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PULLMAN -- Too often was there an opportunity for the Washington State football team to nab an important victory. Leading by two scores, it was there for the taking. The Cougars couldn't grab Saturday night's game by the throat and eventually fell 34-24 to Arizona inside Martin Stadium. There were too many offensive mistakes on the execution side, mainly in the second half when WSU quarterback Caden Pinnick was running for his life. On its final drive, the protection wasn't good enough for the slim hope of a miracle. And the defense suffered from a signal caller that picked his spots effortlessly. With Pac-12 play coming down the pipe, the Cougs 1-3 record must be rectified in a hurry. Here are Cougfan.com's three takeaways from the loss. 1. THE OFFENSE HAS TO FIND A WAY TO COUNTER PRESSURE For a good stretch of the game, the Washington State offense looked good. Pinnick made (mostly) smart decisions, connected with receivers over the middle and to the boundary and had the offense rolling along.  Then Arizona started bringing heat. And everything fell apart. The Wildcats only sacked Pinnick three times, but forced an endless number of bad decisions or quick throws that wound up missing. He couldn't take drops and WSU didn't pick the blitz up well enough to give him time. The good news is that there are no more Power Four teams and athletes on the schedule. The bad news is that Arizona's game plan is on tape for opposing defenses who will likely do the same thing until WSU proves it can counter it. 2. SPECIAL TEAMS IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST AND COLDEST UNITS IN THE COUNTRY Last week, they return two punts for touchdowns. They blocked a field goal on Saturday and forced another miss. They also had yet another field goal blocked and gave up a monster punt return by losing their lanes. Max Dean punted well again, despite doubts he would play due to a migraine. And Jack Stevens did get off the schneid with a field goal. But the operation top to bottom is just a little too messy right now.  3. THE OFFENSE NEEDS SOME SORT OF SHAKEUP It just hasn't been good enough through four games. Some of it is execution. Some of it is facing three Power Four teams. There is still a way to look consistent and competent, regardless of the competition. And Saturday, there just wasn't enough of that. The offense did some good things early, but multiple drives fizzled out because of a bad decision, an early slide, a penalty and so on. Maybe it will help to play an even level of competition. But the offense that has showed up for the better part of four quarters has been far too inconsistent to rely on.  It's not the reason the offense is struggling, but they badly miss Tony Freeman. There just isn't another wideout with his combination of speed, route running and separation. There just isn't another guy who can win a go ball like him. Caden Pinnick (Photo: Cougfan.com/Whittney Thornton)