Injury list gets longer, loss total bigger

TEMPE, Ariz. – A half of good football on one half of the ball did not add up to a whole lot for Washington State on Saturday night. The bottom line was a 31-0 loss to Arizona State before 61,490 at Sun Devil Stadium.

But the losses have certainly totaled up this season. They’ve reached 10 overall – against one victory – and eight in the Pac-10 conference, both equaling school records on the negative side of the equation.

Nothing was more negative in this most recent defeat then the Cougars’ once-again ballooning injury list.

First to leave was starting quarterback Kevin Lopina, knocked out by a Dexter Davis sack late in the first half.

The hit resulted in a concussion, and Lopina watched the second half in a sweat suit. His final stats: 11 of 16 for 82 yards, more than half the WSU total offense.

“Kevin’s been around, he’s mature,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said of losing his starting quarterback, something that’s happened in three different games this year. “He’s been progressing. He made some nice throws in there.

Next to leave was returner Chantz Staden, who brought back the second-half kickoff 22 yards before running into Shelly Lyons.

The hit resulted in what was termed a “significant” knee injury by WSU officials, and Staden left the field on the back of a cart. He’ll be evaluated further today, but it looks like the all-purpose back’s season could be over.

“He’s just a real valuable guy,” Wulff said. “Losing him, that’s definitely going to hurt.”

When Lopina and Staden left, the Cougars trailed 10-0 and were still in the game. But a sputtering offense continued to stall until finally the defense broke down.

Washington State finished with 130 yards of total offense, including 7 yards rushing. It was its second-worst offensive showing of the season and the fifth time it’s been held to less than 200 yards this season.

“It was an unbelievable defensive effort,” said ASU coach Dennis Erickson, who saw the flip side. “Anytime you shut anybody out, it’s special.”

At first the Cougars moved the ball with authority, though they missed an opportunity to score for the second consecutive week on their first drive.

The defense gave them that chance, sacking quarterback Rudy Carpenter twice in the Sun Devils (4-6, 3-4) opening possession – WSU came in with seven sacks – and forcing a punt.

Taking over at its 20, WSU got a big play – a 30-yard connection between Lopina and Brandon Gibson, who became the Cougars’ all-time receiving yards leader three plays later (see notebook) – and a fourth-down conversion inside ASU territory – Lopina’s 9-yard toss to Jeshua Anderson – to get as close as the 21.

But on third down Lopina didn’t see Ben Woodard open down the middle, checked down to Staden in the flat instead and the Devils swarmed, forcing a 44-yard Wade Penner field-goal attempt.

Penner, who took over from Nico Grasu last week, pulled the kick right and ASU had dodged a bullet.

“It set the tone, an opportunity to put points on the board right off the bat,” Wulff said of the miss. “It would have been nice to get some points for our offense’s confidence.”

The miss was compounded in short order with possessions short-circuited by a couple of dropped passes, including one by Staden early in the second quarter that would have resulted in a huge gain.

“We got some opportunities to score points in that first half,” Wulff said. “They would have made a difference.”

What was unique, for the first half any way, was how the WSU defense kept getting off the field.

WSU forced the Devils to punt on three of their first four possessions – Thomas Weber’s 21-yard field goal was the only blemish – and held ASU without a touchdown until its penultimate possession of the opening half. That’s when Carpenter found Kerry Taylor on a deep out for 14 yards and a 10-0 lead.

Carpenter finished 17 of 25 of 213 yards and three touchdowns.

The Sun Devils’ final two scores came on big plays, one by the offense – a 51-yard hookup between Carpenter and Williams when the Cougars’ secondary bit on play action – and the other by freshman defensive tackle Lawrence Guy on the first play of the fourth quarter when he returned a Levenseller fumble 22 yards for a score.