SAN DIEGO – The scars left by three years of constant losing may have been exposed when the Washington State Cougars collapsed in the second half of a 42-24 loss to San Diego State.
The Cougars, bidding for their first 3-0 start since 2005, led 24-14 early in the third quarter Saturday before surrendering the game’s final 28 points.
The loss dropped WSU’s record in four years under Paul Wulff to 7-33, including 1-19 away from Pullman. The Cougars’ first two wins this season came in blowouts against clearly inferior opponents, so the San Diego State loss causes people to wonder if WSU players truly know how to persevere and win tough games.
“When you play good football teams like that, you’ve got to deal with adversity,” WSU defensive coordinator Chris Ball said.
“We just didn’t really know how to finish the second half,” WSU wide receiver Marquess Wilson said.
WSU coaches have stressed the need for players to overcome adversity. Head coach Paul Wulff and offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy agreed that players did not respond well when the Aztecs closed to 24-21 in the third quarter by scoring three plays after Bennett Bontemps was called for roughing the kicker on a punt.
“I thought that was the turning point in the game,” Sturdy said.
“We never quite got our composure (back),” Wulff said.
Senior quarterback Marshall Lobbestael passed for three touchdowns and a career-high 368 yards, but he also made all four WSU turnovers. He said the Cougars handled adversity “much better” mentally than in the past.
“Obviously,” he said, “we handled it mentally better than physically.”
Outside linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, the only senior starting on defense for WSU, said there was a simple explanation for the Cougars’ latest defeat.
“Not enough fight,” he said. “It starts in practice. We’ve got to practice better.
“We’ll get that fixed.”
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