SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel is questionable for this weekend's game with UCLA in Pullman, coach Paul Wulff said Tuesday.
Tuel will practice this week, and a decision will be made based on how he performs, Wulff said. Tuel injured his kneecap in Saturday's loss to Arizona.
The freshman has completed 58 percent of his passes for 789 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions since becoming a starter.
Marshall Lobbestael will start if Tuel cannot. Lobbestael has completed 48 percent of his passes in seven games, with three touchdowns and five interceptions.
Saturday's game against UCLA (4-5, 1-5 Pac-10) is the first home game in a month for the Cougars (1-8, 0-6). They last played in Pullman on Oct. 10 in a loss to Arizona State.
Since then they have had a bye week, then lost to California, Notre Dame and Arizona on the road.
"Five of our last six games have been on the road, and all the opponents have been ranked," Wulff said. "That's a pretty tough schedule for anyone in the country to do."
Weather may help the Cougars. The forecast in Pullman is for highs in the 30s. The Bruins will be coming from temperatures in the 70s.
"It all depends," Wulff said of the impact of the weather. "It depends on how cold it is on that day you play."
Cougar fans have been targeting the UCLA game as perhaps the best opportunity for WSU to win a conference game this season. But the Bruins beat Washington last weekend and have been a lot more competitive in most of their games than WSU has.
The Bruins are also likely to have the services of starting quarterback Kevin Prince, who was knocked out of last week's game with a concussion, coach Rick Neuheisel said. He has been cleared to practice and will likely start.
The Cougars have had success against UCLA at home in recent years, winning five of the past six games in Pullman. That includes a 27-7 win in 2007 in which Dwight Tardy rushed for a career-high 214 yards.
But Tardy leads an anemic rushing attack this season with just 302 yards in nine games. Most of WSU's offense comes through the air.
"We have got to play a great game to give ourselves an opportunity to win," Wulff said.
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