In news that can hardly be considered surprising, WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel was not cleared by the medical staff to play in tonight's game against UCLA and will be sitting out once again.
The junior quarterback ended up not being cleared by the medical staff and, though he will suit up, he won't be playing. He will be X-rayed and evaluated again on Wednesday, to see how far the injury – in case you've been in Kubikastan or somewhere, a fractured left clavicle – has progressed. Basically, he's still in limbo and he may or may not play the next week against Stanford.
The signs seemed to be pointing this way all week; Tuel said earlier in the week that the bone was still a little tender, and while I'm not a medical expert and didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn last night, that seemed to indicate it probably wasn't as healed up as it needed to be to withstand a full-speed hit during a game.
So, the offense is in the hands of Marshall Lobbestael once again, but he'll be doing it behind a patchwork line. Center Andrew Roxas continues to be sidelined by a bad ankle, and Vince is also reporting that right tackle Wade Jacobson didn't even make the trip after injuring his back. Dan Spitz, who converted to offensive line last season during his suspension, will take his place in the starting lineup. Backing him up will be redshirt freshman Jake Rodgers.
Cross your fingers, folks.