Bottom 10

Hate to post this again but the Cougs maintained their spot on the ESPN's Bottom 10, featuring the worst teams in college football. The Cougs are at #6 followed by UW at #7. Should be an exciting Apple Cup!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10085

Also from the LA Times, UCLA has heard the word. WSU can't stop the run and Khalil Bell is ready to go off.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-uclafyi1-2008oct01,0,4702372.story

Bad Days For Defense

From the Seattle Times regarding the WSU defense. The article says, "As horrendous as the Cougars have been defending the run — they're 118th nationally of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, at 269 yards allowed a game — their plight in has been worsened by both the defense's lack of forced turnovers and the offense's facility for committing them."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008211929_coug29.html

From the Seattle PI. Looking ahead to UCLA, they are doing about as poorly as the Cougs. "Just like the Cougars, the Bruins are struggling on both sides of the ball. UCLA has been outscored 136-41 in losing three straight since shocking Tennessee 27-24 in the season opener."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/380984_coug29.html

From the LA Times, some notes on UCLA and how they are trying to avoid being overconfident against WSU. As of now, UCLA is about a 19 point favorite over the Cougs.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ucla30-2008sep30,0,5301342.story

And finally, I don't usually bring up anything UW on here except for the Weekly Picks but Husky verbal commit, Deandre Coleman has backed out of his commitment to UW. Coleman is a 6-6 290 pound DT out of Garfield. He is regarded as one of the top, if not the top recruits in the state. I bring this up because this is what Wulff and staff have to prevent from happening. They have got a pretty solid class so far and need to maintain confidence in the program to these players. UW is in a different situation with their coach likely getting fired this season but players backing out could happen to the Cougs. Maybe we should offer Coleman, he would be granted a starting position his first day on campus most likely. Word on the street is that he probably won't qualify though, so we shall see.

Moore Chimes In

I feel bad for Jim Moore who had to stick this one out in the press box. He didn't have the option of leaving like most of the crowd Saturday. Anyways he has an article about how bad things have gotten for the Cougs.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/380918_moore28.html

Same stuff from John Blanchette of The Spokesman Review. An interesting quote from the article, "I don't believe it's a lack of talent," said safety Alfonso Jackson, defiantly. "I trust everybody in that locker room." That's the kind of attitude I want to hear.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=16910

Crushed

I'm not going to put up a bunch of game reports because we all know the game went horribly. When you get down 14-0 before the band finds their seats you aren't going to win ball games. Just a few things I want to point out.

WSU has been outscored 213-47 in games against D1 opponents.

Oregon only needed to throw the ball 16 times. Of those 16, 9 were completed for 161 yards and 2 TD's.

OU used 8 rushers and gained 346 yards and 7 rushing TD's on the day. 7 rushing TD's. We have less than 7 Total TD's against D1 opponents on the season.

Another thing I want to point out is that I am tired of Wulff saying this team has no talent. Those comments are getting very tiresome. Yeah we lost some contributors. But did we lose enough guys to be getting outscored 213-47 against teams that matter? 8 of our top ten tacklers are back this year. Our 4 LB's accounted for 16.5 sacks last season. All of those guys are back and their play, besides Trent has dropped off significantly. Throw in an experienced secondary, an all american WR, a TE who was solid last year, two RB's who contributed a lot last year and is their really no talent? How are the players supposed to get better if all they hear about is how bad they are? I want to see Wulff start holding himself and his staff accountable as well.

GameDay Links

Seattle Times on Lobbestael and his first start as well as quotes from his parents, who like their son, are pretty nervous today.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008208087_coug27.html

Seattle PI's preview of the game with a predicted score of 44-17 Oregon.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/380856_coug27.html

The News Tribune on how the Cougs and Ducks are both pretty banged up right now.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/493395.html

From Eugene's The Register Guard, OU will be looking at TE Devin Frischknecht to carry the Cougar offense.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/story.csp?cid=131039&sid=109&fid=41

Also from the Register Guard, a preview of the game with a nice quote from Mike Belloti on WSU. “It’s always a tough place to play,” Bellotti said. “It’s a tough trip, it’s a tough stadium, it’s a tough walk to the locker room. And Washington State plays inspired football. They take the Pac-10 Northwest rivalry very seriously and compete their tails off. I believe this will be a very tough, physical, emotional football game, for everybody.”

http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/story.csp?cid=131195&sid=109&fid=41

That is all for now. Go Cougs!

Weekend Picks

Well this week has already gotten off to a rough start with Oregon State upsetting #1 ranked USC this evening. The Pac-10 is wide open now and everyone is going to be giving their best shot to get things on track. With USC's loss is Arizona possibly moving into a top 3 Pac-10 spot? Both Arizona schools have a bye this week.

