WSU Football | Oregon State dominates Cougs in second half for a 42-10 win

Washington State played from the heart Saturday afternoon against the Oregon State Beavers in Pullman. High emotions weren't enough to slow down the efficient OSU offense from putting a 42 - 10 defeat on the Cougs.

Coach Paul Wulff saw his team fall behind early 21-3. The Beavers drove the length of the field for touchdowns on their first three possessions. It appeared the nationally ranked Beavers might turn this one into a rout.

At that point in the game, a scrappy Cougar defense took things into their own hands and stepped up with play which might be characterized in five words.

Not so fast my friend.

Fans on hand in Martin Stadium were snapped alive by an inspired 'D' and treated to soild Cougar football patched together today and a glimpse at the future of Cougar football.

As OSU quarterback Sean Canfield deftly moved his team downfield on their fourth possession, WSU senior Xavier Hicks jumped on the receivers route and hauled in his second interception of the season deep in Cougar territory and returned the ball out to the WSU 25.

Hicks' big play fired up his teammates for the remaining 6:02 of the first half. Coach Wulff was probably smiling inside after seeing his senior safety "make a play".

Senior Kevin Lopina, who started at quarterback today, engineered a drive on WSU's first possession that ended with a field goal. He was able to do better than that on the Cougs' final possession of the first half by taking the ball downfield 80 yards in 8 plays for six points. It was a drive aided by four penalties on consecutive plays by Oregon State.

Hicks and Lopina were determined to play their best football in their final game at Martin Stadium.

With the score tightened up 21-10 going in at halftime, Washington State was looking to make a game of it. The Cougs charged off the field with a full head of steam to talk things over in the locker room.

Coach Mike Riley's Oregon State team was not to be denied their shot at a Rose Bowl berth. Not on this Saturday. Their intensity more than matched the momentum WSU carried with them at halftime. Canfield finished the game with impressive play and stats completing 22-29 with the one interception for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jaquizz Rogers ran for 165 yards on 24 carries and a pair of touchdowns.

OSU kicked off to begin the second half.

Lopina, who finished the day 15-32 for 133 yards and gained another 33 rushing on 13 carries, seemed to have WSU on the move. The Cougs first drive of the second half stalled at midfield. So did their momentum.

"We got the ball early (in the second half) are were able to drive. We got to midfield and just weren't able to convert after that. We ended up having to punt on that first series. It would have been great to go down and score to get the game 21-17 but we didn't do it."  - Coach Paul Wulff

Oregon State used their balanced attack to put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Try as they might, Washington State didn't have any offensive answers in the second half. Any thought of a heroic comeback by the Cougs was snuffed out by their drive-ending turnover on the OSU 14 early in the final period.

"I thought we played better than the outcome of the score. They scored some points late. I thought our players played hard. As nicked up as we are, I'm very, very proud of this team. Their effort, I couldn't be happier there."  - Coach Wulff

No question that there was pride in the play of the Cougs today. Facts are facts. When Coach Wulff only had about 45 young men suited up and ready to play, they were overmatched by a deep, talented, well-coached Oregon State squad.

Despite a seriously depleted roster, there were more signs of continued improvement this week against one of the best football teams in the nation.

Washington State converted a field goal on their first possession of the game, something they haven't accomplished in quite some time. You have to go all the way back to the Portland State game last season for an opening drive score by the Cougs.

There were individual performances worth noting as well:

- With his six receptions for 71 yards against the Beavers, sophomore wide receiver Jared Karstetter has caught a pass in 14 consecutive games.

- Redshirt-sophomore linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis’s 15 tackles were a career high and the most by a Cougar since Xavier Hicks’s 17 against Arizona State in 2007.

- Redshirt-freshman defensive tackle Anthony Laurenzi’s sack was his second this season…Laurenzi is one of four Cougars with multiple sacks in 2009.

- Redshirt-sophomore cornerback Aire Justin’s 10 tackles were also a career high.

- Reshirt-junior Easton Johnson’s 10 tackles were a career high.

Easton Johnson is a name Cougar fans might not be familiar with on defense. Excellent reason for that. Johnson has been playing wide receiver all season.

"I was sitting in my offensive wide receiver meeting (Thursday) and Xavier Hicks came into our room (and asked), 'Hey, can we take Easton from you?' I was kind of surprised. I had no idea I was going to move over. A few people on defense already knew and they were cracking jokes earlier that day. I didn't know anything about it until 'X' came in and I went to the defensive meeting and went from there...I played safety last year so I felt very comfortable going back. Nickel (defense) wasn't that hard and I had a lot of help from Myron Beck and Xavier Hicks....Coach (Chris) Ball (co-defensive coordinator) gets me motivated. He's one of my favorite coaches. His intensity helps me out a lot."  - Easton Johnson

If you pause and glance back at the individual performances noted above, notice each of those student/athletes will be back to play Cougar football again next season.

They are a part of the future of Coach Wulff's program.

That's Cougar football.

This coming week heading into the Apple Cup, we'll feature Cougar senior student/athletes playing their final football game for Washington State.

Injury Update:  A number of players sustained injuries during the game this afternoon. There's never a good time for an injury, but the number WSU has sustained this season is absurd.

- Johnny Forzani had a concussion returning a kickoff

- Brandon Jones injured his back in the first quarter and will have an MRI done tomorrow

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