PULLMAN - Since arriving at Washington State last year with a sackful of terrific sack statistics from junior college, defensive lineman Brandon Rankin has been trying to figure out how to approximate that success at the BCS level.

He chose a pretty good time to show the fruits of his efforts. And they weren't sacks.

Rankin was the undersung hero of the Cougars' 37-27 win over Arizona State last week, making back-to-back tackles to cap a defensive stand that prevented the Sun Devils from padding a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Especially critical was his fourth-and-1 stop of tailback Cameron Marshall for a 1-yard loss at the 10-yard line, ending a promising drive against what appeared to be a fatigued Cougar defense.

A 6-foot-5, 286-pound senior tackle, Rankin engaged 300-pound Mike Marisz for a moment before toppling the offensive guard and making a diving tackle at Marshall's ankles.

"On the sideline, coach just plain told us we needed somebody to step up," Rankin said. "I felt it was about my time to step up. That was going through my head the whole time through that play. Fortunately, he came to my side and I was right there."

A jubilant Rankin then high-stepped it to the sideline, and the Cougars drove 90 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

"It was a great play," WSU coach Paul Wulff said. "He got underneath the block and he got good enough penetration, kept his head up enough to where he could see the legs of the back."

The previous play, on third-and-1, ASU's Brock Osweiler tried a quick-count quarterback sneak, but Rankin reacted quickly and got help from linebacker Sekope Kaufusi and others to stop the 6-foot-8 QB for no gain.

Rankin, from North Carolina, made a remarkable 24 sacks as a sophomore defensive end for Butte College in California in 2008. The Cougars moved him to tackle last year, and Wulff compared him, in terms of upside, to the Cougars' former Outland Trophy winner at that position, Rien Long.

But he looked rusty and played inconsistently in 2010, losing his starting job late in the season and never fully regaining it until the current Pac-12 season.

The locus of his progress, he believes, was the weight room, as he gradually traded his sack-oriented mind set for a more blue-collar approach.

"I've been trying to get my strength up, so I can play at this level," he said. "That was the big key. You can see on Saturdays when I dominate my guys. In junior college, I don't think I could have done that. I tried to beat them with speed. I felt I was pretty fast off the ball. It was just using my hands and strength, just trying to dominate a guy. That's what I was lacking in."

NOISE FACTOR - The Cougars' game last Saturday night in cold, intermittently snowy conditions drew only 25,213 fans, but Wulff said his team couldn't have won without them.

"That was an unbelievable showing," he said. "You think of the snow coming down four hours prior (to kickoff). That was amazing. They stayed to the end, and we gave them reason to stay, obviously. That was a big impact in that game. If we didn't have that noise for their (the Sun Devils') offense to disturb them, we don't win that game."

He made a plea for a repeat showing Saturday when the Cougars (4-6, 2-5) play host to Utah in a Pac-12 game at 2 p.m., their final home appearance of the season. Wulff no doubt realizes that many students will be leaving town this weekend for the start of Thanksgiving break.

"We need our fans," he said. "If they want us to win, they need to help us out by being in the stadium."

GROUNDED - The Cougars, including Wulff, learned a new rule Saturday night: Outside the pocket, a thrower who didn't happen to take the snap has less leeway, when it comes to "throwing the ball away," than does a player who did take the snap.

The issue arose in the fourth quarter of the ASU game, when receiver Marquess Wilson took a handoff for a trick-play pass, rolled to the right sideline, then couldn't find an open receiver. He tossed the ball out of bounds and drew a 7-yard penalty for intentional grounding, pushing the Cougars to the 4.

They drove for the go-ahead touchdown regardless.

NO TUEL AGAIN - Original starting quarterback Jeff Tuel, still sore in the collarbone area, has again been ruled out for participation this week.

So the depth chart at that position reads: Connor Halliday, Marshall Lobbestael, David Gilbertson.

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Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.