WSU Notebook | Split following for this Coug

TEMPE, Ariz. — David and Claudia Alfred of Gig Harbor have a logistical challenge a lot of sports parents would love.

They have two sons starting on different college football teams in different leagues.

The solution? A lot of weekends David goes to one game and Claudia goes to the other.

That's the case this weekend as Claudia traveled to Tempe to watch Kenny, a redshirt freshman, start at center for Washington State against Arizona State.

David got the shorter trip to Cheney to watch Matt, a redshirt junior, start at guard for Eastern Washington against Idaho State.

David, a Bremerton product, played at Western Washington and his résumé in education includes a stint as head football coach at Tyee High School in Sea-Tac.

The couple got some scheduling breaks at the start of the season when Eastern played at Oregon State on Aug. 31, a Thursday night, and then they were able to fly across the country to watch WSU play Auburn on Saturday.

Since then, they have gone separate ways five times, but have seen four games together.

Claudia said all the logistics are mapped out on an excel spread sheet at their Gig Harbor-area home.

"It's really been fun," she said. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Mowed down

So how does a defense that has performed pretty respectably in 2006 suddenly allow a struggling offense to score on its first seven possessions?

Defensive coordinator Robb Akey enumerated the various ways the Cougars broke down against Arizona State, then made the point that he saw instances when WSU defenders were trying to cover for the mistakes of others, a frequent problem last year.

"Players start to press," Akey said. "You're trying to get guys to get toned down and just mow your own lawn. If you take care of your own neighborhood and he takes care of his, we'll be fine.

"We need to get that neighborhood watch back."

Pouring it on?

Arizona State's last touchdown came after the Sun Devils took over at their 41 with 4:26 left. Reserve quarterback Danny Sullivan threw deep once over the middle and tossed another medium-range pass that drew a pass-interference call.

On the drive, he threw three times. After one, WSU ran weary defensive end Mkristo Bruce back into the game to rush Sullivan. It led to the question of WSU coach Bill Doba: Did he believe ASU coach Dirk Koetter had tried to pour it on?

"No," Doba said flatly. Asked what they talked about afterwards, he said, "What Dirk and I said is our business."

Notes

• Arizona State honored its 1986 and 1996 Rose Bowl teams Saturday night. Any hopes of the 2006 team keeping the "every 10th year" tradition alive faded with late-September defeats against California and Oregon. The 1986 ASU team beat Michigan 22-15 in the Rose Bowl and the 1996 team lost to Ohio State 20-17.

• Bruce is a semifinalist for the third annual Lott Trophy. Named after NFL Hall of Fame member Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's defensive impact player of the year. Other semifinalists are linebackers Buster Davis of Florida State, Patrick Willis of Mississippi and Paul Posluszny of Penn State, safety Michael Griffin of Texas, cornerback Daymeion Hughes of California and defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock of Ohio State.

• WSU junior quarterback Alex Brink has been named one of 11 finalists for the second annual Wuerffel Trophy. The award, named after the former Florida quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy, is given to the college player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement. Brink has a 3.54 grade-point average in sports management.

• WSU coaches said DT Ropati Pitoitua, who practiced Tuesday and Wednesday, had his knee swell Thursday and thus didn't make the trip. Nor did RB DeMaundray Woolridge, who is bothered by a neck stinger.

• The Cougars allowed ASU to convert 8 of 15 third downs, making it 17 of 33 combined in two weeks against the Arizona schools.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com. Times staff reporter Bud Withers contributed to this report.