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Martin Stadium should be filled for Dad's Weekend Saturday
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The Washington State Cougars will be at home for two of their final three games of this season.
Sunday evening, Coach Paul Wulff conceded the past six weeks have been a real grind for his young football team. In the case of the Cougar defense last Saturday, their spirited play was tempered by what looked like fatigue.
No question that Arizona is an outstanding football team this year. They were well rested, fresh and played fast from the opening kickoff to the final gun against WSU.
Coach Wulff attributed one factor contributing to his team being defeated in Tucson to scheduling. "The combination of our fifth game in six weeks on the road at the end of it and they’re coming out and playing fresh and fast was not a good combination for our team at this moment," said Wulff.
Given the outcome of every game since WSU defeated SMU in overtime, you'd expect the mood of the team to be a little down coupled with being just plain ol' tired when they met Sunday afternoon for practice.
Coach Wulff and his staff are working to get their players in a position to pick up some wins with three games left on the schedule. That's not to say the remaining conference games will be any easier, but it clearly will be a plus the next two will be at home in front of their fans in Pullman.
"Today we didn’t do anything (on Rogers Field). Normally we go out and practice. Last week we did some running (on Sunday), but we didn’t do any of that today. We gave them the day off. We did do a light lift today but we didn’t do anything out on the field. We just did video watch and let them go." - WSU Coach Paul Wulff
The team welcomed the extra rest coming after traveling extensively across the West Coast. Coach Wulff laughed when questioned about the possibility of frequent flyer miles for everyone. If mileage were awarded to the team for travel over the last month and a half they'd have enough to own a small airline! Instead, the Cougs will happily settle for a day off.
"I think they were a little relieved (to get a day off from the practice field). That’s what they need. We’ll come back on Tuesday and have a good solid practice. We need it to be a crisp practice." -Coach Wulff
There were a number of Washington State players felled by injury against the Wildcats. Most notable was starting quarterback Jeff Tuel. A collective gasp went up across Cougar Nation after Tuel stayed down on the field after being tackled on a rollout pass. Moments later everyone exhaled as Tuel left the field under his own power. Coach Wulff offered an update on his status Sunday.
“(Jeff)’s sore today but has very little swelling which is a real positive. He had to get an MRI today to see if there’s anything more going on than they anticipated. We’ll wait and see what happens tomorrow and on Tuesday.” - Coach Wulff
Starting left tackle Tyson Pencer went down early in the game Saturday after re-injuring his ankle. The news on Pencer wasn't as encouraging.
"(Tyson’s) in a boot today. Chances are he’s out (for UCLA)… I hate to comment on Sunday when I’ve seen things turn around in a couple of days. I would guess at this point, as sore as it is for him, he’s going to be out for a little while." - Coach Wulff
Steven Ayers will likely start this week at left tackle with freshman Alex Reitnouer backing him up.
It wasn't all bad news on the team's injury front. Coach Wulff thought safety Chima Nwachukwu might be back for the UCLA game this Saturday. Though another safety, Jay Matthews, dinged up his shoulder again, it's believed he'll be ready to play this week as well.
Two freshmen who have been contributing the past few weeks are running back Carl Winston and linebacker Mike Ledgerwood.
"(Carl Winston) showed flashes of some really nice things.Then he’ll do some things where he’ll make a mistake as a young guy does. There’s a couple of times he went the wrong way in protection or in a route when we needed him to be in a particular spot. That’s the growing pains we’re going through. He definitely showed some physical capability out there (against Arizona). I like his toughness. For an 18 year old he’s doing some good things he’s going to be able to build on. The game is very important to Carl. He’s a competitor and that’s what makes him a good player." -Coach Wulff
"Mike (Ledgerwood) did some good things. He’s in his second year of college. He’s been forced into some heavy duty for a young guy. There were times in the (Arizona) game where he made some nice physical tackles. When we’ve called upon him, he’s done some really good things." -Coach Wulff
There's still plenty of Cougar football to be played this season. UCLA is coming up Saturday followed by hosting Oregon State. The season will wrap up with the Apple Cup over in Seattle.
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