Jacob Thorpe

Kickoff time set for WSU at OSU

PULLMAN – During the crucial periods of Washington State’s 59-37 loss to Arizona on Saturday – the beginning of the first quarter when the game was still in doubt and early in the third quarter when uncertainty briefly resurfaced – the Cougars locked up. Mike Leach said the team wasn’t suffering from a lack of focus or the effort issues that have afflicted the program in the past. Rather, the Cougars might just need to chill out.

PULLMAN – Three Washington State players made their first career starts on Saturday and two more made their collegiate debuts. Of those five players, four were on the defensive side against a team ranked No. 4 in total offense heading into the weekend. The Cougars have been young on defense all season, typically starting three freshmen and a sophomore in the secondary. But against Arizona the Cougars’ youth movement was taken to another level. Redshirt freshman linebacker Peyton Pelluer started at ‘Mike’ LB for the Cougars, with true freshman Pat Porter starting at cornerback in place of Charleston White, who was injured two weeks ago against Stanford. Defensive backs Willie Roach and Kevin Griffin also made their collegiate debuts. The inexperience likely contributed to the success of Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon, who completed 26 of 38 passes for 294 yards and five touchdowns.

PULLMAN – For anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if one of college football’s best offenses matched up against the backups of a banged-up defense Saturday’s game must have been an enlightening experience. And experience is about the only positive the Cougars can draw from a 59-37 loss that was competitive right up until an Arizona player touched the football.

PULLMAN – It’s a good thing the Cougars are about to play their earliest game of the season – Washington State and Arizona will need the extra time just to fit in all that offense. Two of the game’s most up-tempo offenses will try and pack as many plays as possible into four quarters of football today. The Wildcats average 87.8 offensive plays per game.

SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe they didn’t see the USA Today poll of college basketball coaches that ranked Arizona No. 2 and no other Pac-12 school, or maybe they didn’t get the collusion memo. Perhaps, as posited by former USC coach Kevin O’Neil, they were simply “drunk that day.”