Arizona Overcomes Nick Foles Injury, Drops WSU 24-7

Pullman, WA (Sports Network) – Keola Antolin ran 21 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns and Nic Grigsby added 66 rushing yards and a score on 14 touches to carry 17th-ranked Arizona past Washington State, 24-7.

Matt Scott came on in relief of injured starter Nick Foles and completed 14- of-20 passes for 139 yards and was intercepted once for the Wildcats (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10), who bounced back from their only loss of the season last week to Oregon State to beat the Cougars for a fifth straight meeting.

Foles left the game a minute into the second quarter with a right knee injury and did not return after going 6-for-7 for 71 yards.

Jeff Tuel connected on 18-of-32 throws for 257 yards and a score and ran for 33 more, while Marquess Wilson made six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars (1-6, 0-4), who have dropped five in a row.

Following a three-and-out, the ’Cats took over at the Washington State 44 and ran just six plays to post the first points of the game on a nine yard-run by Antonlin with 4:48 remaining in the opening stanza.

Antolin’s one-yard scoring run finished off a 15-play drive that covered 95 yards and chewed up 5:44 to give the visitors a 14-0 lead with 11 minutes to go in the half.

Foles was hurt during the march after completing a pass to Travis Cobb. On his first play, Scott hooked up Taimi Tutogi on a 25-yard catch-and-run and directed the remainder of the drive.

Arizona held Washington State to just 56 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes and kept the hosts scoreless in the first half for the first time this season.

The Cougars were forced to punt on their first second half possession. Reid Forrest couldn’t handle the snap and Arizona recovered the loose ball at the seven yard line and needed only one play to cash in. Grigsby found paydirt just 72 seconds into the half to make it a 21-0 game.

WSU finally got on the board with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter on a 23-yard scoring strike from Tuel to Marquess Wilson to polish off a nine-play, 63-yard march.

Alex Zendejas booted a 40-yard field goal with 11:57 to go in the game to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Arizona leads the all-time series, 25-13…The Wildcats have won 12 of the last 17 meetings, including two straight visits to Pullman…Arizona has won 16 of its last 25 conference games since the middle of the 2007 campaign…The Wildcats played on the road for the first time in 43 days since a visit to Toledo on September 3 to open the season…Grigsby moved past Trung Canidate into third place on the Arizona all-time list with 26 rushing touchdowns…Cobb was Arizona’s leading receiver with seven catches for 62 yards…The Cougars are 9-33 against ranked teams since 2000…Washington State lost earlier this season to Oregon and USC when both teams were ranked…The Cougars recovered an onsides kick to begin the game.

Nick Foles Reportedly Dislocates Kneecap

The word on Nick Foles is a dislocated kneecap. He’s still in the locker room being evaluated, but the word right now is a dislocation.

The injury is severe, but not the worst thing that could happen to him. Mark Sanchez suffered the same injury at USC and his recovery timetable was one to four weeks.

Updates as they come.

WSU's David Gonzales Fractures Forearm, Damante Horton Sprains Left Knee

Washington State left tackle David Gonzales fractured his forearm and is out. Freshman Damante Horton also sprained his left knee and is out for the remainder of the game.

Andrew Roxas slides in to left guard and Wade Jacobsen takes over at left tackle. Aire Justin is in for Damante Horton.

Arizona's Nick Foles Out With Knee Injury

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles stayed in the locker room after halftime and likely will not return today. His long-term status is unknown at this time.

With Foles out, Matt Scott is handling the signal-calling for the Wildcats.

Arizona's Nick Foles Injures Knee

In the first half of the Washington State vs. Arizona game, Wildcat quarterback Nick Foles was rolled-up on by Travis Long, going down and staying on the turf with a knee injury.

Foles, the top passer in the Pac-10 so far, couldn’t put any weight on his right leg following the hit. He was on the sidelines with his knee up, receiving treatment in the form of ice.

No word on the severity of the injury yet, but we’ll pass that along when we get it.

Arizona Lead WSU At The Half, 14-0

It’s halftime in Pullman and the Arizona Wildcats lead the Washington State Cougars 14-0.

The Cougars recovered an onside kick to open the game, but failed to capitalize. Keola Antolin scampered for two touchdowns in the first half.

Nick Foles went down with a leg injury early on and has not returned. He was being evaluated on the sidelines and had ice on his leg.

The Cougar offense has stalled, rushing for one net yard and only gaining 56 yards of total offense in the first half.

WSU-Arizona Preview

The Sports Network

By Ralph Lauro, Associate College Football Editor

GAME NOTES: The 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats will attempt to bounce back from their first setback, as they tangle with the Washington State Cougars in a Pac-10 bout this weekend at Martin Stadium.

After opening the season with four straight wins, including an upset of then ninth-ranked Iowa, the Wildcats were handed their first defeat, a 29-27 loss to Oregon State last weekend.

