In thinking about the game, and looking back at the post from yesterday, I probably overstated about the defensive line getting “consistent” pressure. Sure, there were moments that Kyle Padron did in fact have time to set up and do his thing. But I should have put that consistent remark into proper context. What I should have said was “surprising” pressure, as it sure as hell was surprising to me that we saw the defensive line even breathe on Padron, let alone harass him at times! It was just such a shocker to see them play well up front, given what we’ve seen in recent seasons and even into this year. And I remembered so well the approach we saw them take vs. the run-n-shoot last year, where eight would drop into coverage and the Hawaii/SMU QB’s would drop back, make a ham sandwich and then deliver the ball to someone wide open, even though there were so many in coverage! But you get my point, I hope – the d-line played well, and in some stretches played about as well as they have in the Paul Wulff regime.
And in even better context, the surprising thing was that it came against a team that has a lot of talent back from a bowl-winning team from last year. A team that whipped Nevada in their bowl game last year, the same Nevada that crushed Cal on Friday night. So honestly, going down to mid-90’s heat and coming up short, there just isn’t any shame in that. But I know the haters are gonna hate, and yep, I get it – it was another loss.
With that, on to this week’s blog ballot, plus links from all over…..
First, I blew it on the blog ballot last week. I got to it too late in the week, and therefore we couldn’t vote. Oh well. But this week, WE’RE ON IT! See:
WSU Football Blog Ballot – Week 4
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | — |
| 2 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | — |
| 3 | Boise St. Broncos | — |
| 4 | TCU Horned Frogs | — |
| 5 | Oregon Ducks | — |
| 6 | Texas Longhorns | — |
| 7 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | — |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | — |
| 9 | Arkansas Razorbacks | — |
| 10 | Florida Gators | — |
| 11 | Wisconsin Badgers | — |
| 12 | Utah Utes | — |
| 13 | South Carolina Gamecocks | — |
| 14 | Arizona Wildcats | — |
| 15 | Stanford Cardinal | — |
| 16 | LSU Tigers | — |
| 17 | Auburn Tigers | — |
| 18 | Iowa Hawkeyes | — |
| 19 | Michigan Wolverines | — |
| 20 | USC Trojans | — |
| 21 | Miami Hurricanes | — |
| 22 | West Virginia Mountaineers | — |
| 23 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | — |
| 24 | Michigan St. Spartans | — |
| 25 | Oregon St. Beavers | — |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
Some quick notes:
1) I am really, really liking Oregon. I know it was only Portland State, and two of their three opponents so far this year were less-than-impressive. But they are just out of control right now. And their entire roster just oozes talent and speed, pretty much everywhere. Now, we’ll see this week as they travel to ASU, where the Devils lost by a missed extra point at Wisconsin. ASU plays strong defense and their offense is much better than anyone thought they would be (including me!). Get the Quacks on the grass against an opponent that is used to what they are going to do offensively, and this could be a huge test for the Ducks.
2) Nebraska at just seven? Yeah, they absolutely humiliated the purple-n-gold, and maybe you can make the case they should be above Texas right now? But they looked really, really good. Let’s see what happens though when they get into the meat of their schedule. Taylor Martinez is impressive at QB, and has that whole read-option thing down pat.
But what happens if they get down and he has to throw the ball? Hmm. Well, that defense is fantastic! But let’s see what happens there. They are a really interesting team though, no doubt about it.
3) Major props to Arizona. That was the best Tucson crowd I can remember, and that place was hot for the entire evening vs. Iowa. When the Hawkeyes looked like they had recovered from an early hole and might take the game, the Cats bounced back big-time, got the leading TD, and then stiffened on defense with a ferocious pass rush.
Other links out there today:
Good read by Howie Stalwick in his notebook from the SMU game, touching on the impressive 17-year old Marquess Wilson, the strong play of Kevin Kooyman (probably his best game as a Coug), and hey, the injury situation isn’t bad!
SI’s Stewie Mandel has an article about the top three Pac-10 teams, and that they are all a handful right now (Oregon, Stanford and AZ, oh my!). But of all the teams, Oregon has by far the most favorable schedule, getting both Stanford and AZ in Eugene.
Ted Miller touches on the entire conference in a “measuring up” post, and says overall the conference came out looking pretty good after the weekend.
For those of you that didn’t know, Bill Moos is doing a weekly Monday morning radio show. And YES, the show is steamed online! The official site has the details of how you can catch it yourself. The show will be on today at 10 AM PST. Tune in if your schedule allows.
Finally, CougCenter takes a “quarter pole” look at the Cougs. And while they sound somewhat encouraged, they appear done with a certain offensive coordinator.
That’s it for now. Enjoy your Monday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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