Last Week: 4-1
Season Total: 23-7

No. 25 Fresno State at UCLA: Fresno State is playing pretty well this year. They have beaten Rutgers and Toledo while losing to Wisconsin by 3 points. UCLA is really struggling right now. Their offense can not move the ball consistently and they have been outscored 90-10 in their last two games. Wow. Fresno State wins this one as the Pac-10 continues to struggle. Pick: FSU

Colorado State at California: Cal should look to rebound after their loss to Maryland two weeks ago. Colorado State doesn't really have a passing attack or much of a rushing attack. Jahvid Best will carry Cal in this one. Pick: Cal

Stanford at Washington: This is a huge game for both schools. Stanford is trying to prove they belong and UW is trying to prove they don't suck too bad. Stanford only has 1 TD pass this year! While UW's secondary is bad, the Cardinal offense may make them look pretty good Saturday night. I hate to do this but, Pick: UW

Oregon at WSU: Last week was a good and bad week for the Cougs. The good, we won. The bad, it was against Portland State and we lost two QB's to neck and back injuries. Time for Ocho Rojo to step in and begin his 4 year campaign as the Wazzu QB. Meanwhile, Oregon is having all sorts of problems with their QB injuries. I believe they are down to their 5th guy. However, OU still has a solid O line, a solid D line, and a very good secondary. I expect them to run it down our throats all day long. Unless an adjustment is made from the odd, defensive end and D-tackle line up wide and two linebackers stand in the middle of the line defense, this one could get ugly early. Hopefully Lobbestael has a good game though. Pick: Oregon

Make Some Money Week 5

Well I finally got one. Thanks to the big payout we are now up on the year. Here is three more games to bet on this week. As always, 3 games parlayed with $10.00. Lines from Sportsbook.com. $10.00 to win $64.42.

Last Week: Win $61.00
Season Total: + $31.00

Mississippi at Florida -22 Pick: Florida to cover.

Purdue at Notre Dame -1 Pick: Purdue with the point.

Alabama at Georgia -6.5 Pick: Alabama with the points.

Weekend Picks Game 1

I am not going to post the Make Some Money, which by the way was victorious last week and the weekend picks until later tonight or tomorrow but I just want to go on the record and pick USC to win at OSU tonight.

Bumps Loving Life As A Seahawk

I don't think anyone would have predicted that Michael Bumpus would have two NFL starts and a TD catch under his belt 3 games into the 2008 NFL season. But he does and he is making a solid impression on his Seahawk teammates and himself. From the article, "I'm just grateful," Bumpus said on Sunday, clutching the ball he caught a couple hours earlier for his first career touchdown reception. "It's been like a fairytale. From an undrafted free agent to getting to play in the second and third games, I couldn't ask for more. This is the happiest I've been since I graduated from high school."

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080925/SPORTS/709259832/1004

Ducks Still Reeling

The past two weeks have been pretty rough for the Ducks of Oregon. First, they needed two missed FG's to beat a mediocre Purdue team in OT. A Boilermaker team who was not supposed to be able to handle the speed and athleticism of OU. Then last week they go out and lose to a Boise State team who had never beaten a Pac-10 team on the road. Add to the fact that Redshirt Freshman QB Kellen Moore made his first road start in duanted Autzen Stadium and threw for 386 yards plus 3 TD's and they have more QB injuries than us, you got a million questions in Eugene. The good thing for the Cougs? OU seems to be looking at the past with questions instead of the future with how they will improve.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/story.csp?cid=130949&sid=109&fid=41

Former Cougar great Rueben Mayes will be honored at halftime of the game on Saturday. Since last year he has moved to the Eugene area and has adopted the Ducks as his second favorite team. Here is a pretty interesting article about his life, career and the move to the Eugene area.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/story.csp?cid=130920&sid=109&fid=41

Lobbestael Dominating News

In a season gone sour, the buzz this week around Marshall Labbestael has seemed to temporarily revive Cougar nation. The Reshirt Freshman will be making his first start Saturday and WSU fans are already beginning to wonder if he will be the man for the next four years.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008198925_coug24.html

Meet Marshall Lobbestael from The Spokesman Review which includes quotes from former QB Alex Brink, who knows plenty about starting as a Freshman. Brink said, "The biggest thing is there are a lot of emotions that come into it when it's your first start or it’s a big game or anything like that, those are the things you have to guard against."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/archive/?postID=8351#more

Stripling Out For Year

LB Jason Stripling will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. A unfortunate turn of events for a team that is losing key players fast. DE Kevin Kooyman is also in a walking boot with a sprained ankle. These injuries could be huge come Saturday when facing Oregon's spread running attack.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/archive/?postID=8344#more

