Glenn Kasses

The Cougars are two games into their 2004-05 basketball season, and unfortunately for them, the easy part of the schedule is already in the rearview mirror. With home wins over Montana State and Georgia Southern in hand, Washington State now embarks on a hellacious non-conference schedule that will take Dick Bennett and his team all over the country.

PULLMAN — The Cougars didn't need much time this season to figure out a winning formula on the hardwood. For the second game in a row, Washington State held an opponent to 42 points, defeating Georgia Southern 61-42 Wednesday night to move to 2-0 on the season before a sparse crowd of 2,199 at Friel Court. The two-game total of 84 points allowed is the school's lowest since December of 1972.

PULLMAN — The Cougars didn't need much time this season to figure out a winning formula on the hardwood. For the second game in a row, Washington State held an opponent to 42 points, defeating Georgia Southern 61-42 Wednesday night to move to 2-0 on the season before a sparse crowd of 2,199 at Friel Court. The two-game total of 84 points allowed is the school's lowest since December of 1972.

PULLMAN — In golf, this time of year is known as the silly season, when no PGA tournaments that count are being played. In college football — even for the losing teams — there's nothing silly about this time of year. Washington State won't be concerning itself with a bowl game in December or January after finishing a 5-6 season on Saturday. But its coaching staff will be worried about bringing in a recruiting class that can help the Cougars avoid losing records down the road.

PULLMAN — The 2004 Cougar football season is over and Martin Stadium has gone dark for the winter — almost. The turf was still illuminated ever so slightly Sunday night by the stadium scoreboard, which still had 0:00 showing on the clock as well as the final score from the day before: Cougars 28, UW 25.

PULLMAN — For a Husky blocker, this was not a good decision to have to make. Two blitzing Cougar linebackers, Scott Davis and Will Derting, were charging up the middle through the same hole, one after the other.

PULLMAN — The last thing Dick Bennett wanted was to have his team limping into the regular season. After freshman point guard Derrick Low and freshman power forward Chris Henry went down in October, not to return until December, Bennett knew his team would be short-handed.

UW at Washington State (-11) Time: 4 p.m. TV: ABC

On Sunday, Washington State University head coach Bill Doba called the Cougars' Rose Bowl-clinching win over Washington in 1997 his fondest Apple Cup memory. Unfortunately for Doba, that was also the last positive memory from the Apple Cup. The Huskies have won six straight in the in-state game for bragging rights, and this week The Spokesman-Review is taking a look back at each game. 2002: The Huskies upset the Cougars in Martin Stadium to run the Apple Cup winning streak to five. This time, Washington needed three overtimes to defeat WSU 29-26, and even then the game ended in controversy. John Anderson kicked five field goals for the Huskies, including a 49-yarder in the third overtime. The Cougars had the last crack at it on offense, but their third overtime possession lasted one play when Matt Kegel, in for injured Jason Gesser, tried to throw but had the ball come loose. Referees ruled it a lateral, and a Husky recovery ended the game. Once again, quarterback Cody Pickett and wide receiver Reggie Williams dominated WSU. Pickett threw for 368 yards and Williams was on the receiving end for 169.

PULLMAN – Washington State University plans to have an extra police presence on hand for the Apple Cup after bottles were thrown onto the field following Washington's Martin Stadium win in 2002. John David Wicker, WSU's director of event and facility operations, said the school has added both internal and external security forces to maintain a calm environment regardless of the game's outcome.

On Sunday, Washington State head coach Bill Doba called the Cougars' Rose Bowl-clinching win over Washington in 1997 his fondest Apple Cup memory. Unfortunately for Doba, that was also the last positive memory from the Apple Cup. The Huskies have won six straight in the in-state game for bragging rights, and this week The Spokesman-Review will take a look back at each game, beginning with the first game of the streak. 1998: The Huskies got the six-game streak started off with a 16-9 win in Pullman, a win that put them in a bowl game and sent the Cougars to their first winless Pac-10 season in 23 years. Husky running back Willie Hurst was one of the few offensive stars in a game dominated by defense, running for 155 yards on 28 carries, including the game's first touchdown. All WSU could muster until the game's final minutes was a safety on a bad punt snap.

PULLMAN — Almost everything spiraled out of control for the Washington State University football team in October. It all got started with a 27-point fourth quarter by Oregon to stun the Cougars, then continued with three more losses that left WSU 0-4 for the month and all but done in the bowl picture. But thanks to a road win last week at UCLA, this much can be said for the Cougars as they prepare for their penultimate regular-season game at 4 p.m. today on TBS at Arizona State: It's all in their control.