Before we get to the video after the jump, of course, I wanted to say something to all of you. RELAX on what Sutra wrote yesterday! Geez, you would think he just wrote a pro-communism post, or why America is now a socialist republic or some nonsense. He’s not being hypocritical of anything here, and he’s not drunk nor high on any narcotics….at least I don’t think so…..but that post was simply a look at what he HOPES is the future of this football program! Does he actually think this will happen, that somehow we will be sitting there at 9-0, playing for a shot in the Pac-12 title game and possible national title game in 2012?? Of course not. Does he think, as he said Saturday night, that the Cal loss basically seals the end of the Paul Wulff regime? Yes, he does think it’s over. Yesterday’s post is what he would LIKE to have happen, not some crazy, whacked-out prediction! Sutra has been asking for a Paul Wulff contract extension or iron-clad guarantee that he will get all five years on his contract since last spring, and he has not stopped beating that drum. So please, relax people.
Oh, one more quick thing. News broke that Colorado’s Dan Hawkins was fired today. Why does that matter? Well, hey, Colorado is now a PAC-12 member, and they suddenly have a help wanted sign flashing in their window. IF the plug is pulled on the Wulff regime, that means that Moos will have to wade into the water with Colorado also out there, trolling for a rock star. Colorado has a hell of a lot to offer when you compare it to Pullman, and there is little doubt that they will be the much more attractive landing spot for some top coaches looking for work. Add in their new Pac-12 affiliation, and all that is going to come with it in the future, and that could be one extremely attractive job (Mike Bellotti anyone??). But that situation is very interesting, and one that could have a direct impact on the type of candidate WSU will be looking for…..IF they pull the plug on Wulff, obviously. We’ll see.
For those of you that don’t know, Hawkins was given a fifth year this year after going 3-9 at Colorado last year. And now they’ve relieved him of his duties, with CU sitting at 3-6 this year and coming off the worst collapse in school history last weekend. I wonder, in hindsight, what CU fans think today about the decision to bring Hawkins back for that fifth year, after the 3-9 season last year?
Anyway, on to the highlights for this week!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl7MZuj3fyg&w=425&h=344]Note – it has taken a LONG time to get this video to be fully processed on YouTube. If by chance it isn’t quite ready when you click play, come back and check it later. I don’t know what’s up with YouTube today, but it is extremely slow.
Anyway, some things worth nothing from watching the game again:
1) Tuel ran really well. They say on the broadcast that he doesn’t have any speed, but I don’t know about you, but I see him outrunning some folks out there. He doesn’t look like a burner in the Montlake Jake mold, but he has those long strides that make his speed awfully deceiving. I know they didn’t want him to run much this year, for fear of injury and all that over such a grind of a season, but the run sure looks like something they should experiment with more often down the road.
Unfortunately he wasn’t helped out much by the wideouts. I don’t know what the “official” count was on the drops, but I counted at least five that probably should have been caught. However Tuel didn’t seem as accurate as he normally is on Saturday. I know that he was under pressure, and doing a lot of running, and that might have had something to do with it. But he didn’t look quite as sharp on some throws that we’ve seen him make this year?
2) Aire Justin had a heck of a game. An INT, a QB sack, AND a 33-yard punt return where he was one player away from taking back to the house? That was an excellent game for Justin!
3) There were some HUGE hits in this game. CJ Mizell brought it with his body-slam of Shane Vereen, as well as many other very hard, intense tackles. But yeah, both sides were hitting in this one. Gino Simone got absolutely lit up running that square-in route, right into the face of the oncoming defender. And Deone Bucannon knocked the helmet off Cal’s backup running back, Sofele. Wow.
4) Cal was flat. Sorry to say that to our friends from Berkeley, but they looked pretty uninspired early on. Now I understand why everyone has been going crazy over their poor play on the road. That game was setting up nicely for an upset special, but they were able to do enough late in the game to hold off WSU. And Mansion had some decent moments, but he also looked like a QB making his first start. Both of those INT’s weren’t pretty, at all, and he got away with another one in the fourth quarter that could have been picked off. He’s big and has a nice arm, but he still has a lot of growing up to do!
5) I’m not sure why we didn’t see more Mitz? 11 carries, 54 yards, a 4.9 average. And he ran hard too. But here’s hoping they use him more this week at Oregon State, always a tough venue to go into and try to win, and the running game can help take some of the crowd out of it if you can consistently move the chains.
6) There was a non-PI call that I left on there, that I actually slowed down. You can see the Cal DB, Hagan, hit Wilson in the head, BEFORE the ball got to him in the end zone! I know the Pac-10 refs take a lot of crap from all angles, but I’m very surprised that wasn’t called, especially hitting the receiver in the head! But oh well.
7) Some other stuff – I left in the part with Cougar Country Drive In (CCDI). Mmmm, CCDI. I hope they do a quick thing on Sella’s next time. And a telemarketer tried to call us when the video was created, and you’ll probably see their name and number flash on the screen.
That’s about it. We’ll be back later today with LucasCoug’s Vegas post. All for now. GO COUGS!
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