Washington State coach Bill Doba said the goal for his team before the season was simple -- get a winning record and qualify for a bowl.

The Cougars are pretty much up against it now in that quest, falling to 2-4 with last week's 23-20 home loss to Arizona State.

"We need to win five of the next six," Doba said. "We can do that."

Not that many will expect them to, however. The Cougars are heavy underdogs this week at Oregon as they make their first trip to Eugene since 2003.

The game serves as a homecoming for WSU quarterback Alex Brink, who grew up in Eugene and played high school football on the same team as Mike Bellotti's son, Luke. But the Ducks didn't offer Brink a scholarship and he ended up at WSU, where last week he became that school's all-time passing leader. Brink has never played at Oregon's Autzen Stadium as a Cougar.

"It's going to mean something," Brink said after WSU's loss to ASU. "Right now, we need to get a win bad. That's the bottom line."

Doba was encouraged by WSU's play against the Sun Devils, admitting that he took some solace in the close defeat.

"You are never happy with a loss," he said, "but at least you came off the field and you felt respectable. I know that's not the proper thing to say for a coach, but the week before (a 48-20 loss to Arizona), you came off the field and you did not feel respectable. Here, at least, our kids battled and had a chance to win, had a chance to go to overtime right at the end, and they proved they could play with somebody that is pretty good."

The Cougars kept that game close by blitzing at least one linebacker on almost every down, making seven sacks in all.

But Doba said the Cougars may not be able to employ the same strategy this week against Oregon and mobile quarterback Dennis Dixon.

"The threat of the option makes it more difficult," Doba said.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The Cougars got the passing game back on track last week with 369 yards against Arizona State and will try to do more of the same this week against an Oregon secondary that has been exploited at times. But the real key for the Cougars is getting anything out of its running game, which now ranks eighth in the Pac-10 at 116.2 yards per game but is at just 72.3 in three Pac-10 contests. The line has had trouble handling the bigger and quicker Pac-10 defenses, and the running backs haven't had much room to run.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Considering the opponent, the Cougars played their best game last week when they held Arizona State to 296 yards. The Cougars did it by bringing pressure almost every down and sacking relatively immobile QB Rudy Carpenter seven times. That may not work against Oregon's shifty quarterback, Dennis Dixon. Oregon also has one of the best running backs in the nation, Jonathan Stewart, who is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and has a Pac-10-high 623 yards overall, which also will force the Cougars to play a little more straight up. WSU got great games last week out of new starters Andy Mattingly (linebacker) and Xavier Hicks Jr. (strong safety) each filling in due to injury. But the Ducks figure to now know more about those two.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think they saw a ray of hope. We can get together and play well." -- WSU coach Bill Doba on the team's renewed hopes in the wake of the close loss last week to Arizona State.

THIS WEEK'S GAME: Washington State at Oregon, Oct. 13 -- This is WSU's first trip to Eugene since 2003, when a veteran Cougars squad beat the Ducks 55-16.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Alex Brink -- The senior became WSU's career passing leader in terms of yards last week and is now on pace to become only the eighth quarterback in Pac-10 history to throw for more than 10,000 yards. Brink returns to his native Eugene this week for his final game against Oregon, a school that didn't offer him a scholarship out of high school.

WR Jeshua Anderson -- Cougars coaches are really high on the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Mission Hills, Calif. The freshman caught three passes for 98 yards, with a long of 47, using his world-class speed (he set the national high school record in the 300-meter hurdles last year) to get open.

SS Xavier Hicks Jr. -- The redshirt sophomore got the start in place of the injured Alfonso Jackson last week and recorded a game-high 17 tackles. He also blocked an extra point. But he figures to be tested greatly this week by Oregon's diverse offense.

ROSTER REPORT: The Cougars have some serious injury concerns at wide receiver, with leading receiver Brandon Gibson struggling with a heel injury that has him questionable and starter Charles Dillon possibly out with a shoulder injury. Gibson is leading the conference with 39 passes for 567 yards. If those two are out, true freshman Jeshua Anderson will see a lot more playing time.

The status of LB Kendrick Dunn, who has been out the last two weeks with a leg injury, is also uncertain. He has been replaced by sophomore Andy Mattingly, who had four sacks against Arizona State.

More of a possibility to return is SS Alfonso Jackson, who suffered a concussion against ASU. Xavier Hicks Jr. replaced him last week and led WSU with 17 tackles.