This loss was on Arbuckle, and Schmedding, Not on the players.
Yes if the players had not done things like over pursue, miscommunicate, take bad angles, not stay in lanes at home, not blown a coverage assignment, not overthrown WIDE OPEN WR, not dropped balls, etc, then yes, if not for those things, beyond coaches control, then WSU would have won.
But the reason it's the DC'S, OC's fault for losing the game.
1. Dampier was doing SHIT in the air. In fact Dampier had about a 35% completion percentage, and only had 1,2 big pass plays all game long. Meanwhile Dampier was GASHING on the ground. Schmedding SHOULD HAVE PUT 7,8 in the Box, about 97% of time, to STOP DAMPIER FROM RUNNING AND TO FORCE DAMPIER TO THROW, and have had 3,4 DB's, 1 LB play a man to man matchup zone, or man coverage on 2nd and 17, 3rd and 13 type downs, and blitz, rush 4,5, have 1,2,3 spy, stay at home, in case Dampier scrambles, runs, and drop back 3,4,5 into coverage.
Schmedding's FAILURE to do that is 1/3 of why WSU lost. Dickert should have forced Schmedding. Dickert's failure to force Schmedding to do that is 1/2 of the 1/3 why WSU lost.
2. In the 2nd half Arbuckle was too predictable, and didn't adjust in his play calling. The TV announcers said LOTS of times that the New Mexico defense was dropping 6,7,8 back into coverage, and rushing, blitzing 3,4,5 combined together on 2nd, 3rd downs.
What NM did was to put 6,7 in box to stuff run on first down, hold WSU to 3.5 rushing yards on 1st down, and in pass coverage play sideline passes, screen passes, bubble passes, shovel passes, short slants, short crosses, short curls, etc, very tight, so as to not give up more then 3.5 yards, pass or run on average, in order to force 2nd and long, 3rd and long in order to drop 5,6,7,8, and rush, blitz, 3,4,5,6, which shut mateer, WSU offense down, because Arbuckle, offense PLAYED RIGHT INTO NEW MEXICO'S DEFENSIVE HANDS.
On 1st down Arbuckle should have called, mixed in a few, some play action pass, RPO option spread, to set up the run, loosen up defense. Also Arbuckle should have at least had some midrange 17+ yard routes, passes on 1st down, to loosen up the short, tight coverage of NM. And Arbuckle should have called at least 1 reverse sweep run, 1 Wildcat WR run, and 2,3 runs by either RB, QB between Guard and Tackle, semi outside that breaks to semi outside, both right, and left, to wide side of field, instead of always predictably running the ball between center and guard, up the gut.
And on 2nd and 5,6,7,8, instead of passing almost all the time into drop 6,7,8, rush, blitz 3,4,5, Arbuckle should have run the ball about 39% to 43% to 46% of time, which would have stopped NM from dropping 6,7,8, rush, blitzing 3,4,5.
Basically Arbuckle needs to use every blade of grass on the football field, short, mid, deep, left, right, sideline to sideline, with both passes, and runs, and needs to take whatever the defense gives. If the defense is loading the box with 7 players, then FCKING pass. If defense only has 4,5 in Box, then FCKING run. If defense is playing the short passing zones extremely tight, then throw midrange or deep. If defense is covering, playing the mid to deep passing zones tight, then pass underneath.
Arbuckle was doing that, those things most of time in first half, which is why the offense was good in 1st half.
But in the 2nd half, it's like, as if Arbuckle forgot how to react, adjust, call effective play calls, and was too lazy, predictable, bad, ineffective.
Both Schmedding, Arbuckle, the coaching staff, was totally OUTCOACHED, OUT ADJUSTED, by Bronco Mendenhall, and his coaching staff. Because of that, THIS LOSS IN ON BRONCO AND HIS STAFF TO GIVE THEM CREDIT, AND ON SCHMEDDING, ARBUCKLE AND THUS ON DICKERT.