Ocho Rojo Pac-10 Player Of The Week

Marshall Lobbestael has won the Pac-10 Player of the week for his 2 TD performance last Saturday. A big honor for him in his first significant playing time of the year.

http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092208aah.html

Updates On QB's

Sounds like Gary Rogers is out of the hospital and will begin his recovery for the next few months. Meanwhile, Kevin Lopina's status is still a bit unknown so I would expect "Ocho Rojo" as his teammates are now calling him, to start against OU on Saturday. If you aren't familiar with Marshall Lobbestael he was the 4A State Player of the Year for The Seattle Times and the Assoicated Press in 2006. He led Oak Harbor High School to their first ever 4A state title while throwing for 34 TD's and nearly 3000 yards.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080922/SPORTS/709229863#Oak.Harbor.grad.may.start.at.QB.for.Cougars

Similar story with more quotes from Seattle Times.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008194532_coug22.html

Huge Day For NFL Cougs

Seahawks WR Michael Bumpus had 2 catches for 29 yards and a TD in a 37-13 win over the Rams.

Buffalo Kicker Rian Lindell hit a game winning 38 yard field goal to beat Oakland 24-23. The Bills are now 3-0.

Falcons SS Eric Coleman had a team leading 10 tackles, an INT and a forced fumble in a 38-14 win over KC.

Cleveland RB Jerome Harrison recorded his first TD on a 19 yard reception in a loss to Baltimore.

Saints DB Jason David had two tackles and a fumble recovery in a loss to Denver.

Victory But With Big Cost

The Cougs finally got their much needed first win in an impressive 48-9 route of Portland State last night. The victory seems bittersweet however, after watching Gary Rogers get taken off the field in an ambulance mid way through the third quarter. Cougfan.com is reporting that the injury is a Cervical Spine Fracture which will not require surgery. That is good news considering the severity of the injury. His recovery will take 3-4 months. The bad news is that Gary Roger's Cougar career and maybe his football career are over. Too bad for a guy who waited four years for his shot to have it all end on a late hit penalty.

With Kevin Lopina already injured earlier in the game, WSU had to look to third string Redshirt Freshman QB, Marshall Lobbestael. Lobbestael led the Cougar offense with two TD passes on 9 of 12 passing for 149 yards. The Lobbster looked comfortable and poised in the pocket, going through his reads and finding the open receiver. That is something seldom seen with the other two QB's this year. Lobbestael's life just took on a whole new direction as it looks likely he will be the starter for the next couple games and maybe the rest of the season. Here are the game recaps from all the papers.

Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008193026_coug21.html

The News Tribune
http://www.thenewstribune.com/1043/story/488099.html

Tri-City Herald
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1017/story/323445.html

GameDay Links

A story on how Wulff is changing the nutrition habits of his players From the Seattle Times.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/budwithers/2008191501_withers20.html

Also from the Seattle Times, Coug fans are a little anxious about PSU. Something not experienced in Pullman for a long time.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008191313_coug20.html

Preview of the game from the Seattle PI. They Pick WSU to win 34-24.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/379824_coug20.html

Portland State confident they will move the ball against the nation's worst defense.

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2008/09/countdown_to_vikings_kickoff_c.html

A link to The Daily Evergreen's Sports Page. They have a couple descent stories on Reid Forrest, Greg Trent and the Cougs looking for their first win.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/sports

Two LB's May Be Out Saturday

From the Seattle Times, Kendrick Dunn and Cory Evans are questionable for tomorrow's game against PSU. Dunn may have lost his starting spot to newly named LB, Myron Beck anyways. It should be interesting to see how Beck and Hallston Higgins, who is making his first start as well handle coverage against pass happy PSU.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008189184_coug19.html

Ryan Divish of The News Tribune has a column on Wulff trying to avoid what he did last year, upset a team from a higher division.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/486640.html

Weekend Picks

Last week was a rough one for the Pac-10. With that said, my solid record took a bit of a hit. This is a new week and the games seem a little easier with USC, OSU, UW and Cal having bye weeks. Anyways here we go.

Last Week: 7-3
Season Total: 19-5

Arizona at UCLA: This is an interesting match up. After the first week everyone thought UCLA was going to be a solid team this year. Then they go out and get dominated by BYU 59-0. Arizona started their season by smoking Idaho 70-0, winning their second game against Toledo and then losing at home to New Mexico. So which team will be down more? UCLA's offense is just awful, and Arizona seems to be able to move the ball alright so I am going with them. Pick: Arizona

Boise State at No. 17 Oregon: Oregon squeaked one by Purdue last week in a game that they should not have won. Boise State hasn't played anyone worth watching this year and will go into Autzen with a Redshirt Freshman QB, Kellen Moore making his first road start. Throw in the small little fact that BSU has NEVER won in a Pac-10 stadium, yet they think they are on a bigtime level. Pick: Oregon, big.

