From Bad to Worst at Washington State

LOS ANGELES -- Do you smell that? The foul odor coming from the northwest corner of the country? It stinks doesn't it?

Well let me introduce you to the likely source: Washington State's struggling football program, which arguably could be the worst in playing in a BCS conference.

Second-year coach Paul Wulff's team has not won a game this season and did not come close in ugly defeats to Stanford and Hawaii.

"Frankly, Central Arkansas is a much better team [than Washington State]," Hawaii center John Estes told the Honolulu Star-Review after the Warriors defeated the Cougars' 38-20 last week.

Washington State was dominated from the start, giving up 35 consecutive points in the first half before Hawaii began putting in reserves. The Warriors finished with 626 total yards and quarterback Greg Alexander passed for a career-high 453 yards and three touchdowns.

"All this stuff about struggling against an [FCS] team ... a football team's a football team," Estes said when comparing Central Arkansas to the Cougars. "We knew we were going to beat Wazzu. We should've put up 70, but we made a lot of mistakes."

Wow, that hurts. Especially when realize that Central Arkansas has a good but not great FCS program and lost, 25-20, to Hawaii in Honolulu to open the season.

There's no denying that the Cougars are a work in progress, which began last season when Wulff redshirted several key recruits and transfers. As expected, Washington State struggled with injuries and that kept Wulff from fielding a healthy lineup every week and the Cougars finished with a 2-11 record.

The Cougars entered this season with plenty of hope, thanks to a late season, 16-13, double-overtime win over rival Washington at Martin Stadium.

Washington State's optimism showed at the Pac-10 preseason media day when Wulff seemed excited just to talk about his program on the same day USC coach Pete Carroll spoke to reporters.

"This was a very productive day," a confident Wulff said with a smile in late July. "Just getting to talk about Washington State football on a national level."

Unfortunately for the Cougars, this positive outlook began to fade once they started to play real games. Stanford handed them a lopsided home defeat to start the season in Pullman, Wash., and then the Cougars were routed by Hawaii in a "special" home game played in Seattle's Qwest Field.

"We don't have locker-room lawyers right now," Wulff said about getting the Cougars to respond after their slow start. "If someone can step up and help the team, I think everyone is all for it."

Washington State has had issues on both sides of the ball. The Cougars are last in the conference in scoring offense, and third from last in rushing and scoring offense.



It's even worse when it comes to stopping opponents, where they rank 10th in Pac-10 in scoring, passing, rushing and total defense. In two games, Washington State has given up a combined 1,107 total yards and 77 points.

In attempt to shake things up, Wulff has decided to bench fifth-year senior Kevin Lopina at quarterback, who started the first two games of the season, in favor of third-year sophomore Marshall Lobbestael with true freshman Jeff Tuel at backup for Saturday's game against SMU at Martin Stadium.

Originally, Wulff hoped to redshirt Tuel, one of Washington State's top 2009 recruits, this season. He's audibled from that plan after two games.

"Our program is building and we've got a bright future because we have some outstanding young players," Wulff said when asked about going with true freshmen like Tuel this season. "Some of them are going to have to help our football team now.

"But I think that's an enticing thing as a young player. You have a chance to come into a program that is moving upward and you have a chance to play early in their career. That's a lot of reason why we are getting some high quality kids right now and Jeff [Tuel] is one of them. He'll get an opportunity to play and a chance to move our program forward."

Only time will tell whether Wulff gets a chance stick around long enough to see the Cougars' rebuilding process to the finish.

ARIZONA's GRIGSBY FOR HEISMAN?

Arizona running back Nic Grigsby needs to start being mentioned with the best players in the country. Although Grigsby played a little more than two quarters, he dominated in the Wildcats' 34-17 victory over Northern Arizona last week.

With 10:07 remaining in the third quarter, Grigsby already had two touchdowns and a career-high 207 yards rushing, including a personal best 94-yard gallop, when Arizona coach Mike Stoops gave him the rest of the night off.

"He's one of the most underrated players in the country," Stoops said about Grigsby, who is second in the nation in rushing at 162.5 yards per game. "Nic did it last year, rushing for over 1,100 yards and is off to a great start.

"He's kind of a home runner. He can go and create a play with his feet. He has the great ability to make people miss. He's a slasher. He's gained strength and size each year in increments that has enabled him to keep his great speed as well. ...The thing I love about Nic is his great competitiveness on the football field. He's become a very special player."



PAC-10 NO HUDDLE ATTACK

--Oregon State's dynamic brothers, Jacquizz and James Rodgers have carried the Beavers' offense over the first two games. The Beavers, who will looking to stay undefeated with a key home game against Cincinnati on Saturday, have had the Rodgers brothers account for 67 percent of their offense. Between them, the brothers have 548 yards of total offense rushing and receiving.

--Arizona's Stoops should feel at home for the Wildcats' game at Iowa when you consider that he was a two-time All-Big 10 safety for the Hawkeyes in the early 1980s. Stoops, who also worked several seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa, will have the Wildcats looking for their first 3-0 start since 2001.

-- In jumping out to a 2-0 start California has been impressive in outscoring Maryland and Eastern Washington, 111-20. But both games were played in Berkeley and this week, the Bears will travel to Minneapolis to face the Big 10's undefeated Minnesota, which will be playing for the second time in their new outdoor TCF Bank Stadium. Last season, Cal struggled away from home with a 1-4 road record.

-- After splitting two road games to open the season, Stanford will host winless San Jose State to start an unusual seven-game homestretch.