Mike Price refused again Tuesday to announce one of the most intriquing - if not most important - decisions of his Washington State coaching career.
And if everything goes as planned, he might never be forced to go public with his planned quarterback rotation for Saturday's 12:30 p.m. Apple Cup showdown against arch-rival Washington in Husky Stadium.
WSU football seniors: front row, from left: Kearney Adams, Jay Dumas, Brian Walker. Middle row: Jeff Thomas, Greg Burns, Frank Madu, Chris Hayes. Back row: Eric Moore, Shawn Deeds, George Martin, Marc McCloskey, John Scukanec, Dwayne Sanders. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review
Mike Price has to feel like he's passed this way before.
It's Apple Cup Week and unless Washington State's coach reneges on last week's decision to bench junior Chad Davis for the rest of the season, he has only one scholarship quarterback he can realistically throw at arch-rival Washington in Saturday's annual 12:30 p.m. showdown in Seattle.
Washington State running back Frank Madu outruns Stanford defense to pick up yardage, though he would eventually leave the game with an injury. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review
Overconfidence should not be a problem for Washington State when it opens its men's basketball season for real Nov. 24 against Gonzaga in the Spokane Arena.
Not unless the Cougars are cursed with memories so short they can't recall their struggles during Friday night's 88-75 exhibition win over the badly out-manned High Five America Patriots.
Washington State football fans who have been critical of the predictability and conservative nature of the Cougars' offense the past two seasons, might not like what they see in Martin Stadium this afternoon.
With starting quarterback Chad Davis benched after 21 consecutive starts because of a bad attitude, coach Mike Price is expected to keep things simpler than normal against Stanford.
1. For one of the few times in his career, quarterback Shawn Deeds will have a hand in the action when Washington State plays Stanford. File/The Spokesman-Review
2. Deeds
3. Coach Mike Price, right, has been one of Shawn Deeds' biggest followers. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review
Washington State coach Mike Price has named fifth-year senior Shawn Deeds his starting quarterback for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. home finale against Stanford.
But the game will probably be Ryan Leaf's to win or lose.
Coach Mike Price turns to Ryan Leaf, left, and Shawn Deeds (15) after benching Chad Davis for the season. Price has not named a starter. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review
Mike Price seemed in no hurry Sunday to sift through the rubble or deal with the pending aftershocks of Saturday's 27-11 road loss to California.
The Washington State coach, after viewing video of his team's fourth consecutive loss, said he would prefer to sleep on the shaky situation surrounding his slumping team a bit longer.
But chances are, none of the nasty problems Price must eventually face - including a potentially explosive quarterback controversy - are going to go away any time soon.
Perhaps the best thing to come out of Washington State's 27-11 loss to California Saturday - at least as far as WSU fans were concerned was the school's release of details on the close-circuit telecast of the Cougars' Nov. 18 Apple Cup game against Washington.
In a statement issued just before the start of the Cal game, athletic director Rick Dickson announced that WSU has been granted a waiver by the NCAA to provide closed-circuit television coverage of the game and send the signal back to Pullman and the university's branch campuses in Spokane, Vancouver and the Tri-Cities.
California defenders Dante DePaola, left, and Jihad Akbar treat Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf to a sandwich on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Associated Press
Washington State linebacker James Darling apologized publicly to his family, friends and teammates Tuesday, saying he was hurt and embarrassed by a recent drunk-driving incident that caused him to miss Saturday's 24-14 loss to Arizona.
Darling, the Cougars' leading tackler and defensive signal-caller, was suspended from all football-related activities for one week last Monday after rolling his Jeep and being charged with driving under the influence.
Personnel changes on Washington State's slumping football team will be discussed this week, Cougar coach Mike Price admitted Sunday.
But quarterback Chad Davis, who was booed heartily late in Saturday night's 24-14 Dads' Day loss to Arizona, will not be among the topics of conversation.
Price was adamant about that fact during his weekly teleconference with members of the media, claiming there is no anti-Davis sentiment building among his players or anyone else involved with his program.
After 27 consecutive starts, Dan White was asked to step aside last weekend and let little-used sophomore Brady Batten see if he could smooth the sputter in Arizona's offense.
The demotion offered an ideal opportunity for White, a fifth-year senior quarterback, to create a scene.
He could have strapped on a big-time pout. He could have gone public with cries of indignation and bad-mouthed coach Dick Tomey for his decision. He could have become an immensely divisive factor on a team already riddled with doubt over a disappointing 3-4 start.
Washington State middle linebacker James Darling has been suspended for Saturday's Pacific-10 Conference football game against Arizona after being charged with driving under the influence in the wake of a one-car rollover accident early Monday morning.
Darling, the Cougars' leading tackler, was returning from a hockey game in Spokane when he rolled his vehicle just outside of Pullman, WSU coach Mike Price said Monday afternoon.
The 6-foot-1, 245-pound junior from Kettle Falls was treated for minor injuries at the scene but was not hospitalized, according to Pullman police.