No. 3 Georgia at Arizona State: This game was hyped as the second biggest game of the year behind OSU vrs USC, before ASU lost last weekend to UNLV in OT. This week Georgia brings in Knowshon Moreno who has already impressed this year with 7 rushing TD's and Matthew Stafford who is starting to show he can be the QB everyone thought he was. I want to pick ASU just for the sake of the Pac-10 but the Sun Devils never show up for big games. Pick: Georgia

San Jose State at Stanford: If Stanford is really on the right path like they seem to be on, they should beat San Jose State easily. The Cardinal faithful seem to be growing a little tired of Tavita Pritchard and his inconsistency. That shouldn't be enough to stop them this week. Pick: Stanford

Portland State at Washington State: Well this is it for the Cougs. This looks like the only game WSU might win this year. Portland State throws the ball a lot. The Cougar secondary hasn't really been tested this year because teams have been able to gain 8 yards per carry running up the middle. Based on talent, although Paul Wulff says we don't have any, this game shouldn't even be close. If for some reason WSU loses or the game is even close, Paul Wulff may have fans with pitchforks chasing him out of town. Anyways I think WSU wins this one by 20 at least. Pick: WSU

Make Some Money Week 4

OK, so who knew that Georgia would only score 14 points against a struggling South Carolina team. Anyways if you have followed my bets you would be $30.00 poorer. It only takes one week to make a big gain though. Here are the picks. $10.00 parlayed on 3 games to win $61.26. Lines from Sportsbook.com

Last Week: -$10.00
Season Total: -$30.00

Baylor at Uconn -13 Pick: Baylor with the points.

LSU -2.5 at Auburn Pick: LSU to cover.

Notre Dame at Michigan State -8.5 Pick: MSU to cover.

Xavier Hicks Ready To Start

Not much in news this week but Vince Grippi has some notes about Xavier Hicks being back from suspension and starting at Safety.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/archive/?postID=8301#more

Cougar Notes And A Potato Gun?

Howie Stalwick has notes from all over tonight regarding the WSU defense setting records in bad ways, Portland State, and Coach Wulff's salary. The most interesting thing that I read from the article is, "The Whitman County Prosecutor's Office continues to investigate charges filed against WSU kicker Wade Penner and ex-Cougars lineman Andy Roof. Penner allegedly shot a makeshift "potato gun" that caused minor injuries to a woman boating on the Snake River during the summer." A potato gun? Haha.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/379400_coug17.html

WSU The Worst Team In BCS?

Ted Miller of ESPN gave a little bit of praise to the WSU secondary yesterday, stating that they were second in the Pac-10 in pass defense. Well today, he comments that WSU has a good pass defense because everyone just runs on us as we rank dead last in the USA in rush defense. Yep, dead last at 330 yards per game, 8 yards per carry and 5 rushings TD's per game! Horrible. The worst part of all this is we haven't faced that great of competition yet. This is going to be a long season.

Also, the State of Washington is so bad at football right now that ESPN has just combined WSU and UW as the 3rd worst teams in the country. Makes sense I guess, Apple Cup should be fun.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/pac10/0-2-119/Worst-BCS-team--Washington-State-is-struggling.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10083

WSU Secondary Holding Their Own

Ted Miller of ESPN noted on his Pac-10 blog today that WSU ranks second in the Pac in pass defense at 145 yards per game and has only allowed 2 TD passes this season. If we can work on stopping the run, especially up the middle we may be able to stay in some games longer than 2 quarters.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/pac10/0-2-114/-Official--Pac-10-notes.html

Portland State

This is probably going to a semi-slow week for news considering we are playing a D-2 opponent next week. I thought I would link up this game story from Portland State's game last Saturday to familiarize myself and others with some of their players and what they are all about. It sounds like they throw a ton. QB Drew Hubel threw 51 passes, completing 29 and racking up 337 yards.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=122142108577989600

Position Changes Galore

Looks like Coach Wulff is shifting some players around for this Saturday's game against Portland State. Alfonso Jackson will be back to his original position of Safety and Xavier Hicks will be starting at SS after serving his 3 game suspension. Former Safety Myron Beck has been moved to weak side linebacker, where it is obvious more speed is needed. Also on the offensive line, Vaughn Lesuma will be moved to guard and will battle with B.J. Guerra for a starting spot. Lesuma's old tackle spot is now being fought for by Steven Ayers and Joey Eppele. To top it all off, it sounds like Kevin Lopina will line up at QB once again if he is healthy.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008180046_coug15.html

Same story, couple different notes from the Seattle PI.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/379139_coug15.html

Ouch Times 3

Downright embarrassing is all I have to say. I am going to watch the rest of the games today and am headed to the Seahawks game tomorrow. I will update tomorrow evening. Check out Cougfan, the Wulff debate has begun, and deservedly so I think.

