For a team that has been blown out twice already this season
““ to Auburn 40-14 and Cal 21-3 ““ and finished under
.500 the last two seasons, the Washington State Cougars are
optimistic heading into this Saturday’s matchup against the
Bruins.
But despite popular assumptions, they certainly have reason to
be.
The Cougars are coming off a surprising 34-23 victory over
then-No. 16 Oregon and have already played the toughest part (four
games against top-16 teams) of their schedule.
“We definitely believe the rest of the way out, starting
with UCLA, we can win them all,” wide receiver Jason Hill
said during Monday’s press conference.
Hill and the Cougars are 5-3 and only one win away from being
eligible for a bowl game. They received votes this week in the AP
and USA Today polls for the first time since 2004 and are currently
No. 25 in the BCS standings.
That is quite a difference from the 2005 season when the Cougars
finished 1-7 in conference play and, at one point, had a seven-game
losing streak.
That horrendous season has made Hill, and the Cougars,
appreciate this season’s start so much more.
“I gave all the coaches a big hug (Saturday),” Hill
said Monday. “There was nothing the other team could have
done that we hadn’t seen and were prepared for. …
That’s all a credit to the coaches.”
With Saturday’s outstanding performance, when the students
rushed Martin Stadium, the Cougars’ offense is now ranked
third in the Pac-10 in total offense and 22nd overall in the
nation.
Junior quarterback Alex Brink is averaging 244 yards through the
air, and the Cougars have put up big points this season against
perennially tough defenses in USC and Oregon.
“They’re certainly a tough offense,” UCLA
coach Karl Dorrell said. “With a veteran quarterback and
experienced wide receivers, they’re going to be tough to
beat.”
Hill, in particular, has been leading the Cougar’s
offense. He is on pace to break all of Washington State’s
receiving records and is already the Cougar’s all-time leader
in receiving yards with 2,568 and touchdowns with 31.
Last season against the Bruins, Hill had eight catches for 65
yards and one touchdown in the 44-41 overtime thriller.
“It seems like every team we’ve played this year,
they have that one (special) guy,” defensive coordinator
DeWayne Walker said. “And Hill certainly is it.”
“He is strong, physical, long and can run the ball on
reverses. But we’ve faced guys like him before, and
we’ll prepare as much as we can.”
If the Cougars have any model to follow this season, it may be
the Bruins of 2005. After losing close games to top Pac-10 teams in
the 2004 and 2005 seasons and finishing with mediocre records, the
Cougars of 2006 have begun to win the games that escaped them in
the past.
The key for the Cougars on Saturday is whether they can prove
their outstanding victory over Oregon wasn’t just a fluke and
beat a Bruin team that has won 10 consecutive home games.
“We are going bowling. We gotta go,” Cougar coach
Bill Doba said of beating UCLA this week. “Our guys,
that’s their goal. You have to expect to win.”
DOBA COACHES ON: Cougar coach Bill Doba will be
coaching this Saturday without the support of his wife Judy Doba,
who passed away last April from ovarian cancer.
Doba, who was rumored to be fired after the Cougars’
horrendous finish last season, kept the news of her illness secret
to the press last season, and the news only came out in the
spring.
On Thursday, Doba, who has the Cougars winning again, was
featured by ESPN.com in a story regarding his wife’s
passing.
“It always helps to have good things happen,” Doba
said of his team’s start this season. “But I’d
like to have shared it with her.”