It’s tough being a Cougar fan isn’t it? I had the “pleasure” of witnessing yesterday’s debacle and I must say, what a major letdown. Coming off of four extremely competitive games (well, speaking in relative terms), many were putting the Sun Devils on upset alert with the Cougs coming to town! What was the worst the Sun Devils could do after WSU’s performances at UCLA and Stanford, and looking better at home against Arizona and Oregon?
I knew at a minimum we would cover the 20.5 points Las Vegas was so generously giving us.
Well, guess what? Apparently 42-0 is what the Sun Devils could do.
Honestly, I don’t have a lot to tell you guys from what I saw from my seats, in terms of technical analysis. But I will offer up the following:
1) We couldn’t run the ball.
2) Our receivers could not catch the ball (a lot of drops in this one, more than any game this year).
3) We couldn’t tackle a Powder Puff Girl.
4) The refs were just as clueless as our players and coaches. There were many “WTF” moments, but this one stands out. There was a pass interference call on Tyree Toomer in the back of the end zone winding down the second quarter. That call was so bad, it was worse than the phantom P-I call against Darrell Jackson in Seattle’s Super Bowl XL! Nevermind that the Devils were already up 21-0 at this point. It’s not like they needed the help. But all I can say is Tyree, you made one helluva play son!
Anyway, this whole experience got me to thinking that maybe the past month has been a complete mirage.
Not that Kevin Prince is a great QB, but the guy UCLA started in front of him had never started a college game before? He led the Bruins to 42 points in their win over the Cougs. And now it is obvious that UCLA’s victory over Texas clearly has no merit, as the ‘Horns have folded down the stretch like a K-mart deck chair.
Then Oregon came to town and we were expecting blow-out city. We knocked their back-up running back and starting QB out of that game. Yet did Oregon play timid the rest of the way? Not even close. They still waltzed up and down the field with their backup QB.
We know Arizona is OK with Matt Scott at the helm, but they’re definitely a different team without Nick Foles. When did Foles get knocked out of the game against us, early in the first half?
And then there was Stanford. The final score was nice, but remember that Stanford played without their best special teams gamebreaker, Chris Owusu, and he is also their top wide receiver/playmaker extraordinaire. Oh yeah, Stanford led 31-7 into the 4th quarter.
Which brings me back to last night. Arizona State had pretty much their entire squad, healthy and ready, and it showed as they dominated every single phase of the game. Offense, defense, special teams, we’re talking every single phase of that game.
That said, last night I admit it – I was calling for Wulff’s head (again). But today I think I was too harsh on him. However, at season’s end, changes must be made to this coaching staff.
But a word of caution, and a look at recent history: Ty Willingham got a fourth season at UW in 2008. Part of the reason he got that fourth year was that he agreed to make some major changes to his coaching staff before that season. And we all know how that last year went for Willingham.
Oh well, at least it was an epic tailgate at ASU! And that’s all I have to say about that.
Have a great Sunday, Go Seahawks, and GO COUGS!
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