats," Whittingham said, "because people avoid him and double-team him. But the presence he has on the field for us is big."
At safety, Brian Blechen was a Freshman All-American last year and Conroy Black has three interceptions in the last two games.
Saturday's contest will be a clash of opposites, because what Washington State learned at California is that it can't afford to keep raw, talented quarterback Connor Halliday penned up any longer. He will make his first start, after throwing for 494 yards last week in a win over Arizona State.
But the Cougars and the Utes made one common self-observation at Cal, which has long had a knack for lulling opponents into uninspired efforts.
"We came out flat," Whitingham said of his team's 34-10 loss to Cal, echoing post-Berkeley comments by Wulff after a 30-7 egg-laying. "We had no passion, no emotion. And from that point forward, that's been the mantra for this football team. Play with passion and emotion and energy on Saturdays."
TUEL OUT FOR APPLE CUP - Wulff acknowledged Thursday that quarterback Jeff Tuel will miss the Apple Cup as well as the Utah game, meaning he's done for the season unless the Cougars win twice to gain bowl eligibility.
The school will probably apply to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility for the junior, but will face long odds because Tuel played in the second half of the season.
Cougars cornerback Daniel Simmons is "very questionable" with an ankle injury, said Wulff, who is more optimistic about the availability of standout receiver Marquess Wilson, who has been bothered by a sore hip.
Defensive end Lenard Williams (knee) and long-snapper Zach Koepp (concussion) will miss the game, but linebacker C.J. Mizell (shoulder) should be ready in a backup role behind Mike Ledgerwood.
KARSTETTER IS ALL-ACADEMIC - The Cougars learned Thursday that receiver Jared Karstetter is a repeat honoree on the first unit of the Pac-12 All-Academic team, joined this year by special-teams player Kyle McCartney.
Tight end Andre Lintz repeated as a second-team selection, while honorable mentions from WSU were Aaron Dunn, John Fullington, Andrew Furney, Skylar Stormo, Dan Wagner and Kristoff Williams.
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Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.
