Starting As Champions Cougars Debut With Scant Time To Cherish Pac-10 Championship

Mike Price might let them cherish it for a second.

OK, maybe two.

But that’s it. That’s all the 1998 Washington State Cougars get to bask in the glory of being the first-ever WSU team to enter Martin Stadium as defending Pac-10 champions.

“That trophy up there … it doesn’t score any points for you,” said the coach.

No, it doesn’t. And the problem is everybody is wondering who is going to score points in today’s season opener between the Cougars and Illinois.

One team (WSU) has got two offensive starters returning with only three touchdowns between them (two from tight end Love Jefferson and one from lineman Rob Rainville who recovered a fumble in the end zone in the Apple Cup). The backups, this season’s starters, for the Cougars only accounted for 13 of last season’s 62 scores.

The Fighting Illini, on the other hand, return seven from an offense that fell lower than Joe Paterno’s white socks in the Big Ten. Illinois, which is mired in a 17-game losing streak, was last in total offense and scoring offense.

Let the struggle begin.

“I felt like I knew more about last year’s team,” said Price. “I had a hunch we would be a pretty good team. Of course, it’s easy to say now.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with this team,” he added. “It’s going to be a game with surprises and at this point I just don’t know if they are going to be good or bad.”

One of the biggest surprises for the Cougars might be who is going to be on the receiving end of starting quarterback Steve Birnbaum’s passes.

Senior Nian Taylor and junior college transfer Leaford Hackett will be the first and second options, but behind that duo questions linger.

Freshmen Jason White and Adam Davis were steadily rising up the depth chart but both have fallen off in the last week due to health problems. Both are now healthy, but have not been sterling in practice.

Junior Alexis Rodopoulos, a projected starter coming out of spring ball, was suspended from the team for missing practice.

And junior college transfer Jerry Roquemore is behind after being unable to practice until Aug. 24 because of transcript problems.

This leaves Troy Woody, a walk-on junior who has never caught a pass for the Cougars, and walk-on senior Matt Shaw, who had one catch last year for 5 yards.

“It’s a concern,” said Price. “(But) we’re not going to give up the pass.

“The only option play we will run is with our receivers.”

The Cougars toyed with bringing Lamont Thompson, the starting free safety, over to offense for a couple of plays. But Thompson was slowed by an injury in the preseason and Price decided the first game of the season was not the time to throw a bunch of new plays at the sophomore.

The Illinois offensive outlook might not be much better. For the Fighting Illini, the top concern is at quarterback not wide receiver.

Senior Mark Hoekstra, who had two interceptions and a fumble in the Cougars’ 35-22 win last year, will be battling the demons of last season.

He was pulled as a starter after the WSU game, returned to play in the last three games of the season and now is vastly improved according to his teammates.

“He may be the most improved player on the team,” said running back Steve Havard, who’s replacing Illinois all-time leading rusher Robert Holcombe.

Notes

The Fighting Illini found out just how difficult it is to get to Pullman on Friday. First the team was unable to fly out of Champaign-Urbana, Ill., because of runway problems. Instead they were bused to Decatur, Ill., which is about an hour away. After the flight into Lewiston, the team was unable to make its scheduled 4 p.m. practice at Martin Stadium because of bus problems. The Illini went through their walk-through at 7:45 p.m.

Mike Price was as surprised as anyone when the subject of 100 wins came up.

“If we win Saturday, it’ll be my 100th win?” he questioned. “I hadn’t even thought about it. Maybe my wife will bake me a cake or something.”

Price is 99-93 in 17 years as a head coach at Weber State and WSU… . The teams will observe a moment of silence at the start of the game to remember their fallen teammates. The Cougars lost Leon Bender to a neurological disorder. Illinois has had to overcome the suicide of Steve Willis.

For Price, the memory of Bender will be a constant through the season. “I feel like this team is blessed. This team has an angel watching over it … Leon Bender.”

WSU athletic director Rick Dickson’s mission to beef up the non-conference home schedule with more top teams has finally started to become a reality. Today’s contest will mark the first time a Big 10 team has visited Pullman. Pittsburgh is on the home schedule for 2000 and Colorado in 2001.

“That’s the way you build a program,” said Price. “This is the first chance we’ve had to bring someone in like this and by God, we’re not going to blow it.”

It is estimated 30,000 will be in attendance.