Back in the game
PULLMAN – It’s Kevin Lopina’s time. Again.
The junior quarterback, who had earned Washington State’s starting spot the third week of the season, only to go down with a broken back in the fourth, is back in the No. 1 position – because of, in part, another injury.
When Marshall Lobbestael went down with a torn ACL and MCL in the Oregon State game last Saturday, it happened just as Lopina was getting cleared to return to full contact.
“It feels good, I just have to loosen it up,” Lopina said of his back after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s good to go.”
Good to go, but with a little more protection.
“I have rib pads now,” he said, holding up what looked like a weight belt with pads. “I used to just wear a shirt, but now I’m wearing these rib pads, so hopefully that will take some of the impact if I get hit.”
Consider the opponent Saturday, maybe he should have said “when” instead of “if.”
Washington State has yielded more sacks (24) than any other Pac-10 conference team, nine more than Arizona State and Washington. Saturday’s opponent, USC, is third in sacks by its defense, with 15.
Still, Lopina is a glass-half-full type of guy.
“USC is an opportunity,” he said. “All eyes are on them. So why not? Why can’t the Cougars go out and have a good game?”
The simple answer might be all the injuries – WSU starting running back Dwight Tardy (knee) and left tackle Vaughn Lesuma (shoulder) are probably out for Saturday while tight end Devin Frischknecht (high ankle sprain) certainly is – but it also might be in the Trojans themselves, ranked sixth nationally and back in the national title hunt.
Washington State was pleased to be in the game at halftime last week, and Lopina sees that small success as indicative of an improving offense.
“We’re more competitive,” he said. “Against Oregon State, we were in the game. We were really trying hard and, sure, the total yardage didn’t show that, but we were trying to make plays, and the effort’s there.”
Now it will be Lopina back leading that effort, a role he knows isn’t as secure as he thought it was.
“I was a starter, on top of the world, a Pac-10 starter,” he said. “And then it just kind of all went away in one play.
“Just being around it and not being able to play wasn’t the funnest thing to do. Now that I’m back I’m going to use it as, you never know when it could be your last play. So just cherish it.”
Around the conference
Washington offensive coordinator Tim Lappano told the Seattle media that there is a chance quarterback Jake Locker is done for the year. The sophomore will have his broken thumb examined today. “Is he going to play this year before the season is over? Who knows?” Lappano said. “It’s highly unlikely, I would guess. But tomorrow we’ll know more when they find out a little bit more about it.’” … Oregon has a bye this week and coach Mike Bellotti said it will be used to make the Ducks better. It will also be used to figure out the quarterback situation. Bellotti has to decide between former starter Justin Roper, coming back from a knee injury, and Jeremiah Masoli. “It will be an open competition,” Bellotti said. “And Justin, by not having to play last week, should be close to 100 percent.” Masoli is going to be tough to dislodge. “Jeremiah Masoli has staked his claim to that position,” Bellotti said. … Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh has a new baby in the house, but it isn’t disrupting his sleep pattern. “She was a little upset yesterday,” he said. “She only got 231/2 hours of sleep instead of 24.” Harbaugh said quarterback Tavita Pritchard, who was forced out of the win over Arizona, suffered only a mild concussion and is likely to play Saturday at UCLA.
•Oregon State coach Mike Riley has been pleasantly pleased, but not shocked, with the emergence of freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers. “We expected him to be in the mix,” he said. “I won’t necessarily say I was surprised. I had a lot of faith in his ability, just watching him in high school.” … The upsets last Saturday have put USC back in the national championship picture, and that didn’t surprise coach Pete Carroll. “It’s really hard to win every game,” he said. “It takes a real special team to do that.” … The fires in the hills around Southern California haven’t affected either USC or UCLA, though Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel may not know if it did. “In your coaching life, you live in a bunker, so I’m not that aware of what’s going on outside,” he said. Neuheisel did admit, however, that there’s smoke in the air. … A fan, reportedly involved in a fight, fell from the stands in Eugene and was injured, causing a delay in the game that was already delayed from an injury to UCLA’s Terrence Austin. One ambulance was involved with Austin and the backup had to handle the injured fan. … Count Dennis Erickson impressed by the USC Trojans. “They are so dominant on defense,” said the Arizona State coach. “They just don’t let you breathe. … It’s as good as I’ve seen.”