Managing Expectations

Hello Followers.  Hope you are still basking in the glow of Saturday’s awesome Cougar Victory over the Oregon Ducks.

As with all these days, my time is uber short.  So, I’m going to give you a few thoughts on the UO/WSU game as well as our upcoming tilt against Oregon State in bullet form.  So, let’s get to it, shall we?

A Few Random Bullets

• The Alex Grinch hire is paying off in spades. It is so refreshing to see a coach nix a particular scheme in favor of simply putting his most talented 11 on the field at the same time. Toward that end, a few weeks ago, I brought up how much I liked the dime package of Charleston White, Pippens, and Molton.  Well, I think I spotted a few occasions where said package included White, Calvin Green, Pippens, and Molton. As this group develops, the speed that comes with that kind of package is going to be extremely useful, especially against the Arizona schools.  Really great stuff…

• I know it’s too early to be thinking about next year, but man are we going to miss Jeremiah Allison. He may not play on Sundays, but he is the only one of our interior linebackers that can move fast horizontally as well as vertically. And the licks he puts on quarterbacks when he blitzes? YOWZA!   Hopefully, Logan Tago will continue to develop because he is the only guy I’ve seen (or heard about) that can possibly take his place. (I’d love to get Jacob Thorpe’s thought on this issue at some point–maybe someone can ask him in a chat?)

A few Targeted Bullets

• I suggested last week that we should expect to beat Oregon. And the reason I felt that way was because I thought that Oregon did not match up with us.  Well, I was right—at least sort of.  What I did not anticipate, however, was that Oregon is still a pretty darn good football team from top to bottom (I thought they were flat out bad quite honestly and that was/is simply not the case).  So, if Oregon decides to stay with it after Saturday’s loss, I think they’ll handle UW quite easily and will still find a way to 7-8 wins (just like Stanford did last year in their so-called “down” year).

• Luke Falk is a really good quarterback and I hope that Cougar nation will embrace him from now until the end of time. Mind you, there were times on Saturday where he held the ball too long. But for now, I’ll take that in lieu of a host of costly interceptions.  My sense:  Health permitting, Luke Falk is going to leave WSU as one of the all-time great WINNERS in addition to holding every school and conference passing record.  Consider:  Through five games, he already has marshaled two game winning drives in the two minute drill.  Could the kid be any more clutch?

• The three headed monster running attack was really something on Saturday and I think the coaches saw that getting Morrow, Wicks, AND Harrington into the rotation makes them all better. In fact, Saturday’s game was the best rushing performance I’ve seen from WSU running backs since the Cougs beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl in 2006.  Man was that a long time ago!

• The Cougar D, while still not great in one sense, has now shown in three consecutive road games against FBS teams that if the Offense scores 35 in regulation, the Cougs will win.  In other words, the entire Cougar Football team is right on the brink of really turning the corner.

 A Few Headline Bullets.

The Call That Changed the World.  Don’t know about you all, but for me, the play of the game Saturday was Morrow’s run on 4^th and 2 that gave us the first and goal at the 1 (first overtime).  Mind you, it wasn’t just that he got the first down—which enabled us to stay-in and win the game. It was the fact that we actually called the play.  That commitment to stuffing it down the opponents throat in a do-or-die situation has not been on there on the player or coaching side prior to Saturday’s game.  If it continues, this WSU team is going to be a legit upper division team.  In fact, if the running game continues to yield 150 or so yards a game (excluding sacks), this WSU team is going to be nationally ranked sometime THIS season.

Managing Expectations.  As of last night, WSU was favored to beat the Beavs by 8.  In my view, the “real line” is closer to 17.  Meaning, WSU SHOULD win this game by the tune of something like 34-17. What will be interesting to see is whether or not the PLAYERS get bogged down by that kind of expectation. Because, in the past, they’ve tended to get really tight when they haven’t been able to push over a lesser foe.  So, if this group is truly ready to turn the corner, they will focus ONLY on winning that stinking football game—whether its 41-17, 28-20, or 13-12.  THE SCORE DOESN’T MATTER, Cougies.  The only thing that matters is leaving Martin Stadium on Saturday night with that 4-2 record.

College GameDay to Pullman.A few weeks ago, College GameDay’s producer noted that getting to Pullman was a “priority.”  So, with that mind, you all should know that if WSU wins the next two and Stanford takes care of business as well, College Gameday will be in Pullman for the Halloween match-up versus the Trees.  And if you think I’m nuts, the first indication will be as follows:  IF WSU and Stanford both win on Saturday, look for that game to be slated for that 7pm ESPN slot on the 31st.  (Bet the house that it will be…)

Lastly, just like I noted at the beginning of the year….. Since 1980, every WSU team that has started 4-2 has finished with at least six wins.  Moreover, since that same time, no WSU team has reached that magical six win threshold without winning 4 of the first 6.

So, as exciting as Saturday was—and it sure was exciting—it means NOTHING without beating the Beavers on Saturday.

There’s so much riding on this Saturday’s game….Let’s do this Cougs!

All for now.  Go Cougs!