Cougars Finally Deliver Knockout Punch
In Washington State’s season-opening victories against UCLA, USC and Illinois, the Cougars showed flashes of dominance.
In Saturday’s 58-0 thrashing of Boise State, the 15th-ranked Cougars finally proved they can finish a foe. For that, coach Mike Price was ecstatic.
“I think we killed their will, killed their spirit,” WSU’s ninth-year coach said. “We didn’t give them an opportunity to stay in the game, and that’s something that we haven’t done in our first three games.
“We just haven’t had that killer instinct - get the guy down and go for the jugular and really punish him and knock him out and don’t let him up again and jump on top of him.”
At this juncture, Price was practically foaming at the mouth. He was then asked if Saturday’s victory compared with any of his other dominating wins.
“When I was the head football coach and the athletic director at Weber State (1981-88), we used to SEARCH for (easy) opponents that we could schedule,” Price recalled. “Teams you never heard of - and we still couldn’t beat them like this.
“We scheduled guys nobody ever heard of - directions. Southwest. No ‘State,’ no nothing. Just Southwest.
“North. And we couldn’t beat them like this.”
That’s not to discount Boise State completely. Price noted the Broncos’ offensive line, which included several 300-pounders, in addition to their talented receiver, Rodney Smith.
As Leaf reminded, “That’s the same team that took Wisconsin down to the last few seconds, so they’re a good ballclub. We just broke their will and they didn’t want to play any more.”
Price gets tough on penalties
The Cougars continued to struggle with penalties, committing 11 more against Boise State. That number was down from last week’s 17-flag ensemble vs. Illinois, but it was still a high number.
Price was strict in addressing the problem. Each time a player was flagged, Price removed the player from the game for the rest of that series.
Offensive lineman Rob Rainville picked up a personal-foul penalty on the game’s third play. In came Jon Ottenbreit.
Two plays later, defensive tackle Leon Bender jumped offsides. In came Taeao Salausa. Nine series later, Bender was whistled again.
Whoa, it’s Todd
WSU offensive lineman Cory Withrow played with Boise State kicker Todd Belcastro when both were students at Mead High School.
Withrow wasn’t at all amused by his former teammate’s pregame comments, in which Belcastro vowed to exact revenge on Price for not recruiting him to WSU.
Withrow said he avoided Belcastro after the game.
“Even though I went to high school with him, he bagged on my (WSU) family,” Withrow said. “For doing that, I didn’t want to have any part of what he’s doing.
“That quote went out and it kind of irritated us,” Withrow added. “We’re 3-0 (coming in) and we still don’t have any respect. So what we want to do is get some respect around the nation. When you have a kicker talking trash about the Cougs and their head coach, that’s not a lot of respect.”
Facing the music
Saturday’s game was so one-sided that Boise State’s band was seen leaving Martin Stadium with 12:51 left in the third quarter. The band usually plays the school fight song after BSU touchdowns, or so the rumor goes.
Birnbaum makes most of chance
As reporters huddled around starter Ryan Leaf in the postgame interview room, a WSU official heralded the arrival of backup quarterback Steve Birnbaum, who played well in his first extensive playing time of the season.
As several reporters turned to interview Birnbaum, Leaf took notice.
“Who’s here? Birnbaum?” Leaf yelled in jest, unable to see his friend through a sea of reporters. “You getting more press than me now, dog?”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo