Cougars sorely in need

PULLMAN – Eight days before the season opener against Oklahoma State in Seattle, Washington State held its final fall scrimmage in Martin Stadium and the results couldn’t have been what coach Paul Wulff wanted to see.

When asked how he thought it went, Wulff answered, “Uh, OK. Some good, some bad. It seems like I’ve said that all camp. We’ve got a week to get ourselves better.

“We won’t be the best football team in that first ballgame, but we need to be good. And we’ll need to build off of that.”

To get there, the Cougars need to get healthier.

Washington State emphasized situations, went only about an hour and kept the live hitting to a minimum Friday afternoon, in part because of a dearth of healthy bodies. At least eight starters either didn’t play or played limited minutes.

“We had a lot of guys out today, and held a few guys out,” Wulff said. “But, again, we’ve got work to do.”

That need manifested itself most obviously with the No. 1 offense. The unit, playing against second- and third-string defenders for most of its 26 plays, still struggled to score. Quarterback Gary Rogers threw three interceptions, including one in the end zone.

“There were a couple mistakes made,” Wulff said. “One of the times there was a little confusion on the route. So yeah, it wasn’t great, a couple mistakes, but there were also some really good things, too, and it was nice to finish up. I think he was very sharp in the 2-minute drill.”

The Cougars ended the scrimmage with that drill, starting on their 35 with 1 minute, 45 seconds left.

Rogers got it started right, connecting with Brandon Gibson for 15 yards. He then found Daniel Blackledge, making his first live appearance this fall because of a hamstring injury, for 8 more. Rogers then hit Tony Thompson and Michael Willis with bullets, moving the ball to the 25. From there, Rogers connected only with Gibson, first for 10 yards over the middle and then on a go route down the left sideline for 15 more and a touchdown.

“We came out a little slow with a couple turnovers, which we can’t have,” Rogers said. “I was really happy with that last drive, though, we put together and put the ball in the end zone, which is nice to see.”

The difference?

“Really, just the tempo,” Rogers said. “We work on that every day in practice, so we feel really comfortable in that tempo and I thought today, early in the scrimmage, our tempo was slow and you could see that in the offense.”

Rogers finished 11 of 17 for 140 yards.

His backup, Kevin Lopina, playing against the starting defense – though linebackers Greg Trent, Cory Evans and Kendrick Dunn sat most of the day – was 7 of 13 for 75 yards. He made an 8-yard scoring pass to Thompson, who made a fingertip catch and bulled into the end zone.

With starter Devin Frischknect watching, tight end Ben Woodard led the way with six catches for 74 yards. Thompson added three more for another 38.

Lopina also ran for 18 yards and was the Cougars’ leading ground gainer as the injury-riddled offensive line – both starting tackles and a key reserve sat – struggled to open holes.