Gesser, Cougars Get Wake-Up Call After Sleepwalking Through Opener Cougars At Utes
Jason Gesser said it was like he was in a dream.
He’d never been in this place before. Nothing was in his control. The plays were unfamiliar. His actions unknown. And there was nothing he could do to change it.
That dream turned into a nightmare for the Washington State University quarterback in the football season opener. With the offensive reins in his hands, the team sputtered in a 24-10 loss to Stanford.
“I was as shocked as the whole stadium, this whole university, this whole town,” said Gesser, who rallied to finish 20 of 36 passing for 161 yards. “I’ve never played like that. Never.”
It was his first loss since playing junior varsity football. Gesser would be the first to tell you he played like he was on the junior varsity team. The sophomore showed little leadership ability, something he has been touted for throughout his tenure at WSU. And he showed even less play-making ability.
Instead Gesser was operating outside the framework of the offense, making bad deci- sions and scrambling before the plays devel- oped.
“I didn’t know how to handle it,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect.”
Nobody expected what they saw. Washington State had 52 yards of offense in the first half. It finished with a paltry 252 yards against a defense that ranked 110th out of 115 Division I teams last season.
To top it off, only once last year did the Cougs compile less than 300 yards on offense, and that was in the rain-soaked Apple Cup.
“I was more shell-shocked than anything,” said Adam Hawkins, a senior captain. “I had everyone coming over to the house ready for a party (after the game). I was just sure we were going to win.
“We have a good football team, and it didn’t happen. It’s so disappointing. Especially when you walk off the field and you look at those fans who counted on us,” he continued. “We didn’t get up at 6 in the morning, run and puke our brains out to come out here and have that kind of performance.”
Now Gesser, Hawkins and the rest of the Cougars are doing what they can to make sure there is not a repeat performance against Utah next Saturday.
The Cougars have practiced this week with a sense of urgency. The hits have been a little harder. The passes are more crisp. The wind sprints at the end of each day are a little longer.
But what it so perplexing to many involved in Cougars football is that the team had three good weeks of practice before the Stanford game. Certainly it was the best fall camp in the past three years.
Wide receiver Milton Wynn had been catching anything thrown his way. Gesser was going through his reads nicely, checking off when he needed to and making the right throws. Running back Deon Burnett was actually hitting the holes when they were there and looked quicker and better than he did his freshman year.
The offense, unlike past falls and springs, was moving the ball on the defense. Heck, in one scrimmage it had 571 yards against the defense.
The team practiced in the stadium. They practiced under the lights. They even practiced coming through the tunnel with the band playing the fight song.
“We prepared nine months for that foot ball game,” said Hawkins.
Still Wynn dropped passes. Gesser made bad decisions. Burnett didn’t hit the holes.
“I learned from it,” Gesser said. “I took that learning experience and put it in my pocket and take it out when I need it.”
This week, he is also learning what it takes to be a leader. Gesser is the Cougars’ first sophomore team captain. And WSU coach Mike Price said now is the time for him to assert himself and prove that he deserved to be voted a captain. Gesser agreed.
“I’m working every day to get these guys under my wings and help our whole team,” he said. “I’m trying as hard as I can to make us show up. And I’m expecting to show up and I hope everybody else is expecting to show up.”
“We still have 10 games left. Ten games is a lot of games,” added Hawkins. “Now it’s time for us to suck it up and be men and show the rest of the nation that Cougars football is back.”