GameDay Links

The News Tribune's story on the game with a pick of Baylor 24-21.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/480468.html

Seattle PI's preview of the game.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/378821_coug12.html

Waco Tribune story on Baylor RB, Jay Finley.

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/content/sports/college/2008/09/12/09122008wacbaylorfinley.html

A story about defensive starters Kendrick Dunn and Alfonso Jackson returning home to Texas.

http://www.wacotrib.com/baylor/content/sports/college/2008/09/12/09122008wacwazzufeature.html

Edit: The Waco Tribune makes you register to read these articles. It is free but they changed it sometime today after I put up the articles.

Weekend Picks

Last week I did pretty well going 6-0. This week the games are a lot tougher to pick so who knows what will happen. But here are the picks.

Last Week: 6-0
Season Total: 12-2

No. 23 California at Maryland: Cal will be tested going across the country to visit Maryland who is not a good team. Cal may be a bit overconfident after the beat down they gave the Cougs but they will pull away eventually. Pick: California

Stanford at TCU: I want to pick Stanford because TCU hasn't done much in the passing game this year. They do have a descent run game and a pretty good defense so they have that working for them. However, I am not a Tavita Pritchard believer, especially on the road. I think this one will be close but the home team has the advantage. Pick: TCU

No. 16 Oregon at Purdue: Oh the Big 10, nobody respects you anymore. Your conference is slow, boring and now you are trying to play catchup with everyone else. Purdue isn't going to know what hit them when every player on Oregon has speed they haven't seen in awhile. Pick: Oregon

UCLA at No.18 BYU: The whole country is on the UCLA bandwagon after the win over Tennessee. BYU needed a blocked kick after a correctly called unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to win their game over UW. This is the 3rd time these teams have met in the last calendar year. UCLA's weak offense costs them in this one. Pick: BYU

Hawaii at Oregon State: Oregon State finally gets to play a game at home. Hawaii is not very good this year after losing all their offense and their coach. Pick: Beavs

Arizona at New Mexico: Arizona could very likely be 6-0 heading into their game against Cal. They need to take care of business this week and keep everyone healthy. Pick: Arizona

UNLV at No. 15 Arizona State: Arizona State has a huge game next week against Georgia. The students started bringing up the Bulldogs during their game last week, so the focus might not be there at the beginning. It might be close for a quarter or two but ASU will win this one easily. Pick: ASU

No. 5 Ohio State at No. 1 USC: The game of the year is finally here. Ohio State is tired of getting punked by every descent non Big-10 team they play. Their offense looked horrible against Ohio last week, so imagine what it is going to look like against USC. Anytime Pete Carroll has two weeks to prepare for a game I will take him over anyone. I have big money on this game and don't even expect it to be close. After the game the whole country will lose trash Ohio State and talk about how they can't play with the big boys. Pick: USC, big.

No. 3 Oklahoma at UW: The Huskies have no chance in this game and they seem to know it. The only thing they really seem to be rooting for is that Jake Locker comes out of this game without an injury. If UW gets beat down by 50 plus will they make a coaching change this week? Pick: Oklahoma, big.

WSU at Baylor: I really wanted to pick WSU this week. Something has to go right for us this season doesn't it? However, after learning the game is being moved to Friday and the players are flying out the MORNING OF THE GAME (yeah not happy about that) it is a no brainer. Baylor wins a sloppy game and WSU fans start to question Paul Wulff 3 games into his tenure (not saying that is right). Man I hope I'm wrong. Pick: Baylor

Make Some Money Week 3

So if you followed my advice so far this year you would be out twenty bucks, but this is a new week and there is money to be made. As always, three bets parlayed with 10 bucks using sportsbook.com. 10 dollars to win $61.00.

Last Week: -$10.00
Season Total: -$20.00

Ohio State at USC -11.5 Pick: USC to cover.

Georgia -7.5 at South Carolina Pick: Georgia to cover.

Rice at Vanderbilt -8.5 Pick: Vanderbilt to cover.

