Jacob Thorpe

The uncertainty facing Washington State heading into its first game with a new quarterback, on the road, against a team that had more tangible goals at stake than the Cougars could have been enough to sink WSU.

PULLMAN – Washington State’s last two football games have gotten rolling when an opposing player fielded a punt deep in his own territory and finished the play in WSU’s end zone, putting the Cougars on their heels without the defense ever having a chance for the stop. “It’s been two plays and it’s just guys maybe trying to overcompensate, trying to do too much instead of just worrying about executing like they did in practice,” interim special teams coordinator Eric Mele said. “If they just focus on doing their job we’ll be in good shape.” The Cougars are the only team in the country to have three kickoffs returned for touchdowns against them. They are also the only team to have three punts returned for touchdowns by opponents.

Washington State’s last two games have gotten rolling when an opposing player fielded a punt deep in their own territory and finished the play in WSU’s end zone, putting the Cougars on their heels without the defense ever having a chance for the stop.

PULLMAN – Rahmel Dockery tried to make it work at Washington State. Recruited by a different coaching staff and asked to delay his enrollment, Dockery nearly quit the team after coach Mike Leach’s staff asked him to switch to defensive back from his preferred position of wide receiver. But he stuck with it, redshirted, and was working with the first-team defense at cornerback during 2013 spring practices. Still, he was never really on the same page with the coaching staff and the idea of becoming a full-time member of the WSU secondary.

Rahmel Dockery tried to make it work at Washington State. Recruited by a different coaching staff and asked to delay his enrollment, Dockery nearly quit the team after coach Mike Leach’s staff asked him to switch to defensive back from his preferred position of wide receiver.

PULLMAN – The fact Ernie Kent is even at Washington State means that he has a tall task ahead of him to make the Cougars a competitive team. If the team hadn’t sunk to a level where it barely reached double-digit wins, then his old friend, athletic director Bill Moos, would never have come calling, and Kent would still be watching WSU games as an analyst for the Pac-12 networks. But the losses piled up, Beasley Coliseum started to look like Beasley Mausoleum and Moos went out in search of a rainmaker, who could bring wins eventually and excitement and fans right now. Enter Kent, a coach whose top priority is to simply inject some confidence into a program that hasn’t finished higher than eighth in the conference since the 2010-2011 season.

PULLMAN – For the first time in 21 games, there was a new quarterback spokesman in front of the assembled media Saturday following Washington State’s 44-17 loss to USC. Luke Falk was pressed into action when Connor Halliday’s leg broke in the first quarter of that game and also assumed the duty of dragging his tired, beat-up body in front of the cameras to answer for the offense without time for a change of clothes, a shower, or to fix his hair.