PULLMAN – Paul Wulff’s first victory as head coach of the Washington State football team, and the Cougars’ first win of the season, was at times sloppy, at other times dominant, at times promising, at other times frustrating, but above all it was costly.
On the surface, the Cougars’ 48-9 shellacking of Portland State on Saturday seemed like a typical bullying by a Pacific-10 Conference team against a Big Sky school. And for the most part it was. But that win came at a steep price for WSU, which lost its top two quarterbacks – one for the rest of the season. Starter Kevin Lopina was knocked from the game in the second quarter with an injured shoulder, while backup Gary Rogers was later knocked out of the game in the third quarter and suffered a fracture in his neck that will end his season.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” Wulff said of the injuries.
The two injuries, and uncertainty surrounding the ultra-important position, made the much-awaited victory celebration for Wulff and his players a little more subdued.
“The victory isn’t any sweeter because of that,” offensive guard Vaughn Lesuma said.
Lopina was the first to go down.
Late in the second quarter, with the Cougars (1-3) leading 17-3 and trying to put together one last scoring drive before halftime, Lopina dropped back to pass and PSU linebacker Eloka Anyaorah came across unblocked on Lopina’s backside.
“It was (Lopina’s) responsibility to get the protection call,” Wulff said. “We had just reviewed that and he didn’t get the running back over where he needed to get him.”
Regardless of blame, the hit delivered to the unsuspecting Lopina was vicious, and when he was slammed into the Martin Stadium turf, his right shoulder took the bulk of the punishment, leaving Lopina in agony.
The official diagnosis – a deeply bruised shoulder – wasn’t quite as ominous as the injury first appeared.
“I don’t think structurally anything is wrong,” Wulff said. “He just took a really good wallop.”
The wallop left him unable to come back.
Rogers, who started the first two games of the season and was expected to play Saturday, came in and completed his first two passes.
He moved WSU into Vikings territory, but he tried to force a pass into double coverage and was intercepted.
“We made some mistakes in the first half that hurt us,” Wulff said.
Indeed, WSU had 251 yards of total offense and just a 17-3 lead at halftime.
Rogers started the second half, and with the help of senior wide receiver Brandon Gibson, got things going immediately.
Early in the third quarter, he found Gibson on a simple underneath route.
It looked to be only a minor gain good enough for first-down yardage.
But Gibson made it good enough for touchdown yardage, juking a pair of defenders and running by two others on his way to a 43-yard touchdown reception. The score and the extra point pushed the lead to 24-3.
Rogers seemed poised to add to the lead on the next series. But on a short pass to the flat, Anyaorah delivered a fairly malicious hit well after the ball had been delivered, knocking Rogers to the ground.
Rogers lay face down in the turf, gripping his shoulder at first. But really, the pain started in the neck.
“He actually hurt himself a little in the Baylor game and it bothered him in the neck and back of the shoulder,” Wulff said. “It was in the same area that he took the shot this time. It’s in the neck, but he felt it go into the shoulder.”
Late Saturday, the school released a statement saying Rogers suffered “a stable cervical spine fracture that is non-surgical,” according to Bill Drake, assistant athletic director for athletic training.
Rogers remained overnight at Pullman Memorial Hospital for observation and will miss the remainder of the season, the statement added, with recovery time expected to be three to four months.
Anyaorah was flagged for a late hit, but it was hardly justice for the Cougars.
“That was a joke,” Lesuma said. “We wanted to have a good, clean, competitive football game and some guys were trying to be dirty. We took offense to that and just hammered three in a row at them.”
Indeed, WSU rolled up three more touchdowns, with third-string quarterback Marshall Lobbestael throwing two touchdowns and Logwone Mitz adding a score late as the Cougars got their much-awaited first win of the season.
“Finally,” Gibson said. “It took long enough. I’m just glad we got that first one.”
WSU rolled up 638 yards of total offense, thanks to a rejuvenated rushing game that carved out 277 yards on the ground.
“Any time we can run the ball, it helps,” Wulff said. “If we’re going to progress as an offensive unit it has to get better.”
