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Defense is key to Washington State improvement

AUG 17, 2015 at 2:09p ET

AUG 17, 2015 at 2:09p ET

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Washington State coach Mike Leach doesn't have much trouble getting his teams to score in the Air Raid offense.

The problem has been stopping the other guys.

Leach decided to make a change after last year's 3-9 team gave up an average of 38.6 points per game. He dumped defensive coordinator Mike Breske and brought in Alex Grinch from Missouri to replace him.

Grinch will be tasked with improving a defense that ranked No. 97 nationally in total yards allowed and was largely blamed for the Cougars' poor record - the team ranked seventh in the nation in total offense.