WSU Football Notebook | Collins expects to play
Jed Collins, Washington State’s injured senior tight end, will play at least a few downs in Saturday’s survival game against Oregon State.
“He told me he’s playing,” said coach Bill Doba Thursday.
How much will depend on Collins’ sprained ankle, but Doba said, “He’ll play some.”
Collins caught 10 passes for a career-high 123 yards in last Saturday’s 33-17 win over Stanford to set a WSU record for catches in a season by a tight end with 52.
Collins has 80 career catches, and the WSU record by a tight end is 95 by Clarence Williams (1989-92).
This will be the final Martin Stadium home game for Collins and 19 other seniors.
Washington State (4-6 overall, 2-5 Pac-10) needs to beat the Beavers (6-4, 4-3) and then beat Washington to become bowl-eligible with a 6-6 record.
Notes
• The Cougars’ football team will attend the first half of tonight’s home basketball game against Idaho to show its support. Then the Cougars will leave for their standard Friday night meetings and hotel stay.
• OSU is expected to bring as much pressure as possible on WSU quarterback Alex Brink, and the Beavers lead the Pac-10 in sacks with 39. The Cougars rank fourth in the Pac-10 in sacks allowed with 17. The Cougars have sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times and rank seventh in the Pac-10.
• Not only did Michael Bumpus break the WSU career-receptions record last Saturday with seven catches for a career total of 183, he also broke the career punt-return yardage record. Aided by a 45-yard punt return that was the longest since 2005, he finished with three returns for 60 yards and erased the 781-yard record held by Kitrick Taylor, whose final season was 1986. Bumpus has returned punts for 809 yards.
• OSU has won just once in its past 12 trips to the Palouse. That was 27-13 in 1999. There was a 14-14 tie in 1982.
• Backup defensive ends Kevin Kooyman and Mike Graise, who missed the Stanford game with ankle injuries, practiced Thursday.
• This will be the latest Oregon State and WSU have met since a Nov. 18 game in 1950.
• Twenty WSU seniors playing their last game in Martin Stadium will be honored before Saturday’s kickoff.
Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com