PULLMAN – The quarterback shuffle continues for Washington State.
Backup Marshall Lobbestael will start for the Cougars at No. 7 Oregon on Saturday because of Jeff Tuel’s lingering shoulder injury, WSU coach Paul Wulff said Tuesday.
Wulff said Tuel will miss at least one game after aggravating “the exact same area” where he broke his left collarbone in the opener. Trainer Bill Drake said another fracture has been ruled out.
Tuel was injured against Oregon State. Tuel also suffered a calf injury in the game that might have prevented him from playing this week, Wulff said.
“We need him to get healthy,” Wulff said of Tuel, who has missed most of this season after being injured in the season opener.
Lobbestael, who started the first five games and often played well, goes back into the starting lineup. Redshirt freshman Connor Halliday again becomes the No. 2 QB.
The timing is especially bad for the Cougars, whose offense has sputtered the last two weeks. WSU has not scored more than 25 points in its past three games – all losses.
Wulff pointed to injury problems on the offensive line, plus the disruption of having Tuel and Lobbestael sharing the quarterback job in recent weeks.
“Switching quarterbacks here and there the last two weeks has affected us,” Wulff said.
EXPECTATIONS
Wulff has endured his share of criticism during his four years, and Internet sites were flooded with negative comments about Wulff after Saturday’s 44-21 loss to Oregon State.
“People are upset that we lost because people expected us to win. That’s been a long time coming, right?” asked Wulff, who owns an 8-36 record in four years at WSU.
“Why are they expecting us to win? Because we’ve played a lot better football and won some games.”
Wulff said Washington State fans had “every right” to be upset after a blowout loss to an Oregon State team that entered the game with a 1-5 record.
“We’re mad, too,” Wulff said. “We’ll bounce back.
“It’s a 12-round fight. We lost round seven (the seventh game of the season). We’re going to get back up.”
The Cougars are 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Pacific-12 Conference. The three wins are the most in one season under Wulff. The one conference win ties his best mark.
“He’s done a nice job of rebuilding that program,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.
Wulff has one year remaining on his original five-year contract, which pays him an annual salary of approximately $600,000. Athletic director Bill Moos, as he did last year, says he will not make a decision on Wulff’s future until the end of the season.
EXTRA POINTS
The Cougars have given up 44 points in each of the past two games. That does not bode well for the weekend, since Oregon averages 48.1 points (fourth in the nation) and 537.3 total yards (sixth) per game. … It’s homecoming in Eugene, Ore., where the Ducks have won 19 straight and sell out every game at 54,000-seat Autzen Stadium.
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