'The streak' could be in his hands ... er, foot

From its start, Sept. 15, 1984, it seemed like any other fall Saturday.

The No. 1 song was “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” by Tina Turner. People were still in shock from seeing Madonna deliver a gyrating, pulsating rendition of “Like a Virgin” at the first MTV Video Music Awards the night before. England was celebrating the birth of Prince Harry to Prince Charles and Princess Diana. “Karate Kid,” “Ghostbusters” and “Gremlins” were playing at the movie theaters. NBC was running promos for two brand new television series premiers later in the week: “The Cosby Show” and “Miami Vice.”

But on that day, the Washington State Cougars were shut out by the then ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 44-0, at the Ohio Stadium horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. It was a bad loss, if not completely unexpected. The Buckeyes would go on to win the Big Ten Conference title and lose to Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. Still, the Cougars, coached by Jim Walden, were held scoreless.

The next week, against Ball State, the Cougars scored a 16-14 victory. And since that day, the Cougars have managed to score points in every game. For 279 games, WSU has always found a way to score, be it a touchdown, a field goal, or a safety. Only Michigan has a longer streak at 293 games.

Realistically, the streak could have, and perhaps should have, stopped this season, because of an offense that has been somewhat anemic and may be overachieving by scoring every week.

But the streak is intact, thanks to the powerful right leg of sophomore kicker Nico Grasu, who was still four years away from gracing his parents, Steve and Mariana, with his birth when the scoring streak started. Twice this season, Grasu has kept the streak alive by providing the Cougars their only three points.

“I didn’t even know about the streak until after the Cal game,” Grasu said. “Somebody told me that I kept it going.”

Indeed, Grasu’s 43-yard first quarter field goal – on his first college attempt – was the Cougars’ highlight in a 66-3 beating.

Three games later Grasu kept the streak alive against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. This time he booted a 47-yard field goal to provide the only points in a 28-3 loss to the Bruins. That particular kick showed the true power of Grasu’s leg. When it cleared the uprights, the kick looked like it could have gone another 20 yards.

“I had a good hit on the ball,” Grasu said. “It felt good.”

So far this season, Grasu is 5-for-7 including two kicks greater than 40 yards, which is something a WSU kicker hadn’t delivered since 2005, when Loren Langley booted a 48-yarder.

“When he’s had his opportunities, he’s done his job,” coach Paul Wulff said. “It’s encouraging.”

Not bad for a kid who didn’t win the starting job coming out of fall camp, and whose football and kicking experience is a fraction of his teammates’.

Grasu grew up in a football-first family, football meaning soccer. His parents were both born in Romania where soccer was revered. And American football? Thought to be violent barbarism.

“They grew up playing soccer in Eastern Europe,” Grasu said.

So that’s what Grasu did, and he was pretty good.

But something happened. Grasu kept growing, taller and stronger. Pretty soon, he was well over 6 feet and close to 200 pounds going into his junior year in high school in Encino, Calif.

“I had some trouble with getting fouls called on me (in soccer) because I was a little too physical,” he said. “But it really just looked like I was fouling guys ’cause of my size. It caught up with me and I slowed down, too. I wasn’t as fast.”

Maybe not fast enough for soccer, but an assistant coach approached Grasu about playing football.

“He said, ‘You’re too big to not be playing football,’ ” Grasu said.

So Grasu decided to give it a try. His knowledge of football was rudimentary at best.

“It was different than soccer,” he said. “I had trouble understanding all the rules and certain aspects like committing to the blitz and things like that.”

Even now, he is hazy on some details.

“Things will happen in a game like certain penalties, and I’ll ask, ‘What is that?’ ” he said.

Yet the biggest change was learning to kick an oblong ball instead of a round one. It was far more difficult than he expected.

But there was something about the game that he liked – the speed, the contact, the challenge.

“Going into the summer of my senior year is when I really decided I want to kick in college,” Grasu said.

So he started working with kicking coach Chris Sailer – who tutored Dallas Cowboys kicker Nick Folk – who back then played at a rival high school.

With additional work, Grasu improved rapidly. But his overall lack of experience tempered interest from NCAA Division I schools. So he went to Moorpark (Calif.) College where he was named all-league, eventually earning a scholarship offer from the Cougars.

“When I was first recruited here, I heard some of the guys say that the kickers had struggled,” he said.

But Grasu hopes to bring some distance and consistency to the position. Before games, he can be seen booting field goals from well beyond 50 yards.

“We feel like Nico can be consistent from 55 yards and clearly he could kick one from 60,” Wulff said. “When he hits it good, it goes 60 plus easy.”

That’s not something that’s been possible for the Cougs. Their last field goal from 50 yards or more was kicked by Rian Lindell, who now kicks in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills, in 1999.

“I’d love to get a crack from 60, but I feel comfortable around 55,” Grasu said. “Obviously, I feel like I should make 10-for-10, but you shoot for 80 percent on field goals.”

And you can hear the conviction in his voice when says that.

“It’s just a matter of not thinking so much,” he said. “It’s all muscle memory and repetition so it’s no different than a point after or a field goal.”

Because of his late start, Grasu thinks his full potential is a ways from being tapped.

“I’m definitely behind when it comes to kicking,” he said. “I’ve got so much to learn. But I’m only a sophomore. I’ve got some more years left to get even better.”

Wulff is a believer.

“With him, he’s like the rest of the team – a work in progress,” Wulff said. “This is his first year kicking here and before that he had one year of junior college ball as a kicker, so he’s really still kind of finding himself.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483