Cougs Need More Pop In Red Zone

Mike Price sat in his office Tuesday morning working on changes.

The Washington State football coach had watched and re-watched the film from the season-opening win against Illinois and was concerned.

Not with the entire thing, just one area - inside the 20-yard line.

“It’s definitely a concern for me,” he said. “We had a great plan for the last two years and we were really effective in the red zone (20 and in) and the crimson zone (10 to 3) and the goal line.

“But we’re going to have to change what that plan looks like,” he continued. “We’re not the same type of team and don’t have the same type of personnel.

“It used to be we could just lob it up into the corner and let someone like CJ (Chris Jackson) go get it,” said quarterback Steve Birnbaum. “We can still do that, but that might not be what we do the best down there.”

The Cougars got inside the Illini 20 three times Saturday and wound up with a missed field goal, a touchdown and a field goal. The field goal came after the Cougars moved the ball 80 yards in 13 plays. WSU’s drive stalled at the Illini 6 following two Kevin Brown running plays and a 4-yard pass from Birnbaum to Love Jefferson.

“We had some times down there where we could have put it in and didn’t do it,” said Birnbaum, who had a miscommunication with Brown on a play inside at the Illini 10 that led to a 2-yard loss on second-and-10. “So we’re just trying to get not too creative or anything, just make different schemes and get it in there.

“Later in the season, we can’t afford to get down there and not get the ball in.”

The new scheme inside the red zone could utilize a wider variety of players such as DeJuan Gilmore and Brown on inside handoffs.

“But we may spread them (the receivers) out more than we did last year,” said Birnbaum.

“Ten-yard-line to 3-yard-line is an area that we have to do great in and we will,” added Price.

One player who did great in the balloting for Pac-10 player of the week honors was WSU punter Kareem Anderson.

Anderson, a 6-foot, 199-pound junior, averaged 47.6 yards on five punts to win the award this week. But while his net punting average led the Pac-10, it was his hands and leaping ability that secured the honor.

Anderson was forced to gather in four high snaps and one that went to his side. Another snap sailed over his head, but the junior college transfer ran inside the WSU 10, collected the ball and managed get the ball back to the 44. The Illini were then held to just a field goal.

Washington quarterback Brock Huard and USC cornerback Antuan Simmons earned the Pac-10 offensive and defensive player of the week honors, respectively.

Huard, a junior from Puyallup, Wash., led his team to a 42-38 upset victory at Arizona State, completing 27 of 47 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns, including a game-winning, 63-yard pass play to Reggie Davis with 28 seconds left in the game.

Simmons, a sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., keyed the Trojans defense in an opening-game victory over Purdue. Simmons recorded nine tackles, blocked a field goal, forced a fumble that set up the team’s final touchdown and intercepted a pass to seal the victory.

Huard’s heroics finally had Huskies coach Jim Lambright, who has had to deal with injuries and inexperience throughout the preseason, in an upbeat mood.

“It was a great flight home,” Lambright said in his weekly news conference. “When you win a game like that, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

Over in Tempe, questions centered on Arizona State’s suspect pass defense. Heisman hopeful J.R. Redmond, who was supposed to play as many as five positions this year for the Sun Devils, never saw action on defense, even after coach Bruce Snyder admitted his team was thin in the secondary.

Snyder said he had debated putting Redmond in on defense in the third quarter but felt his defense was improving as play went on.

It was just the third time in 13 seasons the Sun Devils have started the season with a loss.

For the Huskies, the 38 points was the most ever given up in a win.

The trash talk has already started in Texas. Longhorn defensive end Aaron Humphrey declared, “Cade is a dead man” in a recent Texas publication.

Just a reminder: Texas lost by 63 points to the Bruins last season and returns most of the defense that played in the Memorial Stadium massacre. Cade McNown threw five touchdown passes in that game.

Humphrey plays left end, meaning he’ll face UCLA right tackle Brian Polak and reserve James Ghezzi.

Oregon’s Reuben Droughns’ debut against Michigan Sate put him atop the Pac-10 rushing leaders after week one. Droughns rushed for 202 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Ducks’ 48-14 whipping of No. 23 Michigan State. He gained 9 or more yards on eight of his 17 rushing attempts and averaged 11.9 yards per carry.

Oregon State’s Ken Simonton became the first Beavers freshman to rush for 100 yards in his first game. The running back had 121 yards and two touchdowns in the Beavers’ 48-6 win over Nevada.

Washington has the week off after it’s upset win over ASU. That doesn’t bode well for BYU. The Huskies are 8-1 following bye weeks in the last nine years.

California plays host to defending co-national champion Nebraska this week. The last time the Golden Bears hosted a national champ was 1990 when they lost to Miami 52-24.