WSU Football | Cougars lean on Brink

MADISON, Wis. — The Cougars are playing the UW today. No, not the purple UW. The red one.

Washington State faces No. 7 Wisconsin before a sellout crowd of more than 80,000 in historic Camp Randall Stadium in a nationally televised game.

Camp Randall originally was a Civil War training site with a Union Army prison on the grounds. The Cougars are 14-point underdogs and hope to break out of Camp Randall with a nonconference upset like the 1977 Washington State win at Nebraska and the 1988 triumph at Tennessee.

Their chances don't look good. The Badgers are coming off a 12-1 season and are picked by many to win the Big Ten title. Their stars include sophomore tailback P.J. Hill, who rushed for 1,569 yards last year, and fellow All-America candidate Travis Beckum, a tight end with size, speed and hands.

The Badgers have won nine consecutive season openers and are 20-1 in their past 21 nonconference games.

Cougars hopes ride mostly on fifth-year senior quarterback Alex Brink having a big day. Brink is the second-team All-Pac 10 selection who has Wisconsin's attention.

"They have a quarterback in Alex Brink that as long as I've been here is probably one of the best ones we've seen coming to Camp Randall," said Bret Bielema, the Badgers' second-year coach. "Very accurate, strong, strong arm, as well as a soft touch when he needs it."

Bielema was defensive coordinator for two years before being promoted to succeed Barry Alvarez.

Quarterback is the position where the Cougars appear to have the obvious edge. The Badgers will start fifth-year senior Tyler Donovan, who has two career starts. He operates behind a condominium-sized line that averages 6 feet 6 inches, 314 pounds.

Brink will have to deal with two outstanding cornerbacks in Badgers Allen Langford and Jack Ikegwuonu. However, the Wisconsin safeties are first-year starters.

The game will gauge several Cougars unknowns:

• Special teams. They were awful last year, but new assistant coach David Walkosky seemed to energize them in fall camp.

Walkosky said the players on special teams will be a mixed bag of high-effort athletes.

"Some are starters, some are third-team guys," he said.

• The new offensive tackles. Redshirt freshman Micah Hannam and JC transfer Vaughan Lesuma have one job: Brink preservation.

• Other newcomers. Chima Nwachukwu and JC transfer Devin Giles are at cornerback. JC transfer Alfonso Jackson will start at strong safety.

This is the second consecutive year the Cougars have opened on the road against a team in the rankings penthouse. Last year, they lost 40-14 at No. 4 Auburn but were in the game for three quarters.

WSU coach Bill Doba knows Camp Randall from his assistant days on Indiana and Purdue staffs.

"It's a great atmosphere," he said. "I think we're going to be a better football team coming out of there."

The Cougars have easier nonleague opponents the next two weeks when they face San Diego State in Seattle and Idaho in Pullman.

The Cougars are trying to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2003. An upset over the Badgers would bring the same swagger that existed at the end of October last year when the team had just defeated UCLA and had a 6-3 record and No. 25 ranking. A winless November kept them home.

Doba remarked this week how resolute his 20 seniors are about having a successful season.

"They worked their fannies off during the summer," he said.

Seniors, such as Brink, have remarked that the recruiting class of JC and high-school players seems more serious than previous classes. Five of the newcomers will start today.

They hope it is a historic start in the historic setting.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com