Game Moved To Friday

WSU will now play Baylor tomorrow at 5:30 Pacific due to Hurricane Ike. TV coverage is not known at this time but it sounds unlikely. The earlier start does not bode well for WSU as they are the ones traveling to Texas on shorter notice.

http://wsucougars.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091108aab.html

Trent Still Shining This Season

Despite WSU's lack of success this season, there has been one player who has performed consistently well in the first two games. Greg Trent, who has started 31 games at middle linebacker for WSU gets a chance to go home to Texas this week and play in front of his hometown family and friends.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008172131_coug11.html

From the Tacoma News Tribune, a story on Punter, Reid Forrest.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/479172.html

Reality Check

Jim Moore interviewed former Cougar Coach and radio color man Jim Walden this week and came out with this message from Walden, "They've got a chance against the Huskies, that's about it," said Walden, who also gave the Cougars a "halfway-decent" chance against Stanford and Oregon State. "I'm not trying to be a pessimist, I'm just trying to tell ya."

It is a bit surprising to hear Walden say that but he has seen a lot of football in his day. So he knows what he is talking about. Walden also had this to say regarding Paul Wulff taking the head coaching job, "I told him, Part of me wants you to have the job, but part of me is saying, God, don't let him have it, because it's really the (bleeps) down there."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/moore/378627_moore11.html

Baylor Defense Ready To Stop Run

While the Cougs hope to get their offense rolling against Baylor on Saturday, finding their running game may be easier said than done. From the article, "Through two games, Baylor’s run defense has proven to be well-fortified. The Bears have yielded a mere 104 rushing yards per game to Wake Forest and NSU, an average of 2.6 yards per carry." The secondary for Baylor is fairly weak. If the Cougs can hold their own in the running game it should open up some of the passing game and maybe we can get some points.

http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/content/sports/college/2008/09/11/09112008wacbaylorwasu.html

Wednesday Links

Seattle PI has some notes on the QB's and Vaughn Lesuma.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/378491_coug10.html

The Daily Evergreen, like everyone else chimes in on the QB situation.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/26092

Same with The News Tribune.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/477686.html

Cougs Debut On Bottom 10

Well the Cougs have made one ranking this year and that is ESPN's Bottom 10 which ranks the 10 worst teams in college football. This stands out at you, they are 118th in scoring defense and 117th in total offense. That is out of 119 teams. At least UW is an honerable mention so that can make us feel a little better.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10082

First Look At Baylor

This is a fairly big game for both teams. Not necessarily for bowl contention but for emotional stability for the rest of the season. After this game (minus WSU vs PSU) neither will be favored in another game all season. So whoever comes out on top might be high enough on themselves to pull out another win or two. The loser may be looking at a 0 or 1 win season. Both teams feature coaches in the first year of rebuilding phases.

Baylor: Record (1-1) Win over Northwestern State 51-6. Loss to Wake Forest 41-13.

Key Players: QB Robert Griffin, who finished 3rd to Jeshua Anderson in the NCAA 400 meter hurdle final runs the Bear offense. He has passed for 419 yards with 3 TD's and O Int's, while completing 68% of his passes. On the ground, Griffin has ran for 71 yards and 2 TD's. He will keep WSU's defense on their toes. However, after facing OSU's Zac Robinson they shouldn't be too surprised with Griffin's running.

On the defensive side of the ball, Baylor is led by their LB crew. JR Joe Pawelek was a second team all Big-12 pick last season after registering 120 tackles. On the DL, JR Jason Lamb is a good pass rusher who recorded 5 sacks last season. The Bears secondary is the weak link of the defense as they are inexperienced and gave up over 200 yards and 3 TD's against WF.

QB Situation Not Yet Decided

Looks like we won't know who is going to start at QB until the game starts on Saturday. Coach Wulff is going to give Rogers and Lopina equals snaps this week and take it from there. My personal opinion is let Lopina play. This team is not going to a bowl game so we need to start building for the future. After the Hawaii game Gary Rogers won't be here anymore. Kevin Lopina will be, so play him now. By the way, the Cougs rank 113th out of 119 teams in total offense. Something needs to change soon.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/pac10/0-2-60/WSU-coach-Paul-Wulff--QB-is-game-time-decision.html

Catching Up With NFL Cougs

Nothing too big with the NFL Cougs, but here is an update of what some of them did Sunday.

KC Chief WR Devard Darling had one catch for 68 yards in a loss to the Patriots.

Seahawk CB Marcus Trufant had a pretty good game shutting down his side of the field. He registered 4 tackles on the day.

Falcons S Erik Coleman tied for the lead on his team with 6 tackles in a win over Detroit.

Be sure to watch MNF tomorrow as both Abdullah brothers (Denver and Minnesota) Karl Paymah (Denver) and Eric Frampton (Minnesota) will be playing.

