Small Martin Stadium crowd watches Cougars fall to Beavers, 42-10

PULLMAN – The notoriously rowdy student section of Martin Stadium was relatively deserted Saturday afternoon, and for good reason.

After all, Washington State students reasoned, why not take advantage of a week without classes over Thanksgiving break and head home early to have turkey with the family instead of watching what oddsmakers forsaw as a turkey of a football game – the Oregon State Beavers were 31-point favorites.

And while the Beavers pulled away late to beat that margin, the missing Washington State students missed out on a surprisingly competitive effort by a WSU team that dressed fewer than 50 healthy players but earned praise from Oregon State players and coaches after 20th-ranked OSU's 42-10 victory.

“I was impressed with their drive and their passion,” said Oregon State center Alex Linnenkohl, who starred at Olympia’s Capital High School.

“They played better than they’ve played,” OSU coach Mike Riley said. “Until the end, they never turned the ball over today. I thought (WSU quarterback Kevin) Lopina and the receivers made some plays, and they caused us some problems.”

Still, a Cougars defense with just 13 scholarship players available gave up a whopping 567 yards.

One of WSU’s best players on defense Saturday was walk-on junior Easton Johnson, a little-used wide receiver all season (after playing safety last year) until being switched back to safety on Thursday due to injuries. Johnson played every defensive snap after the first series.

“The effort (by Johnson) is a tribute to the type of kids we’ve got in this program,” co-defensive coordinator Chris Ball said.

The Cougars (1-10, 0-8 Pac-10) trailed only 21-10 at the half, their second-smallest halftime deficit this season.

Oregon State (8-3, 6-2) had to grind out a 13-play, 69-yard drive to score late in the third quarter, then tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against an exhausted WSU defense that played just three linemen -- two of them freshmen – virtually all the way.

“That’s really hard to do at the defensive line position,” Ball said. “Really, really hard to do. You can do it in the secondary because you’re not banging all the time.”

The Cougars usually play a 4-3 defense, but opted for 3-4 and 3-3-5 looks due to injuries and the suspensions of starting defensive tackle Toby Turpin and starting outside linebacker Jason Stripling.

Just 16,167 spectators, the smallest home crowd since 2001, turned out on a chilly but dry Senior Day.

The fans saw the Cougars keep star receiver James Rodgers in check for the most part, but Jacquizz Rodgers (James’ younger brother) ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, and Sean Canfield completed 22 of 29 passes for 231 yards and two TDs.

Jacquizz Rodgers tied the Oregon State record of 19 rushing touchdowns in a single season. Cougars fans witnessed plenty of WSU history being made Saturday, but none of it was good.

The Cougars, who wrap up the season next Saturday at Washington (3-7, 2-5), tied the Pac-10 record of 21 losses in two years.

The eighth conference loss tied a school record for one year (Washington set the conference record of nine last season), and the 34th loss in four years broke the school record for a senior class.

Another WSU record fell when the Cougars gave up 40 or more points for the fifth straight game. WSU records are incomplete in some areas, but it would seem safe to presume that no other Cougars team has yielded 400-plus yards 10 straight games or given up an average of 517 yards per game.

WSU’s eight-game losing streak is one shy of the school record for a single season.

The Huskies are coming off a bye week and will be favored, but WSU is gunning for a record third straight win over Washington.

Lopina, a senior making his first start (and second appearance) since starting the first two games, periodically injected some life into WSU’s lackluster offense with his arm and his feet.

However, Lopina wound up 15 for 32 for 133 yards and had just 22 rushing yards despite being sacked only once. The Cougars finished with fewer than 200 total yards (192) for the third straight game.

“We felt we were in the game,” Lopina said. “We had the ball for long periods of time. One play here or there and it would have been a whole different game.”

WSU coach Paul Wulff said he was delighted with the effort of his young, shorthanded team.

Wulff said he hopes to have several key players back for the Apple Cup with Washington, including quarterback Jeff Tuel, safety Chima Nwachukwu, defensive tackle Bernard Wolfgramm and cornerback Brandon Jones. The latter suffered a back injury early in Saturday’s game.

“It will be my last Apple Cup and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it,” said safety Xavier Hicks, who intercepted Canfield on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.