Good morning Coug Nation. Here’s hoping the start of the one and only bye week of ’09 is finding you well, as we all rest our bumps-n-bruises from a long, tough stretch of games. And what a stretch it’s been through the first six games, when you consider the following:
1) We’ve played probably the three best teams in the conference, already, in Oregon, USC and Stanford.
2) Two of our out-of-conference games were against the run-n-shoot, possibly the worst possible match-up you could dream up when you think about our defensive personnel on the field or, more importantly, on the sidelines with injuries. Combined total yards surrendered against SMU and Hawaii? Well, it’s a lot – over 1,100 yards, all told, but we were amazingly 1-1 in those games!
3) After all the hand-wringing over turnovers and the lack of this team creating them, did you know we currently LEAD the PAC-10 with 18 takeaways?? That includes 11 fumble recoveries, tops in the conference, along with seven INT’s.
But sadly, we’ve actually given it away 20 times, so we’re still on the negative side of the ledger at minus-2. Better than last year, when we led all of humanity with a minus-25 turnover ratio!
Read on for the weekly blog poll, plus other stuff….
In pouring over some of the PAC-10 stats now updated through this week’s games, overall it’s not a pretty sight. Currently the team is last in scoring offense (14.8 ppg), rushing offense (75.5 ypg), and total offense (266.0). They are eighth in passing offense, checking in at 190.5 yards per game. It’s actually worse on defense – last in scoring defense (35 ppg), rushing defense (199.8 ypg), passing defense (289.8 ypg), and finally, total defense (489.7).
The stats, they seem staggering, but at the same time, incredibly “skewed” when you consider the opponents thus far. The two run-n-shoot offenses, plus Oregon on the road in their absolute hottest time to play them, as well as the balance and power of both USC and Stanford. Not an easy chore there, is it? It was actually nice to play a team like ASU, you know, not a conference contender this year and certainly with issues of their own. That might be the best measuring stick of all, to see how we play against in-conference teams that might not be ready for prime-time. And not just the stats from that one, either, in a game like that. After all, ASU outgained us 410-181, and over half of our total offense came on ONE PLAY.
But still, the 27-14 final score, that has to go in this week’s SMALL WIN category, doesn’t it? You hate to keep going back to last year’s train wreck, but you pretty much have to with this group. I think when we were down 19-0 in this one in the third quarter, and the way they were getting destroyed up front by ASU’s front seven, you probably would have seen it finish up in the 33-0 or 36-0 category. They would have probably laid down at that point. But not this team, not this year.
So it isn’t just about stats, right? We have been harping on this for a while, but the stats and this program, right now, it’s almost meaningless in the bigger picture. We are reminded every week that they lack speed and talent. And most of all, as far as we know the fastest and most talented players on the roster right now are too young to do much about it, and/or aren’t even on the field in terms of the redshirts, as well as suspension (Kevin Norrell).
Moving on, there could be some good injury news coming. Cougfan reports up to five starters might be back vs. Cal on 10/24, including three offensive linemen. HOORAY. Boy do they need some of the hogs back out there. The story is free, by the way, and there are more reports on guys like Wolfgramm, Hoffman-Ellis, etc, so check it out.
Anyone see the pre-game, when Drew Bledsoe was the honorary captain? That was cool, although the place was still fairly empty as the late-arriving crowd from the tailgate scene was still filtering in. But what was cool to see, and a reminder of what greatness looks like, was when they played a video montage of Bledsoe’s highlights on the scoreboard. WOW. Time has kind of blurred all those memories, but as you watch the strength of Bledsoe, and some of those throws that he made? Simply amazing. But Bledsoe also had good things to say to Wulff about the state of the program:
“He said, ‘We’re building it back up. You’re doing it the right way. It’s going to come,’” Wulff said on his Sunday night teleconference.
“All the former players, from Ryan Leaf to the former players that are in their 50’s and 60’s and know what Washington State is all about and understand football and see it, they know exactly where we’re at, and they’re 100 percent supportive.
“They know the deal. They know we’re doing it the way it needs to be done here at Washington State. I’ve got nothing but great feedback from all the (former) players, young and old.”
Finally, the blog poll for this week. Here’s our ballot. By the way, do any of you actually care about this thing? Just curious, that’s all. We are participating for the entire season and all that, so we’ll keep voting. But there may not be a whole lot of interest from you all, simply because we won’t be seeing WSU in these things anytime soon? Anyway, here’s this week’s ballot. Blame me if you wish, for anything out of the ordinary:
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Texas | |
| 3 | Alabama | |
| 4 | Virginia Tech |  3 |
| 5 | Boise State | |
| 6 | Southern Cal | |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 1 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 3 |
| 9 | Miami (Florida) | 4 |
| 10 | Iowa | 2 |
| 11 | LSU |  7 |
| 12 | TCU | 3 |
| 13 | Oregon | 3 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 9 |
| 15 | Kansas | 1 |
| 16 | Penn State | 1 |
| 17 | Oklahoma State | 2 |
| 18 | Georgia Tech | 6 |
| 19 | South Florida | 3 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 5 |
| 21 | Brigham Young | 3 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | |
| 23 | Utah | |
| 24 | Houston | |
| 25 | Oklahoma | |
| Last week’s ballot | ||
I still went with Texas at #2, even though Bama has leaped them in the AP poll. I mean Texas is unbeaten, still, and did win 38-14 at home vs. Colorado. Is that enough to justify them to fall out of #2? I didn’t think so, did you?
Enjoy the start of your week, and as always, GO COUGS!
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