Focus turns serious for Cougars

As Washington State head football coach Bill Doba was addressing the media after the Cougars’ 47-14 loss Saturday night, the lights in the interview tent went out.

“This is the end,” Doba said, eliciting laughter from the plunged-into-darkness group. “This is fitting for the night.”

Even without the lights it was clear to see the USC game marked the end, all right. It marked the end of four early season games that played out like the preseason guessers said they would: two losses against ranked opponents (USC and Wisconsin) and two wins over inferior opponents (San Diego State and Idaho).

Now the season turns serious.

If the Cougars are serious about a bowl berth.

To get there, WSU must win seven games (under the rules only six are actually required, but you saw how far the Cougs got with a 6-6 record last season).

The Cougars have two they expected. The other anticipated in-the-win-column contest, Stanford at home Nov. 10, doesn’t look so easy anymore. But even if the Cardinal turn out to be the pushovers prognosticators predicted prior to the season, there still is the matter of four other victories.

And as tough as the Pac-10 looks right now – not as if anyone east of the Rockies would know, as the conference started three of its games around 10 p.m. Gainesville time Saturday – games like Saturday’s matchup against Arizona are looming as even more important.

The Wildcats are struggling, yielding nearly as many points per games as the Cougars (29.5 opposed to 33.5) with a defense that returned 10 starters.

And the vaunted new spread offense with Willie Tuitama at the helm? Despite scoring 27 points against Cal – 17 after the Bears had roared to a 38-10 lead – the Wildcats still had only 330 yards of total offense. The new look has accounted for an average of 384.8 yards a game, only marginally better than Washington, which is last in the conference statistics.

You might be tempted to say the Cats haven’t played WSU yet, but, in this case, that might not be a good thing for Arizona. A lot of college football is predicated on how you match up with your opponent, and for some reason the Cougars’ defensive philosophy fits well against the spread.

Want proof? Last season WSU faced two teams running some form of the offense: Baylor and Oregon. At the end of three quarters against the Bears, WSU had yielded one touchdown. After three against the Ducks, the Cougs had given up a field goal. The bottom line: WSU won both games.

And that’s all the Cougars need out of a Saturday night in Tucson, a win. It doesn’t matter how they get it, they just want a mark on the left side of the won-loss ledger.

If they get that, Doba won’t care if the lights are on or not.

By the way, during the blackout, he was trying to walk off the interview dais and slipped off the back just as a writer asked if the Cougars had any injuries.

“I got one right here,” he quipped. “I’m injured, I just sprained my ankle.”

The lights popped back on, Doba was actually OK, and the questioning continued.