So honestly, could the bye week have come at a better time? I actually think it came a couple of weeks too late if you want to know the truth. After the USC game would have been early, yes, but maybe an extra week off there could have helped heal some of the battered-n-bruised? But whatever, it’s the situation we’re in and we’ll make the best of it. Thus far, some of the injury reports are positive, and they may get back some capable bodies up front by next Saturday’s tilt vs. Cal?
Anyway, since it’s the bye week and all, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at the first half, and take a look forward as well. And we are TRYING to go with “happy thoughts!” So here we go….
First, this week’s assignment: 1) Something you are happy about with the first half of the season. 2) Something you are looking forward to the second half of the season. And 3) One prediction, outlandish or otherwise, that you think will come true. First, my spiel:
1) I am happy about a few things, but mainly I’m happy with the emergence of some young, talented faces in this program.
Clearly this has been a rough, rough stretch since coach Wulff took this thing over. Now a cumulative 3-16 into the Wulff era, it’s been a difficult, bitter pill to swallow. Wulff has had to shoe-horn in his vision of how a BCS program should be run, and ran into some major resistance early. But there are already signs it is starting to turn. The losses are still piling up, and it’s difficult to see victories in the remaining six games of the year. But the margin of victory is clearly down compared to last year, as pointed out by Ted Miller just yesterday. Psst – good work Ted. There is hope here. And we also like the fact that you remind the PAC-10 universe that BOB CONDOTTA IS A COUG! Bwaaaahahahahaha!
Last week, we saw FOUR babies start on offense in Jeff Tuel, Gino Simone, Tyson Pencer and Alex Reitnour, all either true frosh or redshirt frosh. That number alone is more than the senior starters on offense. But it’s not just the starters either. Johnny Forzani is a first-year guy who played one year of high school ball, yet he’s in the regular rotation at WR and had the 99-yard TD. Jeffrey Solomon is a redshirt junior who played just one year of special teams at EWU before transferring, and he’s the primary backup at two of the wide receiver positions, and yes, he plays a ton. And even the “veteran” at WR, Jared Karstetter, is only a true sophomore with now just six career starts under his belt! The youth is just amazing on offense.
It’s really more of the same on defense too. Travis Long as a true frosh has the look of a real player on the rise, with a future as bright as anyone in the program right now. And up front, we saw another frosh, Anthony Laurenzi, start at tackle, while redshirt frosh Dan Spitz is in the mix up there as well. Same goes with the linebackers. Louis Bland and Alex Hoffman-Ellis are just sophomores, and while Bland started nine games last year, it’s easy to forget he is only a true sophomore. And Hoffman-Ellis shows a ton of potential with his speed and nose for the ball, and again, just a redshirt sophomore there getting his first taste of PAC-10 ball. And even in the secondary, where yet another redshirt frosh, Daniel Simmons, started at corner, but there is also tons of youth backing up out there, like Terrance Hayward (RS frosh) and Aire Justin (RS sophomore), while Eric Block (RS sophomore) and Jay Matthews (RS frosh) are backup safeties.
And to top all that off?? Did you know that three of the “prize” secondary recruits from last year’s class in true frosn Nolan Washington, Anthony Carpenter and Casey Locker were all suited up last Saturday?? Luckily they didn’t play so no redshirts were burned there, but man oh man, the youth, it’s just staggering how many are either starting or backing up and playing regularly!
The loud and clear signal here is not just that the youth has to play based on injuries or whatever else. But it’s that the youth is playing, and actually contributing. And most of all, it’s proof-positive that this coaching staff CAN recruit talent! Plus, you hear that things are going well with recruiting for this year. Maybe they aren’t making an enormous splash on the national scale, but you look at the current list of verbal commits, and you can see that things are coming together. Maybe they will never load up on the four-star types, but they are clearly turning over the rocks, shaking the bushes, doing whatever they can to mine some talent who fit what they are looking for. It’s very encouraging where this thing is headed.
That blends well with #2, what am I looking forward to the rest of the year? Youth not just playing, but improving. But especially on offense. I really want to see these kids make some strides. The bad news is that overall, the offensive production is still very much a work in progress. Think about the ASU game, the hailstorm of six turnovers handed to the offense by the defense, many of them giving the Cougar O excellent field position? Yet still just two TD’s on the day, and one play covering over half of the entire total offense for the game. The offense is way down the rankings in terms of points, total offense, etc. So there is a LONG way to go, but hey, all the kids on the field, what else can we expect right now? The growing pains are apparent, and it takes time to figure it out. But as Paul Wulff has said all along this year, they are measuring the “small wins”, and so we as a fan base must do the same. And with the youth, hey, at least we’ll be interesting the rest of the way!
Finally, a prediction? WSU WILL WIN ONE MORE GAME THIS YEAR. Yeah, I said it. The Cougs will find a win. Not only will we surprise some people with a good offensive performance later this year, but, they are going to run into someone who is going to be 1) injured, 2) tired, and 3) overlooking WSU in a huge way. So there.
