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33 2016 PAC-12 FOOTBALL // PREVIEW WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS 2016 TEAM INFORMATION Returning Starters: 16/Starters Lost: 8 Offensive Starters Returning (8) Offensive Starters Lost (3) C Riley Sorenson (Sr., 6-4, 319) WR Dom Williams RG Eduardo Middleton (Sr., 6-5, 310) LT Joe Dahl RT Cole Madison (Jr., 6-5, 303) LG Gunnar Eklund WR River Cracraft (Sr., 6-0, 200) H Robert Lewis (Jr., 5-9, 170) QB Luke Falk (Jr., 6-4, 205) Z Gabe Marks (Sr., 6-0, 190) RB Gerard Wicks (Jr., 6-0, 24) Defensive Starters Returning (6) Defensive Starters Lost (5) NT Robert Barber (Sr., 6-3, 307) DL Destiny Vaeao LB Peyton Pelluer (Jr., 6-0, 227) DE Darryl Paulo NB Parker Henry (Sr., 5-11, 207) LB Ivan McClennan CB Darrien Molton (So., 5-10, 170) LB Jeremiah Allison FS Shalom Luani (Jr., 6-0, 201) SS Taylor Taliulu CB Marcellus Pippins (Jr., 5-10, 167) Starting Kickers Returning (2) Starting Kickers Lost (0) PK Erik Powell (Jr., 6-1, 193) P Zach Charme (So., 6-1, 192) 2015 WASHINGTON STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS (returnees in italics) RUSHING Att Yds Avg TD Gerard Wicks 107 610 5.7 3 Jamal Morrow 53 347 6.5 0 Keith Harrington 37 238 6.4 20 PASSING PC-PA-HI Pct Yds TD Luke Falk 447-644-8 .694 4561 38 Peyton Bender 53-91-4 .582 498 3 RECEIVING No. Yds Avg TD Gabe Marks 104 1192 11.5 15 Dom Williams 75 1040 13.9 11 River Cracraft 53 615 11.6 4 Robert Lewis 43 490 11.4 1 Keith Harrington 43 312 7.3 3 Gerard Wicks 38 128 3.4 0 Jamal Morrow 33 294 8.9 4 Kyrin Priester 33 241 7.3 1 Scoring: Erik Powell (109) Field Goals: Erik Powell (20-26) Punting: Zach Charme (39.6) Kickoff Returns: Tavares Martin Jr. (22.1) Punt Returns: Gabe Marks (9.6) Interceptions: Shalom Luani (4) Tackles: Peyton Pelluer (101) Tackles For Loss: Darry Paulo (13.0) Quarterback Sacks: Darry Paulo, Hercules Mata'afa (7.0) A QUICK LOOK AT THE COUGARS OFFENSE: With eight returning starters, not much should change with the pass-oriented Cougar offense in 2016. Back in the shotgun is ju- nior QB Luke Falk (69.5 completion percent/passing 4,566 yards/38 TDs). Falk guided a Washington State offense that topped the FBS with 389.5 passing ypg, and had a league-best 94.5 percent success rate in the red zone. Seven of WSU's top eight receivers return and are led by senior WR Gabe Marks. Marks had a league-best 104 recep- tions (227 career receptions) for 1,192 yards (2,559 career yards) and 15 TDs (24 TDs). Senior WR River Cracraft added 53 receptions (165 career receptions) for 615 yards (2,000 career yards) and 4 TDs (15 career TDs). The top three rushers return as well, led by junior RB Gerard Wicks with 610 yards (5.7 avg) and 3 TDs. The offensive line is in good shape with three starters returning, including senior C Riley Sorenson, but will need to replace the left side after the departure of All-Pac-12 tackle Joe Dahl and guard Gunnar Eklund. Look for sopho- more Andre Dillard and junior Cody O'Connell to get a shot at replac- ing those two. To achieve more success on offense, WSU will need to reduce its turnovers after giving the ball away a league-high 25 times. DEFENSE: Junior LB Peyton Pelluer is the Pac-12's top returning tackler with 101 tackles (7.8 avg), including 11.0 tackles for loss. Se- nior LB Parker Henry (72 tackles/7.5 tackles for loss) teams up with Pelluer to provide the Cougars with a formidable duo at linebacker. Sophomore DE Hercules Mata'afa posted 31 tackles/11.0 tackles for loss/7.0 sacks and senior NT Robert Barber (17 tackles) will continue to apply pressure up front. The WSU secondary made great strides last season, reducing passing yards allowed from 296.6 ypg in 2014 to 223.8 ypg in 2015, while the passing efficiency defense dropped from 158.0 to 124.3. The Cougars had just three interceptions in 2014, but an active secondary collected 13 picks in 2015. Junior FS Sha- lom Luani earned Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors after posting 91 tackles and four interceptions, one more than the Cougars had as a team in 2014. Senior CB Marcellus Pippins added 43 tackles and three interceptions. 2015 RESULTS (9-4, 6-3 in Pac-12 North, 3rd) L ............17-24 ........... Portland State W ...........37-34 ........... at Rutgers W ...........31-14 ........... Wyoming L ............28-34 ........... at No. 24 California W ...........45-38 (2OT) . at Oregon W ...........52-31 ........... Oregon State W ...........45-42 ........... at Arizona L ............28-30 ........... No. 8 Stanford W ...........38-24 ........... Arizona State W ...........31-27 ........... at No. 18 UCLA W ...........27-3 ............. Colorado L ............10-45 ........... at Washington W ...........20-14 ........... vs. Miami (Sun Bowl) 2016 SCHEDULE (7 home, 5 away) Sept. 3 Eastern Washington WSU leads, 3-0-0 Sept. 10 at Boise State WSU leads, 4-0-0 Sept. 17 Idaho WSU leads, 71-17-3 Oct. 1 Oregon ORE leads, 47-39-7 Oct. 8 at Stanford STAN leads, 40-25-1 Oct. 15 UCLA UCLA leads, 40-19-1 Oct. 22 at Arizona State ASU leads, 26-14-2 Oct. 29 at Oregon State OSU leads, 50-47-3 Nov. 5 Arizona ARIZ leads, 26-15-0 Nov. 12 California CAL leads, 46-26-5 Nov. 19 at Colorado COLO leads, 5-4-0 Nov. 25 Washington WASH leads, 70-32-6 FOUR TO WATCH QB Luke Falk Jr. 6-4 205 WR Gabe Marks Sr. 6-0 190 DL Hercules Mata'afa So. 6-2 242 LB Peyton Pelluer Jr. 6-0 227