Glenn Kasses

PULLMAN — The Cougars have a long history of playing pitch-and-catch on offense, preferring to throw their way into the end zone rather than run for it. While the 2004 Washington State University offense is far from the most prolific in school history, one player does have a chance to stand alone atop one impressive list in the record books.

PULLMAN — It may not be fair to expect Washington State to run the ball 61 times for 321 yards every week. Nor would it be reasonable to bank on running back Jerome Harrison to carry the ball a school-record 42 times for 247 of those yards. But you can be awfully sure that, in the aftermath of that dominating ground-game performance at UCLA last weekend, the Cougars will at least give the running game a chance to lead the way when they travel to No. 20 Arizona State this week for a second straight road game.

Bill Doba has seen the leading passer in Oregon State history, a Heisman candidate from USC and a number of other talented quarterbacks this season. But he thinks they all pale in comparison to this week's foe. "We're going against I think the best quarterback in the conference," Doba said of Arizona State's Andrew Walter. "(USC's Matt) Leinart is good, don't get me wrong. But this guy doesn't have the supporting cast that Leinart does. He's broken John Elway's records. He's been around there five years — he's a graduate student — and he's like another coach on the field." Walter has actually broken a number of records as the Sun Devils starting quarterback for the last three-plus seasons. But Elway's conference-best 77 career touchdown passes stood atop the list for 22 years. Until last week, that is, when Walter fired four touchdown passes against Elway's alma mater, Stanford, to push his own total to 80.

PULLMAN — Washington State came into its Wednesday night men's basketball exhibition game with Lewis-Clark State College having played just one scrimmage against another team and with two freshmen in the starting lineup. LCSC, an NAIA school, had played five regular season games already and actually counted last night's game as a sixth. Based on that alone, the helter-skelter play shouldn't have come as a great surprise.

The story of his life and death is already well-known, but another chapter will be added when Pat Tillman's jersey is retired at halftime of this weekend's Arizona State-Washington State game. Tillman, the former Sun Devil and Arizona Cardinal who left the NFL to join the military, was killed in action in Afghanistan. To honor his memory, the Sun Devils have been wearing a patch with Tillman's initials this season and have re-named the tunnel from which they enter the field for the former safety.

PULLMAN — Nine days remain before the Washington State University men's basketball team takes the floor for the first game of the regular season against Montana State, on the eve of football's Apple Cup. But before they move on to the games that count in the standings, the Cougars have a tuneup, an exhibition at 7 tonight against visiting Lewis-Clark State College on Friel Court.

LOS ANGELES — They were the ones to hand Stanford its first loss of the season last year, the ones who won 13 out of 14 conference games to sprint from last place in the Pac-10 to the NCAA Tournament. It's a good time to be the Washington Huskies, and head coach Lorenzo Romar knows it.

PULLMAN — Much to the surprise of many an observer, Washington State snapped a four-game losing streak at UCLA on Saturday. In a sense, the upset win saved the 2004 season, at least for seven more days. The Cougars (4-5, 2-4 Pac-10) still need to win out in order to claim a winning record in the regular season and sneak into a bowl game, but now the uphill climb they face consists of only two games, not three.

PASADENA, Calif. — Football coaches often talk about the importance of playing a full 60-minute game, and Washington State head coach Bill Doba has often decried the fact that his team has been unable to do so all season long. On Saturday, that finally changed. The Cougars made a big play on the opening kickoff, forcing and recovering a fumble deep in UCLA territory that set up a touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage. Then they made another big play in the final seconds, stopping a two-point conversion that could have tied the game.

PASADENA, Calif. – All week, the Washington State University Cougars talked about the advantage they would have with the team's top two tight ends, Troy Bienemann and Cody Boyd, returning to action. Bienemann had been severely limited by a deep shin bruise and Boyd, his primary backup, missed all of October with a separated shoulder.

IT'S DIFFICULT ENOUGH to play linebacker as a true freshman in college, but that hasn't been enough for Jed Collins this year. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native is currently on his third position, having switched from linebacker to fullback and now, this week, tight end. Collins is returning back home for this week's game at UCLA, and he talked about his former high school teammates, the position shuffle this year and more with The Spokesman-Review:

Washington State came into this 2004 season with plenty of unresolved questions, no surprise considering how many starters had moved on from a 2003 team that won 10 games and beat a top-5 team in the Holiday Bowl. The Cougars' concerns this year had to do largely with inexperience — seven new starters on offense and nine on defense. If WSU was to repeat the success of the year before, the new insertions to the lineup would have to play beyond their years in a hurry. Simply put, WSU is still waiting.

Jeff Tedford is a popular man these days. In his third year as a head coach in college football, he has already been anointed the savior of California football, with the Bears ranked No. 4 in this week's Associated Press poll. That's ahead of three undefeated teams — Wisconsin, Utah and Boise State — despite the fact that his team has one loss this season.

PULLMAN — USC head coach Pete Carroll had a hunch that something was up. Washington State's usual kickoff man, Graham Siderius, had limped off in pregame warm-ups and was replaced by placekicker Loren Langley for the opening boot. Carroll didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but his wariness was right on the money. The Cougars had gone through the pregame charade to get Langley on the field for an onside kick attempt that he had practiced all week. Unfortunately for WSU, the play's execution didn't look much like the chalkboard version. Langley barely tapped the ball, and it skipped out of bounds at the 37-yard line, eight yards shy of where it needed to be for WSU to recover it. The Trojans had great field position to start the game, scored a touchdown five plays later, and the rout was on.

Players and coaches will come and go from Washington State University, but one thing remains the same at Cougars games from season to season: Butch the Cougar. This furry mascot is a constant at Cougars athletic events. For Butch, today's football game against No. 1 USC provides a little extra inspiration.

PULLMAN — When Michael Bumpus arrived on campus this summer, there was little doubt how excited his new Washington State teammates were to have him around. One teammate in particular had the welcome mat rolled out for the wide receiver — quarterback Josh Swogger. Bumpus arrived in Pullman in July to get a little early work in with the Cougars before training camp, and when he showed up, Swogger had vacated his bed for the freshman and slept on the couch. "I just tried to make him as comfortable as he could be at the house," said the 6-foot-5 Swogger, a team captain who is out for the season with an injury. "I told him everything that's mine is yours – let him stay and do what he needed to do to get comfortable and get adjusted."

PULLMAN – Getting ready to play the No. 1 team in college football, the USC Trojans? Here's a primer: The quarterback, Matt Leinart, entered the season as a Heisman Trophy favorite; a running back, Reggie Bush, is the most electric player in the country and could take that award for himself; the defensive tackles, Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, are probably the best tandem in America; and, for good measure, the punter, Tom Malone, was a 2003 All-American.