Cougars tackled early problem

PULLMAN – Losing one defensive tackle in the first quarter to injury in the first quarter seemed intolerable. Losing two seemed unimaginable.

But that’s exactly what happened to Washington State in Saturday’s 34-23 win, as Ropati Pitoitua left the game with a right MCL sprain and Aaron Johnson followed him minutes later with a right elbow injury.

(X-rays later showed loose bone chips.)

With Feveae’i Ahmu already on the sidelines because of a broken foot, the Cougars were down to their Nos. 4 and 5 – the last two possibilities on the roster – in Bryan Tarkington and Matt Eichelberger.

“Tarkington goes in and Eichelberger, two kids that have been backups all year. They just played their guts out,” head coach Bill Doba said.

“I was in when Aaron got hurt, so I was like, ‘OK, Ropati’s coming back in’ ” Tarkington said. “Then I see ‘Pati go down and it was like, ‘OK, Ike’s going in.’ That means me and Ike have to step it up, and step it up three notches.”

Oregon apparently tried to take advantage, calling nine consecutive running plays on the series in which Johnson was injured and with Pitoitua on the sidelines.

But after a Jonathan Stewart fumble ended the drive – the Cougars responded with a touchdown drive to open the scoring – Oregon never again hammered the inexperienced middle of the WSU defense in the same manner.

Predictably, the Cougars used their 3-4 alignment for much of the latter stages of the game, largely to keep one of the two remaining interior linemen fresh on the sidelines.

Tarkington spent all of fall camp in street clothes waiting for academic clearance – “he couldn’t practice, but he could eat,” Doba said – and it’s taken him much of the season to get from about 340 pounds to his current 314.

Eichelberger, having gone through a similar slimming since his freshman year in 2004, has played little.

“You’ve just got to go with what works next,” said defensive coordinator Robb Akey, who indicated Pitoitua and Johnson could be out for extended periods of time. “If you panic, you’re in dire straits. That’s not a good thing.”

Red zone turns to green light

The Cougars rediscovered how to score points in the red zone after seven trips in the previous two games had yielded no touchdowns.

While not perfect inside the Oregon 20, the Cougars scored four touchdowns on six trips this week, a vast improvement.

“During the whole week, that’s been an emphasis of ours that worked out,” said wide receiver Jason Hill, who caught a 16-yard touchdown throw. “Over the weeks we’ve kind of pressed, and tonight we didn’t do that at all.”

WSU fumbled on its first possession in the red zone, squandering a golden opportunity after Oregon had fumbled the ball away on its 9-yard line.

Other than that, Washington State’s lone failure from close range came on a fourth-quarter miss from place-kicker Loren Langley on a 31-yard attempt.

“We were punching them in the mouth, and I don’t think they were really expecting that,” said running back Dwight Tardy, who finished with 145 yards on 20 carries.

“In the second half, we came out even stronger.”

Notes

Cornerback Tyron Brackenridge missed the end of the game because of a pulled hamstring. The Cougars’ top corner, Brackenridge has had chronic troubles with the other hamstring. He said he expects to be ready for next week’s game. … Right guard Andy Roof suffered a right heel bruise and missed most of the game. The East Valley High graduate was injured while chasing down Oregon’s Jarius Byrd on a return of a blocked first-quarter extra point. The Ducks didn’t score on the play, but Roof missed the rest of the game, with fellow sophomore Dan Rowlands filling in. … Senior safety Eric Frampton continued his standout season with a career-high 16 tackles. … Hill’s touchdown was the 31st of his career, but he said after the game that he’s playing at about 80 percent because of his shoulder sprain. The senior also said he probably should not have tried to play the week before against Cal. … Oregon’s Brady Leaf was a game captain for the Ducks even though he wasn’t expected to play coming in. Leaf and the Ducks benefited from what appeared to be another botched instant replay decision, as Leaf threw one pass from past the line of scrimmage. A replay review was declared inconclusive. … Charles Dillon started in place of Brandon Gibson at wide receiver for the Cougars. … Doba said backup quarterback Gary Rogers was available under center in addition to his holding duties despite a shoulder injury. “Could have played him … thankful we didn’t need him,” Doba said. … WSU tallied its lone sack late in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive week in which it has had just one after picking up a national-best 27 through six games.