Cougs’ changes add up

PULLMAN – This was a week of change in the Palouse, from the weather – a driving rain soaked Martin Stadium most of the second half – to the result – Washington State earned its first win of the year, 48-9 over Portland State on Saturday.

But the most significant changes probably occurred on the field, where the Cougars’ revamped lineup produced results.

The major change came on the defensive side of the ball, where Xavier Hicks, coming off a three-game suspension, and Alfonso Jackson started at safety.

The two spearheaded a defense that turned Portland State’s run-and-shoot offense into sputter and stall, holding the Vikings to 246 yards of total offense.

Hicks made the most immediate impact, leading WSU in tackles with seven and in big hits, with three, including one on a kickoff return that earned groans from the crowd.

He also had one of WSU’s many missed opportunities.

“It’s too hard to tell,” the junior said when asked how many picks they could have had. “We had so many dropped interceptions. It was good, though, we got our hands on so many balls.”

Sophomore linebacker Hallston Higgins, making his first start in place of an injured Cory Evans, not only contributed three tackles, but got the offense jump-started by intercepting Drew Hubel’s first pass and returning it to the Portland State 17.

It was one of three turnovers the Cougars forced.

“To be able to be even or plus, it’s big,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said of the takeaways. “It’s great for momentum, obviously, we had a turnover on the first play.”

Strong on the left

Another change occurred on the offensive line, where sophomore Joe Eppele got his first start at left tackle, with senior Vaughn Lesuma moving inside.

The two helped key a Cougars running game that posted a season-high 277 yards, including runs of 36, 23 and 22 yards.

But that doesn’t mean they were perfect.

“It’s a work in progress,” Wulff said.

Part of that work includes learning to communicate.

“Joe and I were talking,” Lesuma said, “(and) we kind of we went into this game knowing, let’s just worry about ourselves, because we are both new guys at new positions.”

With Micah Hannam and Brian Danaher holding down the right side and Kenny Alfred at center, the changes on the left side were this week’s only offensive alterations. But they were enough.

Fantastic Frischknecht

Starting tight end Devin Frischknecht has been in and out of the lineup the first three weeks, nursing a variety of injuries. He was back in Saturday and it showed.

“He’s a really good passing threat as a tight end,” Wulff said. “He’s got good hands, great ball skills and, when he’s going the right way and doing things right, he’s very valuable.”

He must have been doing all those things, as he led the Cougars with five catches for 110 yards, including a 53-yard scoring strike from Marshall Lobbestael.

“Seriously, I like Lobbestael, I always have,” Frischknecht said. “We just got open, basically, it was always open. They really didn’t cover the tight end.”

Besides Frischknecht’s catches, Ben Woodard added another four catches for 58 yards and Tony Thompson added one more for 7.

The play’s the thing

It didn’t seem like a big stage. Saturday’s crowd of 23,920 was the lowest for a September game at Martin Stadium since 2002, and more than half of them were washed away by the rain that arrived around halftime.

And though Portland State has made it a habit the past four seasons to play Football Bowl Subdivision opponents – and plans to play more – coach Jerry Glanville felt his Vikings fainted.

“You can’t let the theater be bigger than the play,” he said. “I think we were overcome by where we were. Well, we’re going someplace like this every year. I take the blame for the loss. I didn’t emphasize that it didn’t matter where we were – but it did, and it won’t in the future.”

As disjointed as the Cougars looked for a half, the Vikings appeared flat or scared – or just flat scared.

“You have to take what you do in practice, what you’ve been drilling and practicing and you have to put it on the field,” Glanville said. “We absolutely did not do that on offense or defense for a half.”