For the second consecutive year, Washington State’s bowl game story was marred by who wasn’t on the field for the Cougars and the game was ultimately decided at the line of scrimmage.

A decimated Cougar team — missing both of its coordinators and its defensive star, one of a number of player absences because of injury/opt-out/transfer — got beat up at the point of attack by Fresno State all game long at the 2022 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. The Bulldogs took a 16-0 lead into the halftime break after a dominating first-half performance and carried that over for a 29-6 win.

Washington State’s first full season under coach Jake Dickert came to an official close with a 7-6 record.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

An uninspired start from Wazzu

The opening possession of the game saw Fresno State drive 75 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Led by stars Jake Haener and Jordan Mims, the Bulldogs bit off 14 yards on the first play from scrimmage, then 29, then 7, then 9, then 22 for the score.

On the ensuing Washington State possession, things began with tailback Nakia Watson getting stuffed at the line for no gain on his first rushing attempt. A false start on second down preceded a 5-yard sack. Wazzu played it conservative on third-and-20 and then punted away.

The Cougs went the entire first half without crossing the 50. Fresno State outgained Wazzu 289-59 in the opening 30 minutes and finished with a 501-182 advantage in total offense. Quarterback Cameron Ward was sacked six times in total and very rarely looked comfortable when dropping back to pass. On Wazzu’s fourth possession, he was chased out of the back of the endzone for a safety.

On defense, blown coverages and missed assignments popped up in ways they just hadn’t throughout most of the season. Players looked lost. Mims had 209 rushing yards and two scores on 19 carries. Haener completed 24 of his 36 passes for 280 yards and two scores without a turnover. On offense, Ward was either flushed or indecisive. Watson — who had been a strong point since returning from injury late in the year — finished with 33 yards on 14 carries.

“I think it was a rhythm thing,” Dickert said after the game. “I don’t think we ever got in a rhythm. We never established running the football.”

With the Cougs missing offensive coordinator Eric Morris (off to be the head coach at North Texas) and defensive coordinator Brian Ward (off to Arizona State), you wondered how sound the operation would look to open things up at SoFi Stadium on Saturday.

That answer was resounding: sloppy.

Biggest weakness laid bare

Fresno State sacked Ward six times. I’m repeating myself there but only because it’s worth repeating. Everyone in Pullman remembers how last year’s makeshift offensive line showed in the bowl game and the drama that unfolded in the aftermath of that game.

The offensive line looked like a problem that day at the Sun Bowl.

It then looked like a problem all season in 2022.

And it looked like a problem Saturday at the LA Bowl.

Coming into the day, only North Carolina’s Drake Maye had been pressured on more dropbacks than Ward. According to Pro Football Focus’ tracking data, the Cougar starter was pressured on 36% of his dropbacks this season prior to the bowl game. Only five Power Five teams had given up more sacks than the Cougs.

Washington State has to hit the portal hard for reinforcements along the offensive line this offseason. That has to be priority No. 1 for Dickert and his staff. Ward flashed exciting potential during his first season in Pullman, but he was too often left to fight for his life.

Fresno State was able to get pressure with four-man rushes. When the Bulldogs blitzed, they wrecked shop. The Fresno front won the battle with the Cougar offensive line. And the same could be said for too many of Wazzu’s opponents this season.

A touching moment for Renard Bell

In what was the final game of his seven-year career with Washington State — in his hometown — slot receiver Renard Bell got an outcome he didn’t want but perhaps a memory he’ll never forget. The Los Angeles native has been a team captain since 2019. He signed with the Cougars out of the 2016 class, one of a handful of a number of players on the team who were brought to Pullman by the late Mike Leach.

Bell, who missed five games this season because of injury, was initially ruled out of the game by Dickert. Earlier this week, Dickert told reporters the wideout would not play because “at this point in his career, it’s not worth the risk of putting him back out there.” That tune then changed on Friday when Dickert revealed Bell would be able to go in some capacity.

His impact on the game was minimal — just one catch for a loss of 5 yards — but he was the man to hold a pirate flag when the team came running onto the field to begin the game, honoring Leach, who passed away on Monday.