“It’s kind of frustrating coming off a bye week. We should have been a lot more on top of things. We prepared for them for two weeks,” Arizona defensive end Ricky Elmore said. “I don’t know if we were just sluggish from the week off, but something needs to change.”

The loss capped a four-game homestand for Arizona, which was playing its first game as a top-10 team since 1999. The Wildcats dropped all the way down to No.17 following the defeat and they are now out for redemption in their first road game since opening the season with a win at Toledo on September 3rd.

The Cougars meanwhile, continued their losing ways under head coach Paul Wulff, falling 43-23 to No.3 Oregon last weekend, though the game was a bit closer than the score would indicate.

“I’m disappointed,” said Wulff, who fell to 4-27 at WSU. “We had a lot of opportunities out their today to score more points and play a little better defense.”

It was the fourth loss in a row for WSU, which picked up its only win of the season in a 23-22 decision over Montana State, a FCS program.

As far as the all-time series is concerned, Arizona holds a 24-13 advantage over WSU and the Wildcats picked up a 48-7 victory in Tucson last season.

Nick Foles threw for a career-high 440 yards and three TDs, but it wasn’t quite enough for Arizona in a narrow loss to OSU this past weekend. Foles, who led two late-game TD drives to beat Iowa and Cal, didn’t have enough to overcome OSU despite the big game that included a 35-of-46 effort on pass attempts. Still, Foles has enjoyed a good start to the campaign and he is averaging 305.8 ypg through the air, while completing an efficient 74.9 percent of his tosses.

Juron Criner has been Foles’ main target and he too was spectacular last weekend, pulling in 12 balls for 179 yards and a score. The explosive WR is now averaging 106.2 receiving yards per game, with a team-high of three TDs.

Despite some talented backs, the Wildcats haven’t gotten much from their ground attack this season, averaging only 116.4 ypg. Keola Antolin’s performance stood out the most against OSU, as he ran for 70 yards and a score, while catching four balls for 40 yards and another TD.

Arizona has one of the top pass defenses around heading into last weekend, but that all changed when OSU threw for 393 yards on a successful 30-of-42 pass attempts. Following the performance, Arizona dipped from eighth to 42nd nationally in pass efficiency defense.

The defense, though, continued to prove strong against the run, limiting a good OSU ground attack to just 93 yards on 35 carries. For the season, the Wildcats are permitting just 99.6 ypg on the ground and opponents are averaging a mere 2.8 yards per carry.

Leading the Arizona defense is Paul Vassallo, who has 33 stops and a sack to his credit. Justin Washington has also enjoyed a fast start and he tops the roster in TFLs (seven) and sacks (four), to go with 23 tackles.

WSU hung tough against Oregon last weekend and were about to make things really interesting until QB Jeff Tuel was picked at the goal line with the Cougars trailing 36-23 late in the third quarter. It was a critical mistake, but the only one by Tuel, who passed for 245 yards and a TD on 25-of-40 attempts. Considering WSU’s lack of a ground attack, averaging just 86.8 ppg, Tuel has done a rather nice job this season, passing for 246.3 ypg with nine TDs against five INTs.

Jared Karstetter and Marquess Wilson have provided Tuel with some weapons to work with, as Karstetter paces the squad with 33 catches and four TDs, while Wilson is tops with 515 receiving yards. Against Oregon, it was Karstetter who turned in a noteworthy performance, logging 10 catches for 106 yards.

The big problem for the Cougars this season has been their defense, which is allowing a whopping 42.8 ppg and 517.5 total ypg. The unit has been equally as bad versus the run and pass, giving up 254.7 ypg on the ground and 262.8 ypg through the air.

Facing Oregon’s potent attack last weekend, the Cougars were shredded for 252 rushing yards and 304 passing. The Ducks completed 21-of-27 pass attempts and averaged 8.3 yards per play against WSU, which tried to keep things close with three forced and recovered fumbles. Alex Hoffman-Ellis had one of those forced fumbles and he finished with eight stops and a sack as well. He currently paces the club with 40 stops, two sack sand a pair of INTs for the season.

The Wildcats are coming off a disappointing result, but they should have no trouble returning to the win column with a rout of a far less talented WSU squad.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona 41, Washington State 17

WSU-Arizona Final Injury Report

Ted Miller had the final injury report for all the week’s games and WSU has a number of players listed.

S Chima Nwachukwa, hamstring, out
WR Jeffrey Solomon, knee, out
OT Micah Hannam, concussion, out
LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis, back, doubtful
LB Mike Ledgerwood, neck, doubtful
LB Sekop Kaufusi, leg, questionable
TE Andrei Lintz, shoulder, probable
OG Tyson Pencer, groin, doubtful
LB Jamal Atofau, suspension, out

Hoffman-Ellis has yet to practice this week and Ledgerwood has been in street clothes during practice. Kaufusi practiced Thursday and should be available, but the linebacking corps is looking very thin today, compounded by the suspension of Jamal Atofau. In their place, C.J. Mizell will fill in at MLB and Sekope Kaufusi may see time at WIL.

