PULLMAN - Wide receiver Jared Karstetter is having another standout season for Washington State.

The senior from Spokane (Ferris High) ranks third on the team with 37 receptions for 418 yards, with four touchdowns. He also was just named a National Football Foundation scholar-athlete, and will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.

"We knew he hit the profile of what a college student-athlete is about," coach Paul Wulff said. "Off the field he is a great leader who does all the right things. He's a tough, highly competitive young man."

Karstetter is just the fifth Cougar to earn the NFF scholar-athlete prize, after Alex Brink in 2007; Jason Hanson in 1991; Ed Tingstad in 1988 and Greg Porter in 1982.

A starter since his first game as a Cougar in 2008, Karstetter ranks sixth on WSU's all-time receiving list with 143 receptions and also sixth with 17 touchdown receptions. He has caught a pass in 35 straight games, and made seven receptions in a loss to Oregon last weekend.

Karstetter's next chance to move up in the record books is Saturday at California (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12). He is five receptions short of tying Phillip Bobo and Jason Hill for fourth on the list.

Washington State (3-5, 1-4) can still qualify for a bowl by winning three of its remaining four games.

That would be a nice reward for Karstetter, who has been one of the program's top performers during the three previously dismal seasons when the Cougars won a total of five games.

He caught six passes for 90 yards as a freshman, 38 passes for 540 yards as a sophomore and 62 passes for 658 yards last season.

Washington State needs to find some consistency if the Cougars expect to win in the closing weeks of the season.

They played surprisingly well in recent losses to No. 4 Stanford and No. 6 Oregon, sandwiched between a poor performance in a shocking loss to Oregon State.

"I thought our players came out (against Oregon) and were really focused and wanted to make amends for the performance where they didn't play well," Wulff said, referring to the Oregon State game.

With a trio of dangerous receivers in Karstetter, Marquess Wilson (52 receptions for 889 yards) and Isiah Barton (41 receptions for 467 yards), Washington State's passing game has been dangerous all season. Backup quarterback Marshall Lobbestael has completed nearly 63 percent of his passes for 2,076 yards, with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Lobbestael will start as Jeff Tuel remains injured, as he has been on and off all season, Wulff said.

Washington State's running attack has been less effective, although Wulff said it was decent against Oregon.

Running backs Rickey Galvin (406 yards) and Carl Winston (334 yards) are not "home run" backs who can rip off many big gains, Wulff said, although Galvin does have a 48-yard run this season.

"We need to get him on track," Wulff said.

But the long-term answer is recruiting the types of running backs who can produce a stronger ground attack, Wulff said.

Cal has won six in a row against Washington State, including 20-13 last year in Pullman.

After Cal, the Cougars play No. 20 Arizona State (6-2, 4-1), Utah (4-4, 1-4) and Washington (6-2, 4-1).