Stanford at WSU
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday
The records: Stanford, 1-2, 0-1 Pac-10; WSU, 3-1, 0-1 Pac-10.
Last week: Stanford lost to Oregon 44-20; WSU lost at Oregon State 44-33.
Last time: Stanford beat WSU 23-17 in Pullman on Oct. 16, 2004.
What it means for WSU: The Cougars must regain a killer instinct this week after failing to put away an Oregon State team it dominated in the first half Saturday. Stanford is shaping up to be one of the conference’s cellar dwellers, and with tougher games looming on the schedule, this Pac-10 home opener becomes a must-win in many ways for WSU. While wide receiver Jason Hill appears likely to be able to play after bruising a quadriceps, middle linebacker Will Derting will be out 2-4 weeks with a knee sprain (his X-rays revealed no bone damage) and cornerback Alex Teems might also be out with a shoulder sprain. The Cougars will have to prove this week they can be effective defensively without them. And offensively, they must take care of the football better than they did in a five-turnover second half against the Beavers.
What it means for Stanford: Much as the Cougars are looking to this week as a get-well opportunity, the Cardinal are thinking along the same lines after struggling mightily thus far. Home losses to I-AA UC-Davis and Oregon have Stanford reeling. First-year head coach Walt Harris needs to see an improved effort this week as a three-game stretch against Arizona State, UCLA and USC begins later this month. The Cardinal’s only win was a nailbiter on the road against rebuilding Navy, so this is a squad desperately looking to prove it can play with a conference opponent.
Stanford’s best: Harris is in his first year at Stanford after leading Pittsburgh to a Big East title and the Fiesta Bowl last season. … Special teams play, a bugaboo for WSU last week at Oregon State, has been a Stanford strength. Kick returner T.J. Rushing is averaging 33.6 yards a runback, fifth-best in the nation. The Cardinal has scored three touchdowns on defense and special teams. Inside linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann is tied for third in the conference with 10 tackles a game. … Quarterback Trent Edwards, injured against UC-Davis, was able to play against Oregon and may have found a new go-to wideout in Mark Bradford, whose seven catches for 110 yards accounted for half of the Stanford total offense.
The numbers: Stanford is last in the Pac-10 in total offense and total defense. … Despite the third-quarter injury last week, Jason Hill is second in the nation in receiving yards with better than 130 a game. Five of the top eight wideouts in the country in that category come from the Pac-10. … The Cougars are minus-4 in turnovers with seven takeaways to 11 giveaways. Last season WSU was minus-1 in that department for the season.
Glenn Kasses, Staff writer