Glenn Kasses

PULLMAN — Will Derting isn't the kind of player to tell you things are going better than they are, so he'll be the first to admit that this 2004 season hasn't been a great one for him. Switching from the strong-side linebacker to the middle in the off-season was supposed to be the greatest challenge for him this year, but instead it has just been one of a handful of things thrown his way that have made life a little more difficult.

They both took their best shots at USC and fell short. Now, California and Arizona State — the Pac-10's two ranked teams that aren't No. 1 — square off against one another. Both teams feature high-flying offenses, and not surprisingly, quarterback play that compares favorably to any other in the nation.

PULLMAN — Losing three games in a row is bad. Dropping them by an increasing margin from game to game is worse. Taking a realistic view of his team's 2004 season one day after a disappointing performance in a 38-19 loss at Oregon State, Cougars head coach Bill Doba admitted that this is the low point of the season thus far and also acknowledged the fact that there don't appear to be any easy answers.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Bill Doba didn't mince any words when describing the play of his defensive backs. "We dropped interceptions, let the guys run by us," the Washington State coach said. "We acted like we were in a fog in the secondary. They played poorly. If I knew why, I'd be the national coach of the year, I guess." The Cougars allowed Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson — who passed Erik Wilhelm for second place on the school's all-time passing list on Saturday — 212 passing yards by the half, when the deficit was already 21 points. WSU's pass defense has struggled as of late, allowing Oregon's Kellen Clemens, Stanford's Trent Edwards and Anderson to throw their way to victory in consecutive weeks.

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Alex Brink wasn't perfect. But if you ask his coaches, he wasn't the reason Washington State lost, either. "At times he did some real good things, at times he did some things that a freshman does," quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach said. "But he always kept his composure and stayed positive, and played tough. He made some plays, so that's a positive thing you can build on."

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Just three plays into Saturday's game, Washington State was in trouble. On a third-and-7, Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson lofted a pass down the left sideline, and wideout Mike Hass went over WSU's Karl Paymah to reel it in for 25 yards and a first down. From there, the Oregon State offense was rolling, and the Cougars were flattened on the Reser Stadium turf.

CALVIN ARMSTRONG could well be the best pro prospect of any senior on the Washington State roster this year. As of late, the left tackle is playing like it. Two weeks ago, Armstrong shut down Oregon's Devan Long and last week he turned in another solid effort against Stanford.

PULLMAN — Washington State University hasn't played a game in Reser Stadium since 2000, so for the younger Cougars this weekend will be a maiden voyage to Oregon State. Save for one, that is.

Not many opposing players make courtesy calls to the head coach of a conference foe, especially three weeks before a game. But then, the relationship between Oregon State linebacker Trent Bray and Washington State coach Bill Doba isn't exactly the norm in college football.

USC quarterback Matt Leinart was the recipient of most of the hype surrounding the defending national champions in preseason publications. Once the college football season kicked off, however, it became evident that he was handing off — quite literally — much of the publicity to a teammate.

PULLMAN — The Washington State University Cougars are more than halfway through the 2004 football regular season, and in many ways Tuesday marked the first day of a second season. With starting quarterback Josh Swogger sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken bone in his left foot, backup Alex Brink, a redshirt freshman, took over for the first time as WSU's starting quarterback. Brink will be charged with the responsibility of trying to lead WSU to at least three wins in the final five games, which would give the Cougars enough wins to qualify for a bowl game.

PULLMAN – Washington State quarterback Josh Swogger has a broken bone in his left foot that will require surgery, ending the sophomore's 2004 football season prematurely. X-rays and a CT scan taken Sunday night revealed a fracture in the navicular, a bone on the inside of the foot just inside the arch.

PULLMAN — Playing in close games has become a way of life for the Cougars this season. Unfortunately for them, they're also losing them right now. A week ago, Washington State led by 13 going into the fourth quarter against Oregon and lost by a field goal. This time around, they trailed Stanford 20-3 and made it close before falling 23-17 before a homecoming crowd of 34,963 in Martin Stadium.

PULLMAN - Washington State entered this season with basically zero returning contributors at wide receiver, and it was a priority early for quarterback Josh Swogger to find dependable pass-catchers. It hasn't taken long.

PULLMAN — Steve Cook was having a pretty big week as it was. Not only was he celebrating his 23rd birthday, but he was also days away from returning to the starting lineup for Washington State University's football team after missing three weeks with a sprained knee. But on his birthday, Oct. 6, Cook's big week turned into an unforgettable one. Out to dinner with his wife, Katie, Cook got a surprise much grander than anything that's happened on the football field: He was going to become a father.

Finding people to praise the talent of Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards has never been a problem — including those who haven't yet seen him play. "Even before I came here I had heard so much about Trent, and how great he was going to be and the expectations that everyone here had for him," recalls Cardinal wide receiver Evan Moore, who came to Stanford one year after Edwards. "He makes passes sometimes that's got some people at practice looking at each other like, 'Wow.'