No running back broke the 100-yard mark, as the Cougars got a collective effort from Dwight Tardy (83), Chris Ivory (83), Mitz (62) and Chantz Staden (44).
“You saw some semblance of what’s eventually going to occur here,” Wulff said. “Hopefully, it happens a lot sooner than later.”
Meanwhile, the new-look Cougars defense with Alfonso Jackson and Xavier Hicks at safety returned some missing swagger. The secondary limited PSU’s pass-happy attack to just 238 yards in the air on 20-of-49 passing, while forcing two interceptions and 10 pass breakups.
“You could see the difference,” Wulff said of his defense. “Those two guys made a difference.”
The win allowed Wulff and his players to sing the WSU fight song in front of the remaining rain-soaked fans and savor victory for at least a few hours.
“I’ve been waiting since December to do that,” he said.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483
game in review
WASHINGTON STATE 48, PORTLAND STATE 9
Turning point
While it never really seemed that close, Washington State led only 17-3 at halftime. That changed quickly early in the third quarter when Brandon Gibson took a pass on a simple underneath route, juked two defenders, then ran past two more for a 42-yard touchdown. It pushed the lead to 24-3 and put the Cougars in control.
WSU player of the game
Xavier Hicks. His numbers weren’t overwhelming – seven tackles and a pass broken up – but it was his presence that made the difference. The hard-hitting Hicks brought some much-needed swagger back to the defense. He blasted Portland State receivers on a couple of occasions and provided a physical presence in stopping the run game.
Portland State player of the game
Aaron Woods. At 5-foot-6, Woods is sometimes hard to see among the giants on the field. But the diminutive receiver made his presence felt, catching seven passes for 96 yards. He also returned four kicks for 90 yards, including one of 48 yards.
Flags a-flying
There was no shortage of yellow flags on the field as both teams racked up penalties – 19 in all. A total of 209 yards were stepped off. WSU was guilty of 10 penalties for 120 yards, while PSU had nine for 89 yards. The Cougars were penalized heavily in the first half, including four times on the Vikings’ only scoring drive.
Frischknecht feeling frisky
The ailing back that slowed tight end Devin Frischknecht seemed to be fine on Saturday. The senior tight end made his return to the lineup and contributed a team-high five catches for 110 yards, including a rumbling 53-yard touchdown catch on which be broke three tackles. It was the first 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Justin loses out on interception
Freshman Tyrone Justin appeared to have his first interception of the season in the first quarter. The spindly cornerback stepped in front of a PSU receiver and knocked the ball up in the air. As he was falling to the ground, he appeared to get his hand between the ball and the turf and knocked it up into his chest. It was initially ruled an interception, but after a replay review it was ruled an incomplete pass. Justin nearly had another pick in the second quarter, but this time he bobbled the ball twice and dropped it. Replay wasn’t necessary.
Extra points
With Chris Ivory’s first quarter TD run, WSU has scored in 276 consecutive games, the second-longest streak among Football Bowl Subdivision schools and the fourth-longest of all-time. The Cougs have also scored in 256 Pac-10 games in a row, the longest active streak for any team. It was the 202nd consecutive game Washington State scored at Martin Stadium. … Linebacker Greg Trent intercepted the first pass of his career and moved into 15th place on the WSU career tackles list. ... WSU allowed just 8 yards rushing, the fewest since holding Baylor to minus-10 yards in 2006. ... The Cougars recorded 36 first downs, tied for their most all-time. ... Gibson has caught a pass in 27 consecutive games.
Injury report
Linebackers Cory Evans and Kendrick Dunn, who were questionable coming into the game, did not play. Quarterback Kevin Lopina was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a bruised right shoulder. He returned to the sideline, but did not play. His replacement, Gary Rogers, was knocked from the game in the third quarter. Rogers was hit hard and suffered a stable cervical spine fracture. The injury won’t require surgery, but recovery time is three to four months and he’ll miss the season.
Next
Saturday vs. Oregon, 3:15 p.m. Martin Stadium. FSN, 850-AM.
Ryan Divish, The News Tribune
