Washington State and No. 9 Oregon collide at Autzen Stadium this Saturday, 12:30 p.m., with each team hoping to get back on the winning track after losing its last Pacific-10 Conference outing, at home, in the game’s final minute.
The Ducks (4-1, 1-1 Pac-10) failed to tie their game with then-No. 6 California when senior wide receiver Cameron Colvin fumbled the ball into the endzone with less than 20 seconds left on the clock. The Cougars lost to then-No. 18 Arizona State when senior place kicker Rameen Abdollmohammadi’s field goal attempt went wide left as time expired.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, Washington State (2-4, 0-3 Pac-10) is a perennial juggernaut in the week following a last-minute loss. The last five times the Cougars have lost in the game’s final minute they have won the following week. Three of those victories have come on the road.
In another interesting trend, the Cougars have played ranked teams back-to-back in seven of the last eight seasons. They are 3-2 when they face the higher-ranked team in the second week. The Cougars are also 2-1 all-time against ranked Oregon teams at Autzen Stadium.
The Cougars’ hopes of earning a victory in Eugene this weekend rest squarely on the shoulders of senior quarterback Alex Brink.
The former Sheldon High School standout sits at the top of the all-time list in three of the four major statistical categories for passing at Washington State. With four touchdown passes this Saturday he would capture the fourth and final category with 71 career touchdown passes. Brink leads the Pac-10 in total yards with 316.2 per game.
Brink will lead the Pac-10 conference’s most potent passing attack (307.67 yards per game) into Autzen with perhaps the greatest amount of receiving talent he’s had in his four years as Washington State’s starting quarterback.
Junior wide receiver Brandon Gibson leads the receiving corps with 39 catches for 567 yards and six touchdowns. Gibson has caught a touchdown in eight of his last 10 games, dating back to last year.
Senior wide receiver Michael Bumpus is next with 36 catches for 418 yards and three scores. Bumpus sits in second place on the Washington State all-time career receptions list, just 16 behind all-time leader Hugh Campbell. If he continues to match his season average of six catches per game, he will surpass Campbell’s mark in early November.
Tight end Jed Collins rounds out the Cougars’ top three receivers with 31 catches for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cougar running game this season has not been as prolific as the air attack but it has been solid, averaging more than 116 yards per game. Sophomore running back Dwight Tardy is the Cougars leading rusher at 71.3 yards per game, including four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Cougars have struggled. They rank in the bottom third of the conference in each of the five major statistical team defense categories, including dead last in pass efficiency defense and scoring defense. They have allowed more than 34 points per game on average.
But Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said that those numbers might be deceiving, given their defensive performance last week.
“They’re coming off their best game of the season in terms of the way they played on defense,” he said. “They played with energy and conviction.”
They do have some young talent on defense that made its debut against Arizona State, including sophomore linebacker Andy Mattingly and sophomore safety Xavier Hicks, Jr.
Each players made his first career start against Arizona State last Saturday, and each had a career game. Hicks tallied a game-high 17 tackles, 10 of the solo variety, and blocked an extra point. Mattingly recorded 13 tackles and four sacks.
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