Ouch

We all knew this season was going to be a rough one, but I don't think anyone expected 66-3 rough. Cal overpowered the Cougs in every aspect of the game including coaching. WSU came out looking confused and ill prepapred for this game. Before fans could pull out their flasks and fill up their Coke's it was 14-0. Just a miserable day all around.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times. Looks like WSU now has a QB controversy after Gary Rogers has shown nothing in his two games as the starter.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/budwithers/2008163544_withers07.html

From the Tacoma News Tribune, this quote from Wulff really bugs me. "“It was nothing we did scheme-wise,” Really coach? You think getting beat down 66-3 had nothing to do with the schemes you were trying to use? How about the fact that players looked lost lining up on both sides of the ball and all of the costly penalties. That is coaching. I have noticed already that Wulff likes to call out his players, which is fine because they have not been executing. However, you can't just blame everything on them. That is how a team gives up on you completely. If that happens things will go downhill in a hurry. I hope this staff knows what they got into with the Pac-10, because so far we look like Eastern Washington.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/474534.html

GameDay Links

Everett Herald on Wulff's first game in Pullman.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080906/SPORTS/709069864/1093/SPORTS06

Seattle PI's breakdown of the game. Predicted score....38-21 Cal

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/378019_coug06.html

Article about Cal Junior CB, Syd'quan Thompson, who has the tough task of covering Brandon Gibson today.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/SPSL12ORDC.DTL

Cal discusses facing WSU's spread offense.

http://www.dailycal.org/article/102472/different_ground_threat_provides_new_test_for_3-4

From the Daily Evergreen, how Gary Rogers is handling the life of the starting QB.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/26028

Cal's Point Of View

Before reading this article I expected it to be a declaration that the Bears will beat the Cougs by at least 35 on their home turf. However, the writer Andrew Kim sees the game much differently than even most WSU fans do. He expects the game to be pretty close. From the article, "Second, let me break it down in a long and convoluted stream of thoughts. One of Washington State's relative strengths, its receiving corps, just happens to match up against Cal's relative weakness, the secondary, which struggled most when Michigan State ran a no-huddle offense, which is coincidentally what the Cougars run."

http://www.dailycal.org/article/102473/14_points_is_it_a_lot_or_a_little_

Ahmu Will Sit First Half

After missing a court date and turning himself in to authorities yesterday, A'i Ahmu will sit out the first half of Saturday's game against Cal. With a whole team already wearing thin because of injuries this one might hurt the most. Cal is going to pound the ball up the middle and Ahmu's presence will be missed in the first half.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008159639_coug05.html

Weekend Picks

Last week went pretty well with an overall 6-2 record. I expected a better performance from WSU and like everyone else, was shocked that UCLA beat Tennessee. Here are the picks for Week 2.

Last Week: 6-2
Season Total: 6-2

Oregon State at Penn State: Oregon State looked a bit sluggish in their loss to Stanford. Penn State rolled to a 66-10 win against Coastal Carolina. PSU has had their fare share of legal troubles this week but I don't see it hurting them too much in this game. If this game was at OSU, I might pick the upset but traveling across the country to Happy Valley will be tough for the Beavs. Pick: Penn State

Utah State at Oregon: Oregon looked very explosive against UW last week. They were faster at almost every position. Expect to see every QB play for Oregon this week. Pick: Oregon, big.

Toledo at Arizona: Is Arizona for real? We still won't know for a few weeks until they play UCLA. A 70-0 win over Idaho is pretty impressive though. Pick: Arizona

Stanford at Arizona State: Stanford looked pretty good in their win over OSU. The Cardinal seemed to be running around with a whole new confidence and swagger now that they have Harbaugh leading them. ASU should have beaten Northern Arizona by more than 17, but it was Week 1 so they should improve this week. Pick: ASU

BYU at UW: After getting spanked by Oregon, Ty Willingham is desperately trying to save his job now. It's too bad he has to face a QB in Max Hall who threw for nearly 500 yards last week. The Husky defense will wear down just as it did last week and don't expect much from the offense. Pick: BYU

Cal at WSU: New stadium, CUB, Golf Course and throw in the first true home game for Paul Wulff and everything seems right for a WSU win. However, injuries are hurting the Cougs in every aspect of the game. With a lack of talent behind the starters this game could get ugly quick. Cal throws out speed that only USC and Oregon can match. Pick: California

Bettin' Time

So last week I picked three games that I thought if you bet on, you would make some money. That didn't go quite as planned. If you would have followed my advice, you would be minus ten dollars today. However, I am back to redeem myself this week. Once again these lines are from Sportsbook.com and I will pretend I parlayed these three games with 10 dollars.

Last Week: -10.00 Dollars
Season Total: -10.00 Dollars

Miami at Florida -22.5. Pick: Miami with the points.

Oregon St at Penn St -15. Pick: Penn State to cover.

