October 17, 2004 in Sports

Cougars come up short

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Christopher Anderson/ photo

Cougars punt returner Michael Bumpus dodges Jared Newberry.
(Full-size photo)

PULLMAN — Playing in close games has become a way of life for the Cougars this season. Unfortunately for them, they’re also losing them right now.

A week ago, Washington State led by 13 going into the fourth quarter against Oregon and lost by a field goal. This time around, they trailed Stanford 20-3 and made it close before falling 23-17 before a homecoming crowd of 34,963 in Martin Stadium.

Washington State now faces a daunting road if they are to win six games and qualify for a bowl game. Two weeks ago, it appeared WSU might be strong enough to hold serve at home and win twice to push their record to 5-2. Instead, the Cougars are 3-3 and 1-2 in the Pac-10, and now must win at least two games on the road — they travel to Oregon State, UCLA and Arizona State — unless they can win at home against No. 1 USC.

The Cougars’ three losses this season have all been by eight points or less, but that doesn’t help in their quest to return to a bowl game for the fourth consecutive year.

“Going in I thought it was going to be a defensive struggle,” WSU head coach Bill Doba said, speaking in measured tones. “I knew their defense was good and I thought our defense was going to hold them, but they made big plays.”

Like Oregon the week before, Stanford managed to take advantage of WSU’s aggressiveness on defense, hitting on two big plays that put the Cougars in a hole too great for them to dig out of.

A double pass in the first quarter from Cardinal quarterback Trent Edwards to wide receiver Justin McCullum to another wide receiver, Mark Bradford, set up the first touchdown of the game, one that gave Stanford a 10-3 edge.

Then, after taking a 13-3 lead into the half, Stanford struck again on the first play of the third quarter, using a play-action fake to freeze WSU’s defense, then going deep to 6-foot-7 Evan Moore, who flew undetected through the WSU secondary for a 67-yard score and a 20-3 lead.

The Cougars did make it close with two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. But they also blew two opportunities inside the Stanford 3-yard line to pull back within striking distance earlier in the second half, a squandered chance that Doba said played a major role in sealing their fate.

With about 6:30 left in the third quarter, the Cougars drove deep into Cardinal territory. But on a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, WSU quarterback Josh Swogger called a pass play incorrectly, sending his teammates to the left when he rolled right. As a result, he had nowhere to go and the Cougars turned the ball over on downs.

Two plays later, WSU got another chance when Hamza Abdullah picked off a pass and ran it to the Stanford 3. But the Cougars fumbled on two straight plays, turning the ball over the second time when Allen Thompson, who otherwise had a career day with 76 rushing yards, had the ball jarred loose.

“When you have 1st-and-goal on the three you need to get that thing in the end zone,” Doba said. “Twice we were down there and didn’t get it in. That was the ball game right there.”

WSU didn’t help its own cause with three other turnovers, all interceptions thrown by Swogger on passes intended for Jason Hill, who did reel in a touchdown reception for the fifth consecutive game, giving him nine on the season.

But even with impressive individual efforts by Hill and fellow wide receiver Michael Bumpus, who also returned a punt 48 yards, the Cougars are learning the hard way that inconsistent play can be costly in conference games.

“We’ve shown the defense can play good, and we’ve shown that the offense can play good,” Bumpus said. “(But) the bad things we do just decide the game for us.”

For Stanford, few individuals stood out with overwhelming efforts — running back Kenneth Tolon had 99 yards on 20 carries and quarterback Trent Edwards had 202 yards passing despite completing less than 50 percent of his throws — the team effort they put forth was enough to get a deserved road win.

“This is just going to be a catalyst for the rest of our season. It’s going to start something that I hope we can ride for the rest of the year,” Edwards said, echoing the thoughts WSU had hoped this game would represent. “That was incredible to be a part of that game right there. There were so many highs and so many lows.”

For WSU, however, another week, another low has made life difficult on the road to a bowl game.

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