Cougs on course by staying course

PULLMAN – Todd Sturdy and Chris Ball earned their college degrees more than two decades ago, but some Washington State football fans are convinced that Sturdy and Ball have suddenly become a whole lot smarter.

Such is the fate of an offensive coordinator (Sturdy) and defensive coordinator (Ball) when their team starts 3-1 after three mostly forgettable seasons.

WSU’s defense ranked among the nation’s worst from 2008-10, and Ball admits he occasionally had doubts about some of his coaching and recruiting decisions.

“In these types of situations, you always question yourself,” said Ball, who also holds the title of assistant head coach. “ (Head coach) Paul (Wulff) was great through it.

“He didn’t point fingers. He was very supportive.”

The play-calling of Sturdy and Ball is more successful this year, the coaches are quick to point out, because they’re working with better, more experienced players.

“We’ve got more kids who have done it more often,” Sturdy said.

“We’re older, more mature,” Ball said. “Physically, we’re stronger.”

After last Saturday’s dramatic victory at Colorado, senior quarterback Marshall Lobbestael praised Sturdy for his choice on the game-winning play.

Sturdy noticed that Colorado safety Anthony Perkins was biting on inside cuts by receivers. That’s exactly what happened when Marquess Wilson blew past Perkins and cornerback Greg Henderson to haul in a 63-yard pass from Lobbestael with barely a minute remaining.

“We hadn’t run that particular play in a long time,” Sturdy said. “I think maybe last spring.”

So, Coach, why did you call that play with the game on the line?

“I don’t know why,” he said. “It was in my mind, but it wasn’t in my mind.

“Then all of a sudden it was like, ‘Yeah. That’s what we’ve got to do to that kid.’ ”

On defense, Ball mixed things up expertly against the Goolden Buffaloes. WSU would have held Colorado to fewer than 300 yards if not for a late, 52-yard run by star running back Rodney Stewart. Senior linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis wreaked havoc in Ball-ordered blitzes and earned Pacific-12 Conference player of the week honors for his performance.

Like Wulff, Sturdy and Ball have preached patience since they arrived in Pullman after the 2007 season. Recruiting had tailed off badly; confidence, work ethic and experience were in short supply; and players were performing so miserably in the classroom that the NCAA docked the Cougars eight scholarships before the new staff coached its first game.

How bad were the 2008 Cougars? Well, it could be argued that WSU’s 2-11 record was misleadingly good because an average game that year resulted in a 44-13 loss and a 443-242 gap in total yards, even though rivals flooded the field with reserves.

How good are the 2011 Cougars? Well, the Cougars are convinced they should be 4-0 – they’ve outscored teams by an average margin of 45-24, and they’ve outgained rivals by an average of 519-362 yards.

The Cougars rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, total offense and passing (379 yards per game) despite losing starting quarterback Jeff Tuel to a broken collarbone early in the season opener. Just a month later, Tuel might be used in a reserve role this week.

Defensively, WSU ranks in the middle of the pack in a number of national statistics – and is 21st in quarterback sacks at 2.8 per game – despite having only one senior starter.

The latter portion of WSU’s schedule, including games with No. 7 Stanford and No. 9 Oregon, appears far more challenging than the early part.

Ball and Sturdy say the Cougars have plenty of room for improvement, but the coaches go into Saturday’s game at UCLA (Root Sports, 7:30 p.m.) with more realistic hopes for success than the past three years.

“There were some long days,” Ball said. “(Days when we said,)‘Man, is this even right? Where are we going?’

“But, we stayed on line, and it’s starting to pay off.”

SATURDAY

WSU at UCLA, 7:30 p.m., Root Sports, 770-AM