Cougars traveling to face Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Maybe a little of Oregon State's annual second-half turnaround will rub off on the bedraggled Washington State Cougars here today.

The Beavers are 2-3, which is right where they're accustomed to being after five games. Their fans are used to the idea that doesn't mean anything, other than maybe Oregon State is about to explode.

Two years ago, Oregon State was 2-3 after a 13-6 loss here to Washington State, amid major grumbling about coach Mike Riley and quarterback Matt Moore. From there, the Beavers regrouped and won eight of their last nine, including an upset of USC, to finish 10-4.

Last year, at 2-3, the Beavers beat everybody left on the schedule except USC, and went 9-4.

Which would seem to forewarn the Cougars, who are 1-5, while first-year coach Paul Wulff emphasizes the need to try to get better, dismal as the circumstances are.

"We've been very focused on improvement," he said late in the week. "That's what's keeping all of us going — players and coaches — getting better."

Nobody at WSU would concede it, but the idea of an upset victory seems all but out of the question. In some quarters, WSU is a 30-point underdog, the biggest spread favoring the Beavers in any game since at least 1974 — and quite possibly in school history.

So improvement is the next-best scenario for WSU, and nobody annually does it quite like the Beavers, who have shown recent signs they're once more on an upward tick.

They went into the season with a brand-new starting front seven on defense. That group mostly shut down USC in a mammoth upset, and held Utah last week to 20 points before a late flurry in the last two minutes netted the Utes a 31-28 victory.

Likewise, Riley was concerned about two offensive-line spots in August, but he likes what he's seeing from redshirt freshman tackle Mike Remmers and center Alex Linnenkohl, a sophomore from Olympia.

"Mike Cavanaugh pushes them hard," said Riley of the Beavers' offensive line coach. "They've got some confidence now. That's such a major thing in sports."

Job one for the Cougars will be coping with bowling-ball freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers, whose 110 yards per game leads the Pac-10 in rushing. California transfer James Montgomery has imitated Rodgers in practice for WSU, but nobody can quite match Rodgers' 5-foot-6 stature and attributes.

"He can slither through a crack like nobody I've seen," Wulff said. "He turns his shoulder and makes himself skinny. He's a very challenging little guy who plays big."

The Cougars hope to get back several players who have been banged up, but they will be without offensive tackle Steven Ayers and running back Chris Ivory. Tailback Dwight Tardy could play but is less than 100 percent with a knee problem, perhaps leaving considerable work to Logwone Mitz.

Notes

• Wulff attributed repeated low shotgun snaps last week at UCLA to center Kenny Alfred battling hip pain. Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael had to bend to catch many snaps.

• Wulff said a sideline-interference penalty at UCLA came when an official made contact with an assistant coach too close to the sideline. He said that was a "big emphasis" in officiating this season.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com