On to this week’s games:
CAL @ UCLA – Cal comes in well-rested and ready for the Bruins. Meanwhile UCLA is starting to sputter after their loss to Oregon. This one will be close though, as UCLA’s defense is as fast and physical as any that Cal has seen this year. I’m down on Kevin Riley, but I think Jahvid Best bounces back, and Cal pulls it out, 21-17.
Stanford @ AZ – Second tough road game for the Cardinal. But Harbaugh will have them raring to go after last week’s toughie in Corvallis. Meanwhile AZ is still miffed at their collapse in Seattle. AZ is a good team though, and they clearly have figured out their QB situation. But I think AZ is not over that UW loss. Andrew Luck bounces back to play well, and Stanford takes it, 28-24.
UW @ ASU – So the pups pull one out of the fire on a disputed call (and I know many won’t agree, but I think the ball hit turf and foot at the same time!). But whatever, what’s done is done. Meanwhile, I think ASU has some real issues at QB. That will be their undoing. UW wins it, 23-20.
USC @ Notre Dame – While Notre Dame has been winning games, it hasn’t been easy. They haven’t stopped any BCS offenses with a pulse this year (30+ points allowed to Michigan State, Michigan and UW) and USC has figured things out with a healthy, productive Matt Barkley at QB. And even though Jimmy Clausen has brought the Irish back in comeback wins at home? He’s still not healthy, battling a heel issue. USC will be the biggest, fastest, most physical defense he’s seen this year. I smell a big Trojan win here. USC 34, ND 24.
Hawaii @ Idaho – Interesting game with the bowl-bound Vandals vs. Hawaii, our week-two nightmare opponent? Hey, it’s the bye week, might as well pick this one. Vandals win it, 31-28.
And the biggie, Oklahoma vs. Texas in the Red River shootout. You just never know in this one. But with Sam Bradford still working his way back from the shoulder injury, well, I’m going to lean Texas here. Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley will be tough to stop. People are a little down on Texas after “only” beating Colorado 38-14 last week, and in fact they were passed up by ‘Bama in the AP poll. But I think they come back strong in this one. Texas over Oklahoma, 41-30.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your bye weekend, and GO COUGS!
SUTRA SEZ:
Hello Followers. Hope you’ve had a great week.
As for me, well, because my week was not the greatest on record, I must say that I was plenty O-pleased when SeanHawk asked me to talk about my happy thoughts regarding the season so far. So, here they are in order of importance:
1) There still is another half of Cougar Football to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) We have a quarterback that we can build with going forward.
3) The defense has a personality and an identity.
4) I haven’t yet lost my bet with Ted Miller
Ah, those happy thoughts….
My second assignment from Uncle SeanHawk was to give you all what I am looking for in the second half of the season:
1) Points
2) Points
3) Points
4) Points
My third assignment was to give you all a prediction for the second half that will come true.
1) We will burn the redshirts off the backs of a couple of our Defensive Backs. And, don’t you worry Cougar Nation, cuz we’ll be ssssssooo much better for it when we open on the road against SMU and Clay Bennett State University next year!!!
Now onto the games:
CAL @ UCLA. The battle of who can be less offensive. Hmmm.. Well, after we lost last week to fellow doormat contender ASU, UCLA looks like the last team that could enable us to tie for 9th-and therefore allow me to not lose my bet with Ted Miller. So, given that Prince is worse than Riley, I’m going with the Bears. But this one won’t be fun to watch, so I won’t. CAL 17 UCLA 10.
Stanford @ AZ. Man, this is a BIG game for both teams. Arizona, had they won last week, would be sitting in first place right now as a legit Darkhorse for the Pac-10 crown. Instead, they now are at risk of having a second straight bowl eligible season slip away. Meanwhile, Stanford, who should be a lock for post-season play, suddenly looks VERY vulnerable to teams that have ANY kind of speed. Moreover, despite being a star in the making, Mr. Luck has been shown the perils of being a freshman quarterback in the Pac-10. While I HATE Stoops with a passion, this one is going the way of the CATS. AZ 31 Stanford 21.
UW @ ASU. If I was a Dawg fan, this one would have me in KNOTS!!!!! For one, this game is pretty much a must-win for the Puppies bowl hopes. For two, this ASU front seven is the EXACT type of defense that could really, really hurt Jake Locker. And, as I’ve said before, while the Puppies progress this year is absolutely real, they become an instant doormat if Locker goes down. So, there’s a whole lot riding on this game for them. Luckily for Dawg fans, Denny has already started to burn ASU down. UW 28 ASU 10.
USC @ Notre Dame. Until Touchdown Jesus shows that they can play some real power football-as in moving the ball on the ground with tenacity-you cannot beat SC-especially in a big game. Too much Trojan speed and too much balance doom the Irish once again. SC 34 Irish 17.
University of Clay Bennett vs. Texas. “Red river, red rover, can Clay Boy come over????…” Ugggh. Can’t both teams lose this game for once, PLEASE???? Can’t believe I’m saying this, but, because of BCS implications for the Pac-10, I really, really want Texas to lose this one. Not sure how that can happen without Okey winning, but we can pray for miracles, right? In the end, Colt proves he can’t be the real McCoy two years in a row. Horns lose 21-29.
Enjoy the Games..
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