Quarterback play falls short

PULLMAN – Is the quarterback controversy at Washington State University that the Cougars don’t have a capable one?

That at least has to be in the discussion after three Cougar quarterbacks shared in four interceptions and managed just 110 yards through the air in the 66-3 beating at the hands of California at Martin Stadium on Saturday.

That makes the two-game total 192 yards for a program that has depended on a passing game for, well, two decades now.

“We have to start playing better at the quarterback position,” insisted offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy.

Which means there’s every likelihood that the position will be up for grabs in practice this week.

Head coach Paul Wulff said as much – not only with his postgame comments but with the move to insert backup Kevin Lopina to start the second half with the Cougars already trailing 42-3.

Starter Gary Rogers completed just 10 of 21 passes with two interceptions for 78 yards in the first half, including one on the Cougars’ second snap that led to a quick touchdown and a 14-0 Cal lead. The other came late in the first half with the Cougars inside the Cal 25-yard line, Syd’Quan Thompson running it back 90 yards.

Lopina – taking his first snaps in a college game – provided a brief spark to open the third quarter with completions to tight ends Ben Woodard and Devin Frischknecht and 15-yard keeper that put the Cougars at the Cal 12-yard line. But two plays later, Lopina threw behind tight end Tony Thompson and Thompson made a diving interception.

“I made some mistakes, but I thought I played well,” said Lopina, who completed just one more pass. “I thought I moved around in the pocket well. It was a good learning experience.”

Eventually, Lopina gave way to freshman Marshall Lobbestael, who didn’t complete a pass and also threw a pick.

“Our critical mistakes of our interceptions in their red zone were big – forced throws that are not acceptable,” said Wulff. “So we’ve got to ultimately have somebody who can perform at that position. We had a lot of receivers open and we weren’t hitting them.”

Rogers, who waited for his opportunity for four years behind Alex Brink, said he had no problem if Wulff throws the position open.

“That’s fine,” he said. “If that’s how it is, that’s how it’s going to be. It’s going to bring out the best of us.”

Special teams better

The special teams, so maligned in last week’s 39-13 loss to Oklahoma State, had some ups – and one big downer – this week.

The ups were personified by the return of punter Reid Forrest, making his first start after suffering a broken ankle over the summer. He made his first kick of the fall at Tuesday’s practice.

Forrest was called on to punt eight times, averaging 41.2 per kick. More importantly, the height and coverage combined to limit Cal to 4 yards per return, a marked improvement over last week’s 24.8. Included in his total was a career-long 58-yarder and two kicks downed inside the 20-yard line.

“We weren’t hurt on the punt return all day,” Wulff said. “It was evident it makes a big difference.”

Forrest admitted the stress of kicking so often put a strain on his leg.

“I came out that second half and I had a tough time keeping it loose, putting as much into the ball as I wanted to, because that adrenalin died,” the sophomore from Ephrata said.

Another area of improvement was the kickoff coverage – Pat Rooney put both deep into the end zone and they were not returned; the Cougars had one touchback all last season – and kickoff return, an area WSU got plenty of practice.

The Cougars returned a school-record 11 kickoffs for another school record, 298 yards.

Chantz Staden did the bulk of the work, returning six for 185 yards, second most ever, including a 65-yarder in the fourth quarter. But Chris Ivory had the longest return, hitting a seam for a 68-yarder in the second quarter.

That set up the Cougars’ lone score, Nico Grasu’s 43-yard field goal with 6 minutes, 44 seconds before the half.

The next time Grasu tried for three points, however, it didn’t work as well.

The sophomore’s line-drive attempt from 42 yards never got higher than 5-feet off the ground, nailed a WSU blocker in the back, caromed off to the left and was picked up by linebacker Zack Follett.

The surprised Follett took off down the sideline and outran Grasu and the rest of the Cougars for a 65-yard score.

Several players debut

Suspended senior defensive lineman A’i Ahmu, whose face was on the cover of the game program, sat out the first half, giving senior walk-on Adam Hineline his first start.

Hineline finished with 3.5 tackles and earned praise from linebacker Kendrick Dunn.

“He probably had a few jitterbugs,” Dunn said. “But he did a good job.”

Hineline probably wasn’t the only one with “jitterbugs.” True freshmen linebacker Louis Bland, redshirt junior quarterback Lopina and redshirt freshman quarterback Lobbestael made their college debuts Saturday.

“Yeah, it felt good to be out there,” said Lopina, who started his college career at Kansas State before transferring to WSU.

Jeshua Anderson played last year, but the sophomore wasn’t expected to play against Cal, just a few weeks after hernia surgery. But the receiver, who won the NCAA 400-meter hurdles in the spring, suited up, came in on the Cougs’ second possession and ended up playing most of the first half. He finished with one catch for 5 yards.

Wulff said Anderson was cleared by doctors Friday after the walk through.

Agony in lopsided defeat

As the score mounted, so did the research into the Cougars worst defeats.

The most points WSU has ever yielded came in Spokane against USC in 1970, when the Cougars lost 70-33.

The 42 points WSU allowed in the first half was the most the Cougars had given up in a half in 18 years, since BYU put up 43 in the second half of a 50-36 win in Provo, Utah, during the 1990 season.

The 63-point margin erased a 62-3 loss to UCLA in 1976 as the widest spread.