Uconn -6.5 at Temple. Pick: Uconn to cover.

Martin Stadium Debuts

Saturday will be the first game in the newly remodeled Martin Stadium and while it may look nice then, the project is only 2/3 done. From the article, "If WSU officials' optimism is well-placed, they'll have something grander to show off in two years. Phase 3 is construction of luxury suites, loge boxes and club seats above the north (student-side) section, adding some 2,200 seats." Athletic Director Jim Sterk has been rallying Cougar Alumni to commit to buying luxury suites and boxes so they can get on their way with the construction. Either way Martin Stadium is already much improved over what it looked like two seasons ago.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/cougars/2008157397_coug04.html

Hits Keep On Coming

Vince Grippi put out an injury report from practice today and it is not looking good for the Cal game. Starting Left Guard, Andrew Roxas is on crutches and will miss 3-6 weeks with a knee sprain. Starting Right Tackle Brian Danaher also sat out practice and is questionable for Saturday. Also, starting DT A'i Ahmu sat out practice with a shoulder sprain and his status is still uncertain for Saturday.

To make matters worse the kickers went a combined 3 of 9 on FG's in practice Wednesday. Regarding the kicking Wulff said, "no one's won the job. To be honest, no one's kicking good enough to win it." That is not encouraging news. Some good news, Jeshua Anderson was on the field in a no contact jersey but participated fully in practice.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/archive/?postID=8199#more

Miller's Notes

These are the WSU notes from Ted Miller who is ESPN's Pac-10 writer.

"Cougars play three of the next four at home, beginning with Conference opener against California this week. . . . A bright spot in WSU's opening game loss to Oklahoma State was All-Pac-10 wideout Brandon Gibson, who had six receptions for 53 yards and scored the Cougs' first TD of the Paul Wulff era on a nine-yard reception. Gibson led the Pac-10 in receiving yards last year and was the only receiver to average more than 100 yards per game (107.3). He has caught a pass in 24 straight games, second-longest current streak in the Pac-10 (Mike Thomas, Arizona, 25 straight). . . . Wulff, at 41, is the youngest head coach in the Conference."

Wulff Talks D, Injuries

After watching the film of last week's game Paul Wulff said one of the things he was pleased with was the tackling of his defense. Wulff said about tackling, “We stressed this from the day I got on campus. You can talk about it, but we worked on it. Every day we work on it, even on the days we’re not in pads. I think there’s a lot of progress made.” Tackling will be important come Saturday as Cal is much more powerful on offense than OSU. It sounds like Reid Forrest will be punting on Saturday as he has been practicing this week. Also, OL Vaughn Lesuma will probably be a game time decision with a sore back.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/469754.html

First Look At Cal

California opened up their season last week with an impressive 38-31 win over Michigan State. Here are some of the key performers for the Golden Bears.

When looking at Cal, the one guy you have to watch at all times is Sophomore RB Jahvid Best. After missing part of last season with an injury, he is back accounting for nearly 300 all purpose yards last week including 111 rushing on 24 carries and 1 TD.

True Freshman, Shane Vereen also rushed for over 100 yards but 81 of those came on the game clinching TD run. Expect to see him get a few carries against WSU.

QB Kevin Riley, who replaced Nate Longshore as the starter this season went 17/24 for 202 yards, 2 TD's and 0 Int's. Longshore was promised playing time this season but after throwing 2 Int's in 2 drives last week, don't expect to see him on the field in Pullman.

The defense was supposed to be Cal's strong point led by a experienced secondary and an impressive LB core. However, last week they struggled especially with pass coverage allowing MSU to pass for 321 yards. The Bear Defense also allowed 24 second half points, so this is something I'm sure they will be working on against WSU.

Lots To Clean Up

It is said that football teams improve the most before Week 2 of the season. Paul Wulff is hoping that is true as they will take the field against Cal, five days from now. This article talks about the Cougars misfortunes Saturday and provides some injury updates. It sounds like Alfonso Jackson and Jason Stripling will both miss Saturday's game. The secondary is extremely young and thin now. Some positive news, Wulff is hopeful that Punter Reid Forrest will play Saturday.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/cougars/377266_coug01.html

Bumpus Is A Seahawk

Congrats to Michael Bumpus, who has been signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. With Engram getting older they may be molding Bumpus after his slot/possesion game. I believe he will make something like 5000 dollars a week being on the practice squad.

http://www.seahawks.com/News/PressReleases.aspx?id=76166


Also, FB Jed Collins made the Eagles practice squad while Eric Frampton and Hussain Abdullah will both be in the Viking secondary. They both made the 53 man roster.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/

http://www.dailynorseman.com/