Cougars Can’T Get No Satisfaction Coach, Players Feel Unfulfilled Despite WSU’S Perfect Record

It’s Sunday night. Mike Price has just wrapped up his television show in Martin Stadium.

Next on the agenda is a conference call with more media.

But first on the priority list is trying to get out of the stadium. You see, Price, coach of the 3-0 Washington State Cougars, is locked in.

Maybe those no-respect, Rodney Dangerfield lines the coach has been pulling out all these years have some validity to them. Even in his own backyard.

After all, the Cougars are undefeated, but everyone - coaches and players included - don’t seem to believe this team is playing like a 3-0 squad.

“I’m just not as happy as I should be,” said Price.

“It’s supposed to feel better.

“I guess we’re a little bit disappointed we didn’t play better.”

But the Cougars have played good enough to win. Some are finding optimism in that.

“The most important thing is to win, which we’ve done,” said WSU linebacker James Price. “When it comes to it, we’re going to step up and play to our potential.”

“This kind of turns out well,” added Steve Gleason, about the close, 24-16 win over Idaho on Saturday. “Because if they would not have driven down the field in the last quarter, maybe we would have let up against Cal and come in a little bit overconfident.”

Well, there’s probably no chance of that. Especially not after the coaches received the medical reports.

Gary Holmes, the only senior on the defensive line, will be out at least two weeks with a severe right ankle sprain he suffered in Saturday’s game. That puts the total of defensive linemen lost since spring at eight.

“It’s just amazing,” said Price. “Eight guys. We need to do an investigative report and find out about the black hole in Pullman that the defensive linemen have slipped into.”

“You can rally together when you lose somebody like that or you can split apart,” added Gleason. “We rallied together.”

And they rallied around freshman Joey Hollenbeck. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Enumclaw product, took Holmes’ place, had four tackles, three for losses and a blocked extra point.

“You could dip Joey’s head in a bucket of manure and you couldn’t get the smile off his face,” said Price.

That smile may turn to concern this week. Hollenbeck could be the first true freshman to start on the defensive line for Price when the Cougars visit Cal (2-1).

The coaching staff has not decided whether they will use Hollenbeck as a starter or bring in 6-3, 246-pound Austin Matson or 6-3, 260-pound Jesse Ratcliff. Ratcliff started for Holmes the first week against Illinois. Mark Hedeen, another freshman, is likely to see playing time on the defensive line against Cal.

“We still have some guys that are tough and aggressive that will fight you tooth and nail,” said Price. “Whether they are big-time defensive linemen like we had last year I don’t know.”

On the other side of the ball, the offensive line, which has struggled through injuries to starter Mike Sage and backup Ryan Raymond, is starting to get healthy.

Sage, who sprained his knee in the opener, played against Idaho and was able to do his running on Sunday. Raymond, who has been out all season with a bruised nerve in his shin, might be ready for action against Cal, Price said.

With the offensive line in a state of flux since the first game, the Cougars running game has suffered. The Cougars had 113 yards against the Vandals and 106 against Boise State after opening the season with a 161-yard performance against Illinois.

“We might be a little bit better than we were last week,” said Price. “But they have got to continue to improve and play better. “The defensive line for Idaho got after us a little bit,” he added. “We messed up in our assignments.”

That has led to misfiring in the red zone and less offensive production than Price would like.

“We’re not where we’d like to be,” he said. “We’re just not executing. The plays are there and were just not getting them done. “We’re not going to quit practicing.”