Matchup with Cats has playoff feel

PULLMAN – This is the fifth week of the football season, isn’t it?

But when Washington State and Arizona take the field at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night – in a game matching 0-1 Pac-10 teams – it will have the feel of a playoff game.

If major college football had a playoff.

But, because it doesn’t, the Cougars and the Wildcats just may be playing for their bowl game lives.

“Seasons are funny like that,” WSU senior offensive guard Bobby Byrd said. “Every game is important. This one might be a little more important than the rest of them to come.”

“Both of us are looking for wins,” said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. “Both teams kind of reflect each other in the fact, offensively, we can spread the ball and move the ball, and defensively we, at times, have shown good defense. We just haven’t been as consistent as we need to be against good teams.”

“They are right,” Cougars head coach Bill Doba added. “This is important (for us) because the next four games … those teams are 15-1.”

Doba was referring to the Cougs’ next four opponents: Arizona State, Oregon, UCLA and Cal. Arizona has road games at Oregon State and USC following the game with the Cougars.

With seven wins needed to ensure a bowl berth (6-6, as both schools were last year, makes a team eligible, but only if certain conditions are met), the Wildcats are a non-conference game behind the Cougars already, having gone 1-2 as opposed to WSU’s 2-1.

Just how important is Saturday’s contest? Washington State’s record-setting senior quarterback Alex Brink, who has yet to play in a bowl game, said it’s time to put up or shut up.

“I said before the season there is going to come a time where we’re going to have to make this season what it is, and step up to the plate,” Brink said earlier this week. “This game is going to be an indication (of where the season is headed). We are both at a crossroads. We need to take it and go somewhere with it.”

It is appropriate the Arizona game once again plays a pivotal role in the Cougars’ bowl fortunes. It was just last season when WSU faced the Wildcats in Pullman riding a 6-3 record, ranked 25th in the nation and needing just one more win to start making bowl reservations.

But the 3-5 Wildcats converted half their third-down attempts, held the Cougars to 2 of 13 in those situations and upset WSU 27-17 before 35,115 in Martin Stadium.

“Last year’s game was very disappointing,” Brink said. “We had come in on a high note, we were ranked at the time and they kind of jumped up and got us.

“That game was certainly the turning point in our season.”

“For me and the older guys, that’s definitely in the back of our minds,” Byrd said of last year’s result. “That’s something we’re definitely going to carry going down there. It will be that little extra motivation.”

If Arizona could convert half of its third downs into first downs against WSU then – when the Cougars only allowed conversions 38.7 percent of the time – what will the Wildcats do this year? Arizona has a much more potent spread offense and the Cougars’ defense has yielded first downs on 33 of their opponents’ 57 third-down attempts – that’s a Pac-10 poorest 57.9 percent.

When asked about that stat, Doba winced and said, “That’s bad. In ‘94, when we were good, it was 19 percent.”

“We’re getting people closer,” said Doba, explaining why he believes WSU is getting better in that regard. “We’ve just got to get a little closer and get in front of them. We need to flip the field and give the offense good field position – and we need to improve our third-down percentage.”

Stoops understands. He thinks the biggest difference between his defense this season – in the bottom half of the conference statistics in rush, pass and scoring defense – and last year’s – third in scoring defense – is the lack of playmakers. The Wildcats have created just five turnovers in their first four games, while turning the ball over eight times themselves.

“What really jumps out at you is you need playmakers at certain positions on defense,” he said. “That’s what’s been hurting us – lack of big plays in critical areas. Making big plays in critical situations, that’s what’s going to win you games.

“You aren’t going to see defenses in this conference, any of them – maybe USC – hold people under 300 yards. In this league, it is just not going to happen in very many games.”

Both teams have big play guys on offense – each quarterback has passed for more than 1,100 yards – so Stoops sees the game coming down to whichever team makes more plays on defense.

“The team that plays the best usually wins,” Stoops said. “I think it will come done to defense as always. In this league people are going to score and move the football, but your defense ultimately has to make plays, makes some great stands, to get you off the field in critical situations.”

When both teams finally leave Arizona Stadium, only one will leave with an improved chance to end its season in a bowl. The other will have seven Pac-10 games remaining.