Cougars miss chances

PULLMAN – Washington State may not have a lot of chances to win Pac-10 football games this season.

And after Saturday night’s 28-3 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, the Cougars feel they squandered an opportunity.

Make that opportunities.

“Our defense did a very nice job fitting in their gaps and stopping the run,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said on Sunday during a weekly conference call with the media. “Offensively, probably 15 to 20 opportunities we couldn’t take advantage of, where we just didn’t make a play here or there.

“We’re just struggling making plays.”

Winless in three Pac-10 starts, the Cougars (1-5 overall) have been patching problems for the past few weeks, some caused by injuries, others by a lack of consistent play.

There’s not much Wulff can do about the former, and last week’s explosion of injuries – five players who were expected to play extended minutes against the Bruins were injured in two practices last week – kept him from replacing some players guilty of the latter.

“We were planning on playing Will Hunter after (Steven) Ayers got hurt Wednesday,” said Wulff, who showed his frustration with starting left tackle Vaughn Lesuma on Saturday by pulling the senior twice after holding calls. “And then Hunter broke his finger. … All of a sudden we lost two offensive tackles heading into the game.”

Searching for answers, the Cougars played usual left guard Andrew Roxas at tackle – his first appearance there in a game or practice – and B.J. Guerra at guard.

“We’re going to try not to again,” Wulff said of moving Roxas outside. “(But) it could (happen). I never want to say never.”

Two former backups, linebackers Myron Beck and Louis Bland, started against UCLA and played well enough to earn mention.

“Those two guys, one’s a sophomore and one’s a freshman, they’ve got some decent toughness in there,” Wulff said. “I really like those young guys. I think they’re going to be good football players for us down the road.”

Notes

Senior defensive end Michael Graise played extended minutes – “More than I expected,” he said Saturday – and Wulff said it was due to his performance. “It was one of those things where he got in there and he did pretty well early,” Wulff explained. “We could see it from the sidelines, (defensive line) coach (Malik) Roberson could, so we gave him more reps. That was the reason behind that.” … The Cougars came through the contest without losing anyone else for next week’s trip to Oregon State, Wulff said. … The no-huddle is still in hibernation with redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael at the controls. But Wulff won’t rule out a return soon. “It just depends on how things unfold the next few weeks,” he said. “Right now, we’re going to probably stay the course (with a huddle).” … The Cougars will hold a tryout this afternoon at 3, looking for a scout team quarterback. Any WSU student interested has to have the required paperwork and get cleared through the football office before the tryout.