Cougars Lethargic but Win

Washington State Coach Bill Doba had no explanation for the Cougars’ sluggish start.

“I don’t know if they were up, or down, or whatever, but I thought they were pretty lethargic,” Doba said after the No. 14 Cougars beat Arizona, 30-7, on Saturday.

Matt Kegel threw two touchdown passes and Jason David returned an interception for a score for Washington State (5-1, 2-0 Pac-10), coming off an impressive victory last week at Oregon.

“I thought the defense played hard all game,” Doba said.

David, a senior cornerback, agreed that the game was uneven.

“You come off a great win and it’s tough to just let go of it. And I don’t think we played a great game,” he said. “We stayed focused and came out in the second half and played the game we wanted to play.”

Washington State dominated Arizona (1-5, 0-2) in the Wildcats’ first game since coach John Mackovic was fired Sunday. Mike Hankwitz is coaching the team on an interim basis.

The Cougars rolled up 513 yards of offense to Arizona’s 198. Although Washington State had a 294-65 advantage in yards, the Cougars held only a 13-0 halftime lead.

“It was a tough week because of all the changes, but I think our players responded and tried to do everything we asked of them,” Hankwitz said. “I am pleased overall that we came up here and fought into the fourth quarter.”

Washington State held Arizona to 65 yards rushing, and the Wildcats were 0-13 in third-down conversions.

The Cougars, who intercepted seven passes last week against Oregon, grabbed one against the Wildcats.

Kegel sprained his throwing shoulder in the second quarter but stayed in the game until the victory was well in hand.