It doesn’t get easier for Cougars

Associated Press

PULLMAN – Just when the top rusher in the Pacific-10 Conference is in town, Washington State is searching for a defense.

DeShaun Foster and No. 9 UCLA visit No. 16 Washington State on Saturday at Martin Stadium in a game that pits teams trying to bounce back from their first losses. The loser likely will drop out of the conference championship race.

“That’s what makes this game Saturday such an exciting football game,” UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. “(WSU coach Mike Price) and I both lost a game Saturday and can’t afford to lose another one.”

Washington State (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Pac-10) watched as Oregon backup tailback Onterrio Smith gained a school-record 285 yards en route to a 24-17 win. UCLA (6-1, 3-1) was surprised by Stanford, which held Foster to a season-low 77 yards in a 38-28 upset.

Foster is the first Bruin back to gain more than 1,000 yards in seven games. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior averages 146 yards a game.

“If you had to build a running back, you’d try to build one who would look an awful lot like Foster,” Price said.

Foster, who leads the Pac-10 in rushing and is fourth in NCAA Division I, gives the Bruins a one-dimensional offense, Price said. But with more than 162 all-purpose yards per game, Foster has been all UCLA has needed.

“Obviously, DeShaun Foster is one great back,” Price said. “They are going to give the ball to him against us and everybody else. Stopping him is the main thing on Saturday.”

The Bruins’ top quarterbacks, Cory Paus and Scott McEwan, are questionable. Paus aggravated an injury to his right thumb against Stanford and was replaced by McEwan, who sprained his right ankle, but completed 15 of 24 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Ryan McCann, who won three games last season, may get the call, Toledo said.

UCLA boasts one of the top defenses in the conference, holding opponents to 315 yards and 16.4 points per game. Linebacker Robert Thomas leads the conference in tackles for loss (18) and averages 10 tackles per game.

Wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon and safety Jason Stephens are injured and won’t make the trip to Pullman, Toledo said.

The Cougars may get some help from UCLA’s quarterback quandary, Price said.

Cornerback Marcus Truffant returns after missing a month with a broken right thumb, allowing the Cougars to match UCLA receivers one-on-one so linebacker Billy Newman can move up to help against the run.

Foster has had problems holding the ball and a fumble last week resulted in a Stanford score, but Toledo said that can be overcome.

“One of the things he does is he is running with the ball a little bit loose and doesn’t wrap it up all the time,” Toledo said. “And he has so many yards after contact that he doesn’t go down easily. He’s got to realize when people are starting to hit him, he has got to wrap the ball up and go down.”

After last week’s poor defensive performance against Oregon, the Cougars have spent more time on tackling and blocking in practices. WSU still leads the conference in sacks, with 26, and has a plus-9 turnover margin.

WSU’s Jason Gesser, who leads the conference in passing yards and total offense, shook off the loss to Oregon.

“We had a seven-game win streak this season,” Gesser said. “We can get a three-game streak easy.”