Bad Time For Shaky WSU To Face No. 2 Oregon

GAME: Oregon (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) at Washington State (2-2 overall, 0-1 Pac-12). WHEN: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PT, CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 90th (Oregon leads 44-38-7). COACHES: Chip Kelly, Oregon; Mike Leach, WSU. RANKINGS: Oregon 2 AP, 2 USA Today. LINE: Oregon by 30 1/2. TV: ESPN2. RADIO: ESPN 710 and IMG College Sports Network.

The Washington State Cougars are convinced that if they could maintain focus for all 60 minutes of a football game, they could become a force in the Pac-12 Conference. Since they can’t, a fact glaringly obvious last Saturday when WSU snoozed in the fourth quarter, frittered away a big lead, and lost to cupcake Colorado, bookies have installed Oregon as a 30 1/2-point favorite.

“We don’t have a lot of control over what the Oregon Ducks do,” said WSU coach Mike Leach. “We have a lot of control over what we do and how we approach things mentally, how we think about things. Right now, we’re just a team that operates in spurts.

“We need to be a team that embraces tight, tough competition. We need to string things together for 60 minutes. We play hard and together selectively, and that’s crazy. The notion that we can squander plays is crazy. We have the ability to do things well, but we need to do them for a longer period of time. I’m sure we’ll work through this. We just have to keep pounding away.”

Converted linebacker Travis Long, already with 6.5 sacks, spoke this week on behalf of Washington State’s defense.

“We need to be more excited when we play,” he said. “We need to keep our heads in the game.”

Quarterback Connor Halliday spoke on behalf of the offense.

“Our offense is dying for someone to lead it,” said Halliday. “Nobody is leading the offense right now and somebody has to step up.”

It would help the Cougars immensely if they didn’t have to start their mental rehab against the Ducks, who lead the Pac-12 in scoring offense at 52.8 points per game. Washington State, losers of five in a row to Oregon, has the conference’s 12th-ranked defense.

“Oregon is very sound defensively, they give you a bunch of different looks,” said Halliday. “The defense is fast and they give you a bunch of things you have to prepare for. I have an idea of what they’re going to do, but having an idea of what they’re going to do is a lot different than being on the field and dealing with that speed.”

It’s clear that coaches and players would prefer playing at Martin Stadium in Pullman.

“It’s not a true home game,” complained Halliday. “It’s frustrating we don’t get to play the game in Martin Stadium. I wish all of our games were here (Pullman). I don’t see why we have to go someplace else to play a home game.”

SERIES: Dates to Nov. 9, 1901, when WSU won 16-0. The series has been dominated by Oregon in recent years, winning the past five meetings seven of the past eight. Last season, the Cougars kept it close, trailing just 15-10 at halftime, before the Ducks received two long touchdowns from De’Anthony Thomas in the second half to register a 43-28 victory in Eugene.

THE SEATTLE GAME: Once known at the Cougar Gridiron Classic, “The Seattle Game” has  the Cougars facing a conference opponent for just the second time. WSU will be making its 10th appearance at the home field of the Seahawks, a series that started in 2002 with WSU hosting Nevada in the first football game played in the then-new stadium. WSU beat the Wolf Pack and defeated Idaho (2003), Grambling (2005), Baylor (2006) and San Diego State (2007). Since 2002, the Cougars are 5-4 at CenturyLink. In last season’s contest, Oregon State recorded a 44-21 victory in front of 49,219 fans.

WSU HEAD COACH: Mike Leach (87-43 overall, 2-2 WSU): Hired Nov. 30, 2011 to replace Paul Wulff, who went 9-40 in four seasons, Leach in 10 seasons at Texas Tech (2000-09) earned 10 bowl bids. The Susanville, CA., native, who was raised in Cody, WY., recorded a school-record 84 victories. Leach’s offenses led the nation in passing six times and three times accumulated the most total yards. In 2009, the Red Raiders finished second in passing offense and fourth in total offense, both marks tops among BCS conference schools. Prior to Texas Tech, Leach spent one season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma (1999). That year, the Sooners set six Big 12 and 17 school records.