Micah Hannam will snap his streak of consecutive games played after suffering a concussion against the Oregon Ducks.

The Arizona list is smaller, with only three players listed.

RB Nic Grigsby, hip, probable
OG Vaughn Dotsy, back, out
WR Bug Wright, shoulder, doubtful

The Cougars and Wildcats kick off at 4:30 p.m. today on Versus.

CougCenter's Guide To The Arizona Game

As he does every week, CougCenter’s Grady Clapp put together his Tailgater’s Guide To Cougar Football. In it, he recommends food and drink while previewing the opponent.

Here’s what he had to say this week.

Arizona is vulnerable. WSU is finally playing quality football, and the Wildcats’ psyche had to take a hit last week with a loss at home to Oregon State. That loss cost U of A a top 10 ranking and ruined the possibility of arriving at the midway point of the season undefeated. The Cougs may have had some off-the-field headlines this week, but I’ve often found those don’t affect a team’s play negatively; sometimes players rally around each other after being let down by one of their own. Add that to what should be a near-capacity Dad’s Weekend crowd, and you have all the makings of an upset.

WSU Football: Thursday Injury Report

The Cougars just finished up practice and there was still an extensive list of players out with injuries.

The Cougs may be light at linebacker this week, with both Mike Ledgerwood and Alex Hoffman-Ellis sitting out today. Hoffman-Ellis may still play, but Ledgerwood is out.

Chima Nwachukwu also appears to be out for the second consecutive week, still nursing a sore hamstring. Micah Hannam never got over his concussion and will snap his streak of consecutive games played.

Jeffrey Solomon is on crutches and out for at least a few weeks with a partially torn ACL.

Micah Hannam To Snap Consecutive Games Streak

Washington State right tackle Micah Hannam won't suit up this weekend against Arizona, snapping a streak of 43 consecutive games played. The right tackle has been a mainstay on the Washington State offensive line, but suffered a concussion in last week's lost to Arizona. In his place, true freshman John Fullington will get the start.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News' Christian Caple tweeted the news from Paul Wulff's Thursday press conference.

WSU vs Arizona: Game Week News and Notes

After an encouraging performance against the Oregon Ducks last weekend in Pullman, the Washington State Cougars take on the Arizona Wildcats at Martin Stadium this Saturday. The Cougars seemed to pick momentum up from Saturday's game, limiting the big plays from LaMichael James and the Ducks. It was a game Paul Wulff and the Cougs thought they could build off of.

The best news from Saturday was the continued improvement seen from the Cougs. After starting the season incredibly slow, WSU has improved every week, giving fans hope for the rest of the season and the future.

Sure the Ducks may have overlooked WSU. But this is a team that's so talented, they can overlook a team and still run them off the field. The fact that Oregon may have given WSU less than their full attention doesn't take anything away from the way the Cougs played yesterday. They fought, scrapped and clawed to give Oregon one heck of a game.

After all the good to come from Saturday's game, the team had to deal with unneeded distractions in the wake of the loss. Shortly after the game, two Cougar players -- Andre Barrington and Jamal Atofau -- were arrested in a marijuana grow operation sting.

Local products Jamal Atofau and Andre Barrington were arrested early Sunday morning after Pullman police officers served a search warrant and found 38 marijuana plants in the basement of their rental home. The plants were part of an apparent grow operation in the house, leading to felony drug charges for all four living on the premises.

Cougar fans were embarrassed by the arrests and CougCenter writer Jeff Nusser called for an immediate dismissal.

I don't care whose plants they were. Atofau and Barrington lived in the apartment, and they had to know they were there. They're culpable. And whether it's through incredible audacity or sheer stupidity (or both), these two guys have brought tremendous embarrassment on a program that is headed in the right direction -- including a head coach who went to bat for both of these guys -- and that, to me, is unforgivable. Both should not only be kicked off the football team; they should be expelled from WSU.

The Cougs came out of the Oregon game relatively healthy, but did take a big hit at wide receiver. Jeffrey Solomon partially tore his ACL and may be out for a few weeks.

Jeffrey Solomon is still waiting for the swelling to go down on his left knee before deciding how to proceed with his rehabilitation on his partially torn ACL

Arizona comes into the game angry after losing to the Oregon State Beavers last weekend. After rising in the polls, the loss knocked Arizona back to 17th in the AP poll. Head coach Mike Stoops will surely have his Wildcats ready to play in Pullman this weekend.

Washington State and Arizona kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Versus.