By JOHN K. WILEY
| Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:00 am
The Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. - My kingdom for a touchdown?
Washington State coach Bill Doba lamented during his weekly news conference in Pullman Monday that the Cougars are piling up the yards, but not the points.
WSU (4-6, 2-6 Pac-10) beat Stanford 33-17 on Saturday, but Doba said he was concerned about wasted scoring opportunities, including four first half drives that stalled inside the Cardinal 25.
Potential scores in the first half were snuffed by two fumbles and two failed attempts to convert short fourth-down tries.
Alex Brink set school career touchdown passing and passing yardage records, throwing for 449 yards, but the record-setting TD pass was the only one he would throw in the game.
"The offense struggled a bit in the red zone," Doba said.
The Cougars have the league's second-best total offense, averaging 432 yards per game, and passing offense, with just over 312 yards per game. But they rank ninth in conference in scoring, averaging fewer than 25 points an outing.
The WSU defense, particularly the secondary that was suspect early in the season, stepped up against Stanford, Doba said.
"That was a big win for us. I thought our defense ran around and played well," he said.
Doba pointed to senior free safety Husain Abdullah, who had a team-high 14 tackles and returned an interception 55 yards for the final Cougars score, and junior linebacker Greg Trent, who recorded two sacks, forced a fumble and broke up three plays.
Running back Chris Ivory, a sophomore who was sidelined for three weeks by a concussion, returned to action to give the Cougars' lethargic rushing game a boost.
He had 15 carries for 104 yards, marking only the second time this season a Cougars rusher has run for more than 100 yards against a conference opponent.
He'll be tested Saturday against visiting Oregon State
(6-4, 4-3), which boasts the top rush defense in the conference, limiting opponents to just 62.1 yards per game. OSU has the No. 2 total defense, allowing just 302 yards per game.
The Beavers outlasted Washington 29-23 in a slugfest in Corvallis last weekend.
Meanwhile, WSU's passing game appears to be peaking.
Against Stanford, senior slot Michael Bumpus broke Hugh Campbell's 177 career pass reception record that had stood for 45 years.
Flanker Brandon Gibson caught seven passes for 153 yards against Stanford and senior tight end Jed Collins had a career high 10 receptions for 123 yards.
"But now we've got a tough challenge in Oregon State," Doba said. "They're a really physical football team. I think they proved it Saturday night."
• WSU tight end Jed Collins is listed as questionable for the Oregon State game with an ankle sprain.
• Hoping for a real home field advantage against the visiting Beavers, Doba encouraged WSU students to stay on campus next weekend, rather than head home for the Thanksgiving week break.
"There's a basketball game Friday night and a football game Saturday," Doba said. "They can leave early Sunday morning and they've still got plenty of time to get home."
• With the Apple Cup in Seattle the Saturday after Thanksgiving, only the practice squad will go home for Thanksgiving break, Doba said.
The traveling squad will remain on campus and practice. Thanksgiving dinner for the team and coaches will be held at a local hotel's banquet room.