Injuries continue to mount for Cougs
PULLMAN – First it was the offensive line. Then, the defensive line. Then, the kicking game.
And now, in perhaps the cruelest twist yet, the wide receivers.
Injuries and Cougars have been synonymous this season, but never before had WSU lost a pair of stars as it did in the second quarter, when Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus suffered high ankle sprains in the second quarter that kept them off the field for the rest of the game – and could do so for the last two games of the regular season, too.
“Anywhere from two weeks to three weeks. It’s hard to tell,” head coach Bill Doba said.
The Cougars managed to score one of their two touchdowns Saturday in the third quarter without Hill and Bumpus, but if they are forced to play without them in the long term it will surely have a dramatic effect on what is possible offensively.
Coming into Saturday’s games, Bumpus led the Pac-10 with 55 receptions and Hill was second in the league with seven touchdown receptions.
“It’s hard to replace an All-American, really, two All-Americans,” wideout Brandon Gibson said. “Bump’s an amazing wide receiver and so is Jason. He’s such a deep threat.”
Bumpus didn’t catch a pass and was injured while returning a punt, while Hill ended his day with two catches for 21 yards. It’s unclear whether Hill injured his ankle on a crossing pattern over the middle or when he slipped on a hitch route.
Either way, the Cougars were forced to use combinations of receivers that would have seemed laughable just hours earlier.
Gibson became the team’s primary receiver, and Chris Jordan, playing for the first time this Pac-10 season after returning from a knee injury, played far more than expected because he was one of the only options to assume Bumpus’ usual duties in the slot.
Jordan’s knee apparently swelled up after the game, but he appeared to make it through the contest without suffering any additional damage.
Charles Dillon ended up playing much of the game as well, and even little-used Scott Selby saw some time with the first-team offense. During the course of the game, Dillon appeared to suffer a leg and a wrist injury, but he continued to play.
“You turn around and you only have so many guys who can play the slotback spot,” offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Levenseller said. “I was trying to just figure out a way.”
Quarterback Alex Brink still managed to throw for 265 yards and a touchdown, but he and the Cougar passing game were nowhere near as effective as they had been recently, and both players and coaches didn’t seem willing to disregard the injuries as a possible reason for the problems.
“When you lose two of the best receivers in the Pac-10,” Brink said, “you’re going to have trouble spreading the ball around enough to move the ball effectively.”