Washington State notebook

By Kevin Hampton
Gazette-Times reporter

A few weeks ago, nobody would have expected Washington State to be playing for bowl eligibility with two games left.

The Cougars started 2-1, taking wins over San Diego State and Idaho after starting the season with a loss at Wisconsin.

The outlook was bright enough. Then came four straight losses. Three road trips turned into disasters for the Cougars. They lost 47-14 at USC and 48-20 at Arizona.

A tough 23-20 loss to Arizona State at home came before a 53-7 blowout at Oregon.

“Everyone was feeling good and then we hit this wall with the losses,” offensive tackle Vaughn Lesuma said.

With UCLA coming to town, it looked grim for WSU. Instead, the Cougars ran wild on the Bruins and took a 27-7 win.

The Cougars piled up 274 rushing yards in the win, with running back Dwight Tardy gouging the Bruins for 214 yards on the ground. Tardy was lost for the season with a knee injury, but the Cougars had turned a corner.

The next week, Washington State gave Cal all it could handle in Berkeley before the Golden Bears managed a 20-17 win. Back in Pullman, the Cougars rolled up 561 yards of offense in a 33-17 win over Stanford.

“We started climbing out through that hole we fell into and it was a real good feeling,” Lesuma said. “It’s a different atmosphere now. Everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s a little more motivating.”

A win today against Oregon State would put the Cougars one win short of six with the Apple Cup coming up.

“We kept on playing hard and never gave up,” linebacker Greg Trent said. “People expected us to give up right away because we were losing. We had to overcome adversity and just play.”

On the Brink

A big reason the Cougars have been able to turn their season around has been the play and leadership of senior quarterback Alex Brink.

Brink completed 32 of 47 passes for 449 yards and a touchdown in the win over Stanford.

He has thrown for 3,105 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. He is second in the nation in starts with 39 going into today’s game.

“Alex, he’s definitely a guy who has been there, done that,” Lesuma said. “He’s a very composed quarterback. Him being around for five years here, he knows the system. Just with his experience and leadership he has gives a more comforting feeling to know we have experience on our side. We are all happy to have him back there making the plays he makes.”

Bumpus has hands

Michael Bumpus has caught his share of passes from Brink. So many, in fact, that he just passed Hugh Campbell and is now the all-time receptions leader at WSU.

Bumpus has 177 and counting. He has 58 catches for 683 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

“I heard the name before I even got here,” Trent said. “He’s tough, quick and a real smart athlete. He never stops running. He just likes to go.”

Trent said Bumpus is an ideal teammate.

“He thinks about others before himself and he won’t take a play off,” Trent said. “He’s motivated and gets everybody going. He picks us up when we’re down.”

Abdullah honored

Senior free safety Husain Abdullah was selected as the Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for making 14 tackles, an interception return for a touchdown and two pass break-ups in the win over Stanford.

Abdullah’s interception and score came with three minutes left and sealed the win.