Now Marshall Lobbestael is out for Cougars

Like the point totals Washington State is allowing these days, its attrition at quarterback is reaching staggering proportions.

The bedraggled Cougars (1-6) learned Monday they have lost redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael to a serious knee injury, marking the third WSU quarterback out for an extended period of time in 2008.

Lobbestael was hurt early in the fourth quarter in a 66-13 loss at Oregon State. WSU coach Paul Wulff originally said he thought Lobbestael had a strain and would be lost for 2-4 weeks, but an MRI exam revealed tears to the anterior-cruciate and medial-collateral ligaments in his left knee. His recovery time is estimated at nine months.

The Cougars' quarterback picture is growing more desperate, partly because a poor and beat-up offensive line can't protect the position. Saturday, USC, freshly fourth-ranked in the coaches poll, comes to Pullman.

Wulff has said he expects to have junior Kevin Lopina back, and he figures to start. Lopina started two games in September but suffered a broken vertebra Sept. 20. In the same game against Portland State, the starter who began the season, Gary Rogers, also incurred a small vertebra fracture, putting him out for the season.

Behind Lopina, it could get interesting. Wulff has indicated that J.T. Levenseller, son of longtime WSU receivers coach Mike Levenseller, would be the backup if Lobbestael's injury were long-term. At Oregon State, the Cougars went with redshirt freshman walk-on Dan Wagner, hoping to preserve a redshirt season for Levenseller.

Now that prospect looks dim, at the rate WSU is losing quarterbacks. Wagner would be No. 3 on the depth chart, and No. 4 is Peter Roberts, a Woodinville High product who only joined the team last week to be a scout-team performer after winning that job in an all-campus tryout.

Levenseller entered WSU last January as a "grayshirt," so he has a spring and fall behind him. He had arthroscopic knee surgery after spring drills.

"Since spring football, he's made a lot of progress," said Wulff. "He's definitely showed enough signs to us that he's got a chance to really help our team in the next four years."

Meanwhile, injuries to other offensive players have deepened WSU's problems. A summary involving full-time or part-time starters:

Offensive line — Senior starter Dan Rowlands quit football late in fall camp with chronic shoulder problems, and the line has featured five starting combinations in seven games. Now tackle Vaughn Lesuma has a shoulder injury being tested, guard Brian Danaher has been battling shoulder problems and may sit out a second straight game against USC, and tackle Steven Ayers has missed the last two games with concussion and neck problems. Chris Prummer, a redshirt freshman who had just earned playing time as a center backup, is out 3-4 weeks with a knee injury.

Running back — The Nos. 1-2 tailbacks, Chris Ivory (hamstring) and Dwight Tardy (knee), sat out the OSU game. Ivory is out again this week.

Wide receiver — Jeshua Anderson (hernia) and Daniel Blackledge (hamstring) were out early in the season, and true freshman Jared Karstetter started the opener.

Tight end — Devin Frischknecht, one of WSU's most capable players, suffered a high ankle sprain at OSU and appears out this week.

The Cougars have allowed 316 points and seem destined to top the school (460 in 1970) and Pac-10 records (469, Oregon State, 1981).

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281