Football is a team game.
Offense, defense and special teams all have to do their part, as individuals can’t win games by themselves. With so many different pieces to the puzzle, depth is a huge factor.
It’s also what the abysmal Washington State football team lacks most.
The Cougars have already lost two quarterbacks, senior Gary Rogers and redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael, to injuries and were dealt another blow in Saturday’s 31-0 loss to ASU.
“That has been the story of our season,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said. “A lot of things have gone the wrong way.”
It’s hard to find positives for WSU this year, especially after it fell to 1-10 (0-8 in the Pac-10).
WSU was competitive for a half against ASU but did not have the depth to stay with the Sun Devils for 60 minutes.
An injury to starting quarterback junior Kevin Lopina further hindered the Cougars’ cause. Lopina completed 11 of 16 passes for 82 yards.
He was knocked out of the game at the end of the first half with a concussion. Wulff said Lopina’s status for next week’s game against Washington was unknown.
Freshman J.T. Levenseller stepped in for Lopina but could not move the Cougar offense and never mounted a scoring threat.
The freshman threw an interception and fumbled a fourth down attempt that was returned for a touchdown.
“I get a lot of reps with the first team in practice so I’m expected to know everything,” Levenseller said. “If I make a mistake it’s all on me.”
Levenseller also suffered an injury to his left wrist in the second half. The sprain is on his non-throwing wrist and his status is also unknown for next weekend.
Levenseller completed 7 of 14 passes for 41 yards.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Sturdy said he wanted to stay aggressive and give Levenseller chances to make plays.
“[Levenseller] is not as comfortable with the offense,” Sturdy said.
“He’s a good athlete so we just wanted to let him play football. You never worry about him competing.”
Reach the reporter at todonnel@asu.edu.
