Perhaps the pertinent question to ask about the Washington State quarterback situation is this: Who finished second during last week’s scout team tryouts?

The Cougars might have to give him a call because they learned Monday they had lost another quarterback with a season-ending injury.

Freshman Marshall Lobbestael, who started the season as the third-string quarterback and has started the past three games because of injuries to the two quarterbacks ahead of him, has torn medcal collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee.

The season-ending injury occurred early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 66-13 loss to Oregon State in Corvallis.

Lobbestael dropped back to pass and was hit around the legs by OSU defensive end Slade Norris after making the throw. He crumpled to the turf and left the game.

Following the game, Cougars coach Paul Wulff was told that the initial diagnosis was a sprain to the MCL and that there was no major structural damage. However, Lobbestael’s MRI revealed the tear to the ACL that will require surgery. Typical recovery time for such an injury is about nine months.

Lobbestael wasn’t counted on to play on Saturday against USC in Pullman. Instead Wulff will look to junior Kevin Lopina to take snaps. Lopina started two games this season for the Cougars but has been out the past four weeks with fractured vertebrae.

“We think Kevin will be ready to go this week,” Wulff said Sunday in a teleconference call.

Lopina practiced on Sunday and has been medically cleared by doctors to play this week.

Who would play if Lopina gets hurt again remains in question.

Fourth-stringer Daniel Wagner, a walk-on redshirt freshman, came in against Oregon State when Lobbestael went down. But true freshman J.T. Levenseller is more advanced and more capable of running the WSU offense. However, Wulff and his staff are hoping to allow Levenseller to redshirt this season.

Wulff said on Sunday that if Lobbestael’s injury were more serious, Levenseller would be the No. 2 and Wagner would move behind him.

“I would say we’re not going to burn any redshirt at this point, and we’ve got some very capable players who are redshirting that could help us right now, but we’re too far into the season to hurt the future of the program,” Wulff said. “Now J.T. is a different animal because of the severity of the position he is at. If we’re so thin there and he’s truly the only person we feel comfortable taking a snap … that is a different deal.”

The only other quarterback in the program is freshman walk-on Peter Roberts, who won an open tryout last week to be the scout team quarterback.

Wulff said the idea was to have another player on the roster who has past quarterbacking experience in high school serve as an emergency stopgap.

The most likely candidate however, freshman defensive back Eric Block, has not practiced since the first week of fall camp because of an illness. Starting strong safety Xavier Hicks played quarterback in high school.

“Those (are) two kids that come to mind that have that kind of experience, and there’s no question we would consider that,” Wulff said.

Lobbestael, who threw for 571 yards and four touchdowns this season, becomes the second WSU quarterback to have his season ended by injury. Senior Gary Rogers, who started the first two games of the season, had his season and possibly his career come to an end when he suffered a cervical spine fracture against Portland State.

Injury updates

Lobbestael wasn’t the only player to suffer injuries in the loss to Oregon State, but his was the most serious.

Tight end Devin Frischknect suffered a high ankle sprain and is out for this week. Offensive tackle Vaughn Lesuma sprained his shoulder and is having more tests this week and is questionable. Wulff said that tailback Chris Ivory, who missed the OSU game with a strained hamstring, will not play this week. Dwight Tardy, who also missed the game with a knee injury, should be back this week.

Center Chris Prummer suffered a knee injury in practice last week and is out about four weeks, while guard Brian Danaher (shoulder) and tackle Steven Ayers (neck, concussion) also are battling injuries that could keep them out this week.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

The COUGARS’ OPPONENT THIS WEEK

NO. 6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS (4-1 OVERALL, 2-1 PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE)

12:30 p.m. Saturday at Martin Stadium; FSN, 950-AM

Coach: Pete Carroll (80-15), eighth year

Last week: USC posted a 28-0 win over Arizona State on Saturday in Los Angeles. USC committed four turnovers and looked sluggish at times on offense, but tailback Joe McKnight rushed for a career-high 143 yards, and the defense dominated a Sun Devils offense that was without starting quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

Against the Cougars: USC leads the series 55-8-4. That’s the highest winning percentage (.851) USC has against any Pac-10 opponent. The Trojans have won 32 of the past 36 meetings. The last time WSU beat USC was in 2002, a 30-27 overtime win in Pullman.

Washington connections: S Taylor Mays, junior, Seattle/O’Dea.

Scouting report: A few weeks ago, it looked like USC’s perennial goal of a BCS title was smashed with yet another loss to Oregon State in Reser Stadium. Since then, the Trojans have won two straight games and, more importantly, most of the teams ranked ahead of them have lost. USC is now ranked No. 6 and in position to make a run at a national championship. There is little question as to what the strength of this team is – defense. This defense has been hailed as the greatest in USC history. Led by linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, the Trojans lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing a paltry 9.4 points per game. USC ranks fourth in the country in total defense, allowing opponents 241 yards of total offense per game. Offensively, the Trojans have been steady if not explosive. Quarterback Mark Sanchez has battled through injuries and still leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency with a 158.9 rating. He has thrown for 14 touchdowns this season. USC has also been boosted by tailback McKnight, who is starting to live up to the lofty expectations he created when he signed with the Trojans.

Statistical leaders

PassingAttCompPctYardsTDInt

Matt Sanchez1469363.71,248146

RushingAttYardsAvgTD

Joe McKnight453457.70

ReceivingRecYardsAvgTD

Damian Williams2233315.15

PuntingPuntsAvgBlocked

Greg Woidneck1936.80

Field goalsAttMadeLong

David Buehler4442

By Ryan Divish, The News Tribune