WSU Notebook | Freshman fills in at center

PULLMAN — Andrew Roxas never had played center until he arrived at Washington State's practice in August as a true freshman.

Saturday, he played it for the first time in a game — against storied UCLA no less, and he more than held his own.

"To be honest with you, the whole game is a blur for me," said the 295-pounder from Sun Valley, Calif.

Others saw his performance, which included only one botched snap and no sacks allowed, more clearly than he did.

Offensive-line coach George Yarno called Roxas' performance "a monumental accomplishment for that young man. ... He just did a tremendous job."

Starting tight end Jed Collins said, "He's just a stud physically. He'll knock anybody in the face."

Roxas is the Cougars' No. 6 lineman, and Yarno demands that young linemen learn multiple positions. Roxas got the start because Kenny Alfred was sidelined with a concussion.

Roxas admitted he had some jitters before the game.

"When it got down to it, those butterflies turned into excitement," he said.

WSU finally special

The Cougars, who have been taking a regular beating on special teams, countered with some punch of their own.

They had a blocked punt from Husain Abdullah, with tight end Jed Collins plucking the ball out of the air on an 18-yard return.

Abdullah said an observation from teammate A'i Ahmu that the Bruins were "fanning out and leaving it open" led to the block late in the second quarter.

"He said, 'It's going to be wide-open,' " Abdullah said. "I wish I'd gotten more of it."

The Cougars' suspect punting game also flourished, averaging 42 yards with a minus-2 return yards.

There were three negatives: WSU tried a "pooch" kick immediately after tying it 7-7 in the first quarter, but Wade Penner's kick sailed out of bounds with no chance of being touched by anybody.

"The kid just mis-hit it," WSU coach Bill Doba said.

Early in the third quarter, WSU's Brian Williams was called for a 5-yard roughing penalty on UCLA punter Aaron Perez on what appeared to be incidental contact.

Late in the third, Kevin Brown blocked Romeen Abdollmohammadi's 18-yard field goal.

"We have some things we need to clean up," Doba said of the special teams.

Brink on the move

Alex Brink's 271 yards passing moved the senior quarterback into ninth place on the Pac-10 career passing list, with 9,445 yards, passing Stanford's John Elway and Oregon State's Erik Wilhelm.

Brink also moved into eighth place in Pac-10 career touchdowns with 69 when he hit Brandon Gibson in the fourth quarter. Brink moved past UCLA's Cade McNown.

Brink has passed for a touchdown in 13 consecutive games.

Notes

• WSU has now won six of seven against the Bruins. The only UCLA victory in that stretch was a 44-41 overtime win in 2005 at Martin Stadium in which the Cougars blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead.

• Abdollmohammadi's 41-yard field goal in the first quarter was a career long.

• With six receptions against UCLA, wide receiver Michael Bumpus moved to 25th on the Pac-10's career list with 172. He is second on the Cougars' career list, trailing Hugh Campbell's 176.

• Sophomore linebacker Andy Mattingly has a sack in three consecutive games. He also has forced three fumbles in the past two games.

• The Cougars have scored in 269 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak among Division I schools.

• UCLA's Kyle Bosworth's 19 tackles are the most by a Bruin since Eric Turner had 21 against Oregon in 1989.

• Former Cougars lineman Mike Utley was presented with the WSU Alumni Achievement Award between the third and fourth quarters. The award is the highest honor given by the association. Utley was an All-America offensive lineman on the 1988 Aloha Bowl team and has been in a wheelchair since suffering a paralyzing injury in a 1991 NFL game while playing for the Detroit Lions.

• Next week's 7 o'clock WSU game at California will be televised on FSN.

Seattle Times staff reporter Bud Withers and freelancer Brandon Scheller contributed to this notebook.