Apple Cup Notebook | Doba refutes the resignation rumor

PULLMAN — Washington State coach Bill Doba said Tuesday that he won't be resigning after the Apple Cup.

"I don't plan to resign," Doba, 67, told The Times.

The Doba-will-resign rumor gained momentum this week after the 52-17 blowout loss at home to Oregon State last Saturday that dropped the Cougars to 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Pac-10.

WSU athletic director Jim Sterk has said that Doba's job status will be reviewed after the season. This is his fifth season as head coach (29-29), and he is under contact through the 2009 season.

Locker will start

What remaining mystery there might have been about the starting quarterback for Washington was removed Tuesday when Washington offensive coordinator Tim Lappano said that Jake Locker will start.

"You guys saw him warming up, right?" Lappano asked, referring to the pregame warmup period before UW's 37-23 win over California on Saturday. "He was really throwing it pretty good."

Still, while Locker is back in the saddle — coaches say he won't have any limitations — Lappano said he hopes Locker will use a little more caution than he did when he was injured on a scramble against Oregon State. On the play, Locker busted out of the pocket and dove back into the field after nearing the sideline in an attempt to get a first down.

Position switch

Little noticed in the Huskies' win over California was that Darin Harris moved to strong safety (which typically plays closer to the line and has more run defense responsibility) and Mesphin Forrester moved to free safety (farther from the line).

Harris responded by tying a career high with 11 tackles, most for the Huskies in the game and the latest in a string of solid outings since moving into the lineup after Jason Wells suffered a season-ending knee injury against USC.

"He's probably our most consistent guy back there right now," said UW defensive coordinator Kent Baer of Harris, a junior from Decatur High who missed last season with a back injury. "I love how hard he plays."

Numbers game

WSU offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller wrote a big "3" on the dry-erase whiteboard at the first receivers' meeting this week.

"We were trying to figure it out," said senior slot receiver Michael Bumpus. "We asked, 'What does that mean?' "

Levenseller supplied the answer: The Cougars are trying to beat Washington for the third time in four years. If they do it, it will be only the third time in history the Cougars have won three of four. The other times were 1951-53-54 and 1982-83-85.

Notes

• UW cornerback Byron Davenport said he suffered a bruised knee in practice last week when he banged into receiver Curtis Shaw during a drill, which caused him to sit out the Cal game. He said he expects to play this week but was eager to test out the knee in practice. He appeared to be running fine in the portion of practice open to the media.

• UW running back Louis Rankin said he's on the road to recovery from the hip pointer that held him out of the last 20 minutes of the Cal game and will be ready to play.

• Third-string WSU running back Marcus Richmond suffered an injury to his left knee during practice and left the indoor-practice facility on crutches. Starting wide receiver Brandon Gibson was in sweats to rest various ailments from a heel to his back but said he will play. Starting tight end Jed Collins (ankle) also didn't practice but has said he will play.

• As of Tuesday afternoon there were only about 200 tickets remaining.

• UW offensive lineman Sir Aaron Mason will be introduced as a senior Saturday, he decided he will not return next season.