PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Five games into the season, Washington State is among the worst BCS teams in the nation.

The Cougars (1-4) rank near the bottom of all 119 major college teams in both offense and defense, and are knocking on the door of being the lousiest team in WSU history.

One play in last weekend's 63-14 loss to Oregon offered an illustration: On 4th-and-6 from the WSU 33, the Ducks decided the Cougar defense was so porous there was no need to try a long field goal. They went for it and scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass.

"When things start going bad, it becomes more of a landslide for us right now," said Cougar coach Paul Wulff, who was hired in December to rebuild a program that had been sliding for several years toward mediocrity.

Wulff was hired after Bill Doba was forced out over concerns that recruiting had fallen apart. He inherited a cupboard that was shockingly bare, then depleted even more by injuries.

The results have been ugly.

The Cougars rank 96th in total offense and 106th in total defense. They are 117th in allowing an average of 44 points per game, and 103rd by averaging only 19 ppg. They are second to last against the run, allowing 269 yards per game.

They're pretty good on kickoff returns, averaging 24 yards, because other teams have scored 29 touchdowns on them.

However you slice the numbers, they are awful.

Wulff said rebuilding in the tough Pacific-10 will take time.

"The tough part is dealing with where we are at," Wulff said. "Who likes to watch that? As a coach I don't either."

The Cougars opened the season with a 39-13 loss to Oklahoma State, then lost 66-3 at home to California for the worst margin of defeat in team history. They followed that with a 45-17 loss at Baylor.

Their sole victory was 48-9 against an overmatched Portland State team that plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. But their luck is so bad that even in that rout they lost starting quarterback Kevin Lopina to a broken bone in his back and former starter Gary Rogers to a broken neck bone that likely ended his football career.

Take away the 48 points and 638 yards of offense they produced against Portland State, and the Cougars are averaging less than 12 points and 250 yards per game, while giving up 53 points and nearly 500 yards.

While freshman quarterback Marshall Lobbestael played credibly in his first start last weekend, the Cougars looked virtually helpless against Oregon.

The Ducks led 14-0 less than 4 minutes into the game, and gained 346 yards on the ground and 507 overall.

Washington state's remaining schedule includes UCLA, Oregon State, Southern Cal, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and Hawaii.

The three poorest teams of the modern WSU era are probably the 1955 squad that finished 1-7-2 and was shut out four times; the 1969 team that finished 1-9; and the 1970 team that finished 1-10, beating only Idaho.

A major problem this year is the size of the offensive and defensive lines, Wulff said. Opposing lines are knocking big holes in the defense, while the defense has managed just six sacks all season. Meanwhile, WSU quarterbacks have been sacked 15 times and the Cougars have fumbled 14 times.

"We lack calorie intake," Wulff said of his team. "We lack strength right now."

In 2003, the Cougars capped a third consecutive 10-win season with a victory over Texas in the Holiday Bowl. They haven't had a winning record since. Last year's team finished 5-7.

Through five games this season, the Cougars have had three quarterbacks make the first start of their college careers. They have had a total of 22 players make the first start of their careers this season.

As a result of that inexperience, Wulff has abandoned the no-huddle offense he made a big show of instituting.

"We are going to get it all corrected," safety Xavier Hicks said. "We are going to keep playing hard and we are going to keep the season going."

Defensive lineman Andy Mattingly said it is small breakdowns that lead to big gains for the other teams.

"When we get tired we stop thinking and lose focus," he said. "We can play, too. We just need to do it."

Wulff warned from the beginning that the Cougars would be a project this year, but he believes the team is on a fast track to success.

"It's proven that you can win here and we'll do it again," Wulff said.