Cougs try to avoid first 11-loss year
One more game.
The first season of the Paul Wulff coaching era ends today for the Washington State Cougars, with WSU hoping to avoid its first 11-loss season.
Of course, the Cougars have never before played a 13-game regular season.
To get to that number in these days of 12-game schedules, WSU had to make this trip to the University of Hawaii, home to the Warriors. Tonight’s game comes seven days after an emotionally draining 16-13, double-overtime Apple Cup win in Pullman, which doesn’t make the Cougars’ task tonight any easier.
“You come off a big emotional game, then you go to a place that is, historically, extremely challenging to play for anybody,” Wulff said this week. “So, yeah, this is going to be a tough, tough test for our psyche, to be quite honest.”
But WSU isn’t playing its emotions on the field this evening. It’s playing Hawaii, only a year removed from a BCS bowl berth and, at 6-5, trying to win the one more game it needs to ensure a berth in the Hawaii Bowl for the fifth time in the past seven years.
“They start nine seniors on defense,” Wulff said of the Warriors. “Several of their backups are also seniors, so they’re very senior dominant. Their defensive line is athletic and quick and their linebacking corps is very good against the run.”
On the other side of the ball, the Warriors feature a passing offense similar to one WSU saw earlier this year.
“Someone who throws the ball as often as they want to throw it, which is roughly 80 to 90 percent of the time, is a challenge,” Wulff said, comparing the Warriors’ attack to that of Portland State, which WSU defeated 48-9 in September. “They’re going to get their yards. … It will be tough for our defense; they’ll truly be tested.
“We have not faced anyone who is committed to (passing) this much, as obviously Portland State and these guys (are).”
But there is a big difference between Hawaii and Portland State. The Warriors, 5-3 in the WAC, not only are much bigger up front, they also run the ball more often and with greater success than the Vikings.
“Their (offense is) similar (to Portland State) but they do a little better job running the football,” Wulff said. “They’ve got a few more schemes that allow them to run the ball.”
Washington State’s run defense has been quite accommodating this season, ranking last in the Pac-10, giving up 263 yards per game. But the unit stiffened last week, holding UW to less than 200 yards through the end of regulation.
That helped WSU claim its fourth Apple Cup in five years and resulted in the student body rushing the field at Martin Stadium.
“I was just really happy we could give them something to get out of their seats for,” said senior offensive lineman Vaughn Lesuma, who admitted to feeling a little crushed by the postgame rush. “For it to be the Apple Cup, it was just that much more special.”