WSU STATS / NOTES

• SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 2-2. Home: 1-1. Road: 1-1. Neutral: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12: 0-1. Vs. Pac-12 North: 0-0. Vs. Pac-12 South: 0-1. Vs. Non-Conference: 2-1.
• Points For: 99 (24.8). Rushing Yards Per Game: 59.0. Passing Yards Per Game: 313.8. Total Offense Per Game: 372.8.
• Points Against: 112 (28.0). Opp. Rushing Yards Per Game: 127.0. Opp. Passing Yards Per Game: 346.0. Total Defense Per Game: 473.0.
• PAC-12 Ranks: Scoring Offense — 9th (24.8); Scoring Defense — 10th (28.0); Total Offense — 8th (372.8); Total Defense — 12th (473.0); Rushing Offense — 12th (59.0); Rushing Defense 5th (127.0); Pass Offense — 4th (313.8); Pass Defense — 12th (346.0); Pass Efficiency — 10th (138.7).
• WSU defens is tied for first in the Pac-12 with 14 sacks. Following a year in which the Cougars recorded 17 for the season, the switch to a 3-4 defense has seen more linebackers in the backfield. Converted linebacker Travis Long enters the weekend leading the Pac-12 and tied for second in the country with a career-high 6.5 sacks.
• Junior WR Marquess Wilson is the Pac-12’s active career leader in receiving yards with 2,711, No. 26 all-time in conference history. His 1,388 receiving yards in 2011 was the 12th most in Pac-12 history.
• A number of new faces have made an impact for the Cougars. Junior NT Ioane Gauta started all games and made 11 stops, including a pair of tackles for loss. Freshman safety Taylor Taliulu started the first two games and was one of the top two tacklers in each contest, making nine at BYU and seven against Eastern Washington. Freshman WRs Gabe Marks and Brett Bartolone have 19 and 13 receptions, respectively, with Marks posting two 100-yard performances at UNLV and against Colorado. Freshman RB Teondray Caldwell is second on the team in rushing and also serves as WSU’s primary kick returner, already delivering a 63-yard return at BYU and a 54-yarder against Colorado.
• With 401 passing yards against Colorado, QB Connor Halliday has three 300-yard performances.

COUGARS OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Rushing

Passing

Receiving

COUGARS DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Pac-12 Standings / North

Pac-12 Standings / South

OREGON NOTES: The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in scoring offense at 52.8 ppg and are fifth in scoring defense (18.2), second in total offense (571.0), seventh in total defense (351.0), first in rushing offense (303.8), seventh in rushing defense (140.2), sixth passing offense (267.2), third in pass defense (210.8) and second in pass efficiency (154.9) . . . RB Kenjon Barner is fourth in the Pac-12 with 102.5 yards per game and two other Ducks are also in the top 10, D. Thomas (69.0) and Byron Marshall (66.3) . . . QB Marcus Mariota ranks seventh in the conference with 233.5 passing yards per game. Mariota also ranks second in pass efficiency at 165.2 and sixth in total offense at 264.8 yards per game.

OREGON HEAD COACH: Chip Kelly (37-6-0) is in his fourth season as head coach of the Ducks and has guided Oregon to three consecutive conference championships. A native of Manchester, NH., Kelly began his coaching career at Columbia in 1990 and subsequently coached at Johns Hopkins and New Hampshire before becoming Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007. Since his elevation to head coach, Kelly has won a variety of awards including the 2009 and 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, 2010 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, 2010 Walter Camp Coach of the Year, 2010 Sporting News Coach of the Year and 2010 Associated Press Coach of the Year. Kelly has coached the Ducks to two Rose Bowls (2009, 2011) and to the BCS national title game (2010).

COMING UP: The Cougars will play at Martin Stadium Oct. 6 vs. Oregon State.

Washington State 2012 Schedule/Results