Washington State Winning Despite Problems

It probably wouldn’t be accurate to say that Washington State’s football team thrives on adversity. Nonetheless, the Cougars are winning despite injuries and off-the-field problems that have plagued them in recent months.

“If I was a rookie head coach, I don’t think I could have handled some of the problems we’ve had with the maturity I did,” Washington State Coach Mike Price said Tuesday.

Price, whose Cougars will play USC Saturday at Pullman, Wash., would not discuss the problems that produced embarrassing summer headlines for the university.

Consider:

--Tailback Steve Broussard spent five days in jail, charged with assaulting a store’s night manager in Pullman.

--The backup tailback, Rich Swinton, was convicted of fourth-degree assault for “improperly touching a woman” and was jailed for two days.

--Wide receiver Tim Stallworth served 90 days in jail for traffic violations, including a second offense of driving with a suspended license.

--Linebacker Dan Grayson was jailed last spring on assault charges but was allowed to participate in spring practice.

In a small town such as Pullman, players live in a fishbowl and their transgressions don’t go unnoticed.

Moreover, if these offending athletes had been marginal players, the cases probably wouldn’t have attracted so much attention.

But Broussard, who played at L.A.’s Manual Arts High School, was the Pacific 10’s leading rusher last year with 1,280 yards. He has been hampered recently by a hamstring injury and might not play extensively against USC.

Although he started only two games last season, Swinton, who attended Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, rushed for 1,018 yards as the Cougars went 9-3.

He also has a hamstring injury and isn’t expected to play against USC.

Stallworth, also from Montclair Prep, is not injured, however and is Washington State’s leading receiver with 20 catches for a 19.4-yard average and four touchdowns.

Grayson is a starting linebacker.

The problems of the summer aside, WSU is playing without quarterback Brad Gossen, who suffered torn cartilage in his left thumb, his passing hand, two weeks ago against Oregon State.

Gossen was a teammate of USC wide receiver Gary Wellman at Westlake High School.

And 6-foot-4, 288-pound tackle Tony Savage, who has been mentioned as a candidate for the Outland Trophy, is recovering from an ankle injury.

Yet the Cougars prosper. They are unbeaten in four games and are riding a nine-game winning streak, its best since it went to the Rose Bowl in 1930.

“We’ve had all kinds of adversity,” said Price, the former Weber State coach who replaced Dennis Erickson, now at the University of Miami. “But we have a tough team and nothing is going to stop the players from reaching their goals.”

USC Coach Larry Smith, whose team is 2-1 after a 42-3 victory over Ohio State Saturday, has reason to be concerned about USC’s first road game.

Even though USC has a commanding 40-5-4 advantage in the series, it has only a 3-2 edge--there have been two ties--in games played in Pullman.

“Washington State is on a roll and, as their coach said, they’ve gone through a lot of adversity which has made then mentally tough,” Smith said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence.

“They have great speed at the skill positions. And they have a stretch-type offense with the passing game and a ton of formations and sometimes no backs at all.

“On defense, all four of their guys in the down positions are seniors. They play the run really well and are excellent pass rushers. Overall, they’ve got 14 interceptions to lead the country.”

However, the Cougars have had plenty of opportunities for interceptions, having played Brigham Young and Oregon State, both passing teams, along with Idaho and Wyoming.

Price acknowledged as much, saying, “Our first season, the passing season, is over. Now we play the running and passing teams.”

Trojan Notes

Larry Smith said that the cast will be removed from the injured thumb of tailback Scott Lockwood, but Lockwood is not expected to play against Washington State. . . . Redshirt freshman Aaron Garcia has replaced Brad Gossen at quarterback for Washington State. Since taking over in the third game, when Gossen was injured, Garcia has completed 53.7% of his passes for 322 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

USC quarterback Todd Marinovich has a sprained left wrist, an injury he suffered against Ohio State. “I’m most concerned that the injury is on his throwing arm, and you can’t throw a pass with a stiff wrist,” Smith said. . . . Saturday’s game will be televised by Channel 7, starting at 12:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m.