Rattled in Seattle

SEATTLE – Late last week Paul Wulff looked at Washington State’s injury list and shook his head.

“We’re thin,” the first-year Cougars head coach said, pointing at the number of starters and key backups who wouldn’t be able to play in Saturday’s season opener against Oklahoma State.

Thin at offensive line, thin at wide receiver, thin in too many places.

It turns out the Cougars’ margin of error was razor thin as well.

And, in the first game of Wulff’s WSU coaching career, they weren’t slim enough when it came to mistakes.

The result was a 39-13 non-conference loss to the Cowboys on Saturday at Qwest Field.

It was the seventh consecutive season WSU has played a game in Seattle and only its second loss. Both defeats have come against Big 12 Conference foes, though, the first, against Colorado in 2004, the Cougars were knocking on the door as time ran out. Not this time.

“We didn’t put ourselves in a position to win the game, because there were too many mistakes made,” Wulff said.

In every phase of the game.

The offense struggled early, the defense broke late and the special teams, well, even coordinator Steve Broussard termed them a “debacle.”

Still, despite an offense that picked up three first downs in the opening half, despite two long punt returns that put the defense in almost indefensible field position, despite less than 4 minutes of possession in the second quarter, the Cougars still had a shot with 5:46 left in the third quarter.

Washington State had just scored – on Gary Rogers’ 9-yard hookup with Brandon Gibson – to cut OSU’s advantage to 18-6. Wade Penner’s try was wide left.

Patrick Rooney kicked off and Perrish Cox gathered it in on the 5-yard line, tight to the NFL hashmark. Two steps later he was gone, en route to a 90-yard momentum-killing return through a hole wide enough for Mike Holmgren to amble through.

“We were clearly in the ballgame at that point,” Wulff said. “We were starting to build some momentum and gain some confidence in our play.

“That obviously took a little wind out of it.”

“He made the biggest play of the game,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said of Cox, “(because it) was just after they scored. They started to get a little momentum back.”

The crowd of 50,830, who had been at full-throat just seconds earlier, settled back into its seats, where it had been most of the first half. Put there by a WSU offense that even Gibson didn’t recognize.

“We were slow and dry and boring the first half,” said the senior wide receiver, who played a part in that with two first-half drops – including one possible 30-yard completion – and no catches.

“Let’s be real. It wasn’t the Cougar offense you’re used to. We’re used to putting the ball in the air and making big plays.”

Rogers, the fifth-year senior making his first start, threw just 11 first-half passes, completing four, though three were dropped. The Cougs’ offense went nowhere, with a positively skinny total of 51 yards and three first downs at halftime – in six possessions.

They also handed OSU two points, when Dwight Tardy, who finished with 59 yards on 18 carries, was run over in the end zone by Jeray Chatham for a second-quarter safety.

“We came out a little bit slow, tempo-wise,” said Rogers, who finished 12 of 24 for 82 yards, with the one scoring toss to Gibson and one late interception. “Our offense needs to be a quick offense, and didn’t start playing that way until the second half.”

Still, Oklahoma State, returning seven starters from an offense that put up 486 yards a game last season, didn’t run away. The WSU defense, maligned last year, kept the Cougars in it.

“The defense did a really nice job responding,” Wulff said, noting OSU’s two big punt returns and the resultant field position.

The Cowboys put together two decent first-half drives, one covering 67 yards, capped by Kendall Hunter’s 11-yard touchdown run, the other 56 yards right before halftime, culminated by Dan Bailey’s 21-yard field goal.

But after Dez Bryant’s 42-yard first-quarter punt return and Ricky Price’s 68-yarder in the third, OSU had to settle for Bailey field goals.

WSU’s offense started to settle in.

Gibson came alive, at one point catching six Rogers’ tosses in 13 plays, starting with his touchdown catch and ending with a 10-yard reception putting the ball at OSU’s 5 to end the third quarter.

Rogers, catching the Cowboys in a defensive line change, sneaked in from the 3 four plays later and WSU was within 25-13.

But that was it. Zac Robinson, who finished 20 of 27 for 193 yards, marched the Cowboys 61 yards for a TD.

The lead was back to 32-13, Rogers threw his interception on the next possession and the defense finally wilted (OSU finished with 367 yards of total offense compared to WSU’s 196), giving up a quick score.