Football Notebook

Quarterback controversy

Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel is in the middle of a
quarterback controversy: he needs to find a quarterback who can
stand.

First-string quarterback Cody Pickett suffered a separated
shoulder in their game against USC.

“My shoulder’s totally separated. I can’t make
it worse than it is, so if I can just stand the pain, I can
play,” Pickett said.

Second-string quarterback Taylor Barton, who was hit over 30
times in the game against UCLA, could not even talk to reporters,
let alone play in next week’s game.

Among Barton’s plethora of injuries is a rolled ankle and
a concussion that caused him to go to Huntington Memorial Hospital
in Pasadena for pre-cautionary measures.

“I’m not going to be 100 percent, but I don’t
think a lot of guys on our team are going to be 100 percent,”
Barton said.

One member of the team who is 100 percent is redshirt
quarterback Casey Paus. Neuheisel has not ruled out using up
Paus’ redshirt season and allowing him to start
Saturday’s game against Arizona.

Defensive drought

The Arizona defense has been walking through the desert for too
long without water, and now the Pac-10 Conference’s vultures
are starting to pick at the Wildcat remains.

Arizona won its first three games against lackluster opponents,
but things have gotten exponentially worse ever since the Pac-10
season began.

Arizona has allowed 149 points in the last three weeks, only 88
less than they gave up during the entire 2000 season.

No. 15 Washington State?

As unbelievable as it may be, the Washington State Cougars,
originally predicted to finish ninth in the Pac-10, are currently
6-0 and alone at the top of the Pac-10 standings.

More impressively, WSU won without its star running back David
Minnich. This week’s polls landed the 6-0 WSU in the No. 15
slot in the Associated Press poll. The Cougar offense will be
tested in the coming weeks against Oregon and UCLA.

Pac-10 Players of the Week

Offense: DeShaun Foster, RB, UCLA ““ Rushed for a
school-record 301 yards on 31 carries, including TD runs of 5, 21,
1 and 92 yards.

Defense: Robert Thomas, LB, UCLA ““ Thomas led UCLA’s
defense with 12 tackles, 11 unassisted, including three tackles for
losses (-16 yards) and broke up two passes.

Special Teams: Josh Moen, Washington State ““ Made a key
play in the victory over Stanford last week. Moen blocked a punt
that was returned for a Cougar touchdown.

Compiled by Scott Bair, Daily Bruin Reporter.