WSU’s skid must come to skidding halt
BERKELEY, Calif. – Perhaps it’s unfair to call today’s game the last gasp for Washington State University. Maybe it underestimates the Cougars, or overestimates the remaining opponents.
But probably not.
Few if any would have guessed that the 2005 season, with its bowl hopes and its 3-0 start, would come down to a must-win situation so quickly, but in the seventh game even head coach Bill Doba admits that tonight’s 7:15 p.m. game at California is just that.
“We need to win pretty quick,” said Doba, whose team has fallen to 3-3 by losing all three Pacific-10 Conference games.
The going doesn’t get any easier as a trip to No. 1 USC looms next week, and the head coach can’t help but look ahead knowingly at the consequences of a loss today.
“We’ve got a tough game coming up after this one and you’ve got to get that skid stopped somewhere,” he said. “And after that you’ve got Arizona State. We’ve been close. We’ve been close three times, but you’ve got to get over the hump. I think this is a real important game for us.”
Unfortunately for WSU, an easy game does not lie ahead under the lights at Memorial Stadium. The Golden Bears are on a two-game losing streak, having lost to Oregon State last week with a shoddy performance.
So there’s little doubt that Cal will come out of the gate ready to get back in the win column, forcing the Cougars to be similarly ready from the opening kickoff.
“I’m sure they’re frustrated and want to kind of redeem themselves,” Doba said. “They started with a lot of high ratings.”
The Bears are still No. 25 in the country despite the back-to-back losses. (They had been 5-0 before the last two games.)
Cal features the Pac-10’s best defense and an offense that has traditionally been capable of scoring points in bunches. To beat the Bears, the Cougars will need to find big-play opportunities – and then convert on them. The former has been there in 2005. The latter, to say the least, has not.
“If we just see opportunities and make the plays when it’s provided to us … throughout the season, opportunities to intercept the ball or to pick something up (have been there),” WSU defensive coordinator Robb Akey said. “I think it can happen right now, I really do. I think it could have happened at any point in time. But that’s kind of where we need to be.”
As Doba said, they need to be there starting right now.
Notes
As head coach Bill Doba had suggested earlier in the week, middle linebacker Will Derting made the trip to California and will be on the sidelines for moral support. The team captain will be out until at least next week with a knee injury, but Doba felt his presence was enough to warrant one of the 64 travel slots. … Wide receiver Chris Jordan had a better week of practice as he fights knee and hip flexor injuries. But even if he starts, expect to see freshman Brandon Gibson and senior Trandon Harvey get more playing time than they had early in the season. … Running back Kevin McCall injured an ankle in practice this week and couldn’t make the trip. As a result, freshman Dwight Tardy is on the travel squad, but WSU is still hoping to redshirt the Texas native. … The late kickoff today means the Cougars will have plenty of time to kill. Doba said his players will be allowed to sleep in this morning after a Friday night walk-through. Sunday’s wrap-up meeting in Pullman will also be delayed because the team won’t get home until early morning.