WSU wants to finish what it starts

PULLMAN – The Cougars could build a four-touchdown lead in three quarters Saturday at California and they know the questions will still be there.

After blowing a 14-point halftime lead at Oregon State and a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to UCLA in the span of three weeks, Washington State University is well aware that late-game jitters have been and still are a problem.

That’s why WSU has to be almost as concerned about keeping a lead as it does about getting one.

“We are coming close,” head coach Bill Doba said. “It’s just that when we get to the fourth quarter, we’re all looking up at the clock and going, ‘Ohhhh boy.’ And that’s the thing we need to guard against.”

It’s been suggested that conditioning or in-game adjustments are to blame for the fourth-quarter woes, but coaches and players have shunned both possibilities. Instead, they say it’s become a simple psychological hurdle – one they know needs to disappear soon before their current 3-3 record looks much worse.

“It’s completely a mental thing,” tight end and co-captain Troy Bienemann said. “Sure, they’re making adjustments, the other team, but we’re making adjustments at the same time. And it’s really just comes down to what we do and what we don’t do.”

Last week against UCLA, Doba said he and his offensive coaches bandied about the possibility of slowing down play to try and milk the clock. But the head coach insists his team plays better at a faster tempo, such as the one he tries to maintain in practices.

As a result, should the Cougars manage to get another second-half lead this week, the head coach is telling his team to see the opportunity for a blowout, not a collapse.

“We have a 17-point lead going into that fourth quarter and we should think, ‘I hope that clock runs slow so we can get it to a 24-point lead or a 31-point lead,’ ” Doba said. “And instead we’re saying, ‘Oh boy, let’s hurry up that clock so we can get out of here with a win.’ “

Hill appears in fine form

Fair or not, the offensive formula for the Cougars has been simple this season: When Jason Hill plays, they score; when he doesn’t, they don’t.

So it’s been a welcome sight for WSU to see him practicing two days already this week after playing against UCLA. The junior wide receiver had missed the week before because of a quadriceps injury.

“There’s a confidence level that I bring to our receivers and to our offense,” Hill said. “I kind of wake up the huddle, so to speak, when I’m on the field.”

This week will be a homecoming of sorts for Hill, who grew up in San Francisco but was never offered a scholarship by Cal. That’s looking like a big mistake as the speedster has 586 yards and eight touchdowns this season already.

Hill has acknowledged before that the NFL is a major goal of his, but said this week that any decision about leaving early for the draft would come in the off-season.

“I definitely have more strides and more steps to take,” he said.

Notes

As expected, defensive tackle Ropati Pitoitua took the day off to rest after playing his first game of the season against UCLA. … Defensive end Adam West is back in practice this week and will make the trip and play on special teams this week. West, a senior, sustained a concussion in the second game of the season and has been out since. … Head coach Bill Doba said he has talked to former head coach Mike Price since the current UTEP coach reached a settlement with Time, Inc., over a Sports Illustrated story on the recruiting trip that led to Price’s Alabama dismissal. “I have talked to him,” Doba said. “He didn’t tell me how much. He didn’t tell me anything, put it that way. I said, ‘How much? What happened?’ He said, ‘No comment.’ “