I'm not even sure what to say...

I watched and listened to as much of the game as I could (it's a high school Friday night). When given the chance (after work) to watch the tape delay on FSN Northwest, I only made it through 15 minutes before getting angry and turning it off.

Washington State looked terrible again in a 45-17 loss to the Bears. The Cougars are now 0-3 for the first time since 1999.

Kevin Lopina made the start for Wazzu (leading a scoring drive to start the game...giving the Cougs their first lead of the season), completing 17 of 26 passes for 174 yards. He ran for a touchdown, but also tossed two interceptions (it could have been more, but Baylor players couldn't hold on to the ball). Lopina was replaced by Gary Rogers in the fourth quarter (Lopina hurt his wrist, but the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that x-rays were negative). Rogers connected on 6 of his 12 passes for 89 yards (he led the Cougars to a field goal). I'm guessing WSU isn't sure who they'll start against Portland State.

The star of the WSU offensive show was Brandon Gibson. The senior wide receiver caught eight balls for 128 yards (I needed something positive in this blog...I'll see if I can find something else).

As for Wazzu's defense...they STUNK! Just look at the numbers:

-- The Cougs could not stop the run (and Baylor realized that). The Bears ran 58 plays, 42 of those were on the ground. I think I heard that BU threw the ball only four times in the second half.

-- Washington State allowed 555 total yards, 426 were rushing yards.

-- Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin (a freshman) ran the ball eleven times for 217 yards, a 19.7 yard average. The Bears as a team gained more than ten yards per carry (that's disgusting).

Turnovers also killed Washington State. I already mentioned Lopina's two interceptions, but didn't tell you about the three lost fumbles (one was really embarrassing...the ball was snapped off Lopina's facemask when he wasn't looking). On the other hand, the Cougar defense didn't force any turnovers.

Another stat that really stands out is sacks. Baylor registered seven sacks on Saturday; the Cougs only had one (thank you Matt Mullenix).

I'm going to leave this on a positive note (I had to dig, but I knew I could find something). The Cougars kicking/punting game was on the mark against the Bears. Reid Forrest punted the ball four times (because of all the turnovers) for 197 yards (a 49.2 yard average), including a booming 59 yard punt from deep in the end zone. It also looks like Nico Grasu will be the Cougars kicker (he's started the last two games). He drilled both extra points and also buried a 31 yard field goal early in the 4th (his only attempt).

Washington State plays Portland State next weekend. I already hear people asking if WSU can win that football game. There's no doubt in my mind the Cougs will beat the Vikings.

I'll be blogging about that matchup (including a report from practice on Wednesday) all week long...stay tuned!

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