Hello Coug fans, and welcome to Football Friday, Week Two of 2011. Each week we stumble up to the rail and make our predictions of what you will see for the upcoming games, and with that, let’s get it started…..
Longball’s Locks:
Hello Coug fans! Week two of the 2011 football campaign is upon us and I think it’s safe to say that almost everyone in the Pac-12 is going to face a steep rise in the degree of difficulty their opponent poses this week. Oregon and UCLA get a bit of a break after they both suffered losses in tough opening tests, but everyone else is going to have to significantly tighten their chin straps. How is it all going to shake out?
Well if you saw my picks from last week, you may think I am the last person in the world you should ask. I was pretty sure Colorado would fair better than they did and even more certain that UW would handle Eastern comfortably. Of course, I refuse to even discuss what happened to the Beavs. It all added up to a pretty foggy crystal ball with more than a few cracks in it. This week, I give you my solemn pledge to perform better and restore what little faith you ever had in me as a formidable prognosticator. Here we go…
ASU 35 – Mizzou 24: I am buying the hype. I think ASU’s new black uniforms alone are worth at least 10 points this week.
Okie State 41 – Zona 28: Not buying the hype here. I think Weedon and Co. will take care of business against a Cats team that has let me down every time I have dared to believe in them.
Wisconsin 45 – Beavs 21: Bucky the Badger says: Hello Beavers, welcome to Madison. If you’ll follow me we’ll go ahead and make our way right over here behind this woodshed.
Cal 28 – Buffs 24: I did a post earlier this year about how strange the Cougs’ road schedule is. Well how bout this for weird… two conference opponents playing a non-conference game. Wha? I hope for Danni Buff’s sake her boys have shaken off the Hawaii debacle and are ready for some home cookin. Maybe the altitude will help against those coastal boys from Cal. In the end I think it all just adds up to make this a close game, but Cal still prevails with some gritty D.
Stanford 35 – Duke 10: If this was a spelling B or a science fair, or basketball game it would be close. Its not, so…
UW 31 – Hawaii 28: I hate to say it but we are counting on the Dawgs to restore some pride to the Pac-12. We don’t want the Warriors claiming a share of the Pac-12 regular season title even it means we have to endure all the whooping from Montlake. I gotta think the Husky defense is tired of hearing Bo Levi Mitchell’s stat line over and over.
Oregon 55 – Nevada 28: Oregon is familiar with sputtery starts like they had against LSU last week. In the Chip Kelley era they are also familiar with bouncing back strong.
UCLA 35 – SJSU 14: UCLA was able to score points against Houston. They will against SJSU as well. The Spartans should be over matched in this one.
Utah 33 – USC 31: I am really looking forward to this game. This is simply a HUGE matchup in the Pac-12 South and count me as one who believes the Utes are ready for it. There is a lot of speculation that the Pac-12 grind will wear the Utes down, but too bad for USC they catch them on week two.
Cougs 38 – UNLV 24: A comfortable two touchdown win for the Cougs who get to 2-0, but give the fans plenty of things to wring their hands over in the week leading up to SDSU. After a week of battling the flu and losing their star player you just have to expect a team to be sluggish, but in the first time in the Wulff era we will have enough of an advantage in personnel to overcome it. For all you going to the game this weekend, GET LOUD. I am so jealous. I will be in the strange position of rooting against WSU as the Aggies take on Weber State and Amieable and I make our first trip to Romney Stadium.
Tim’s Takes
Hey Cougs! It was phenomenal to be back in Pullman last Saturday. I had a great time with my fellow bloggers and it was good to put some faces with some commenter user names. After a weekend that consisted of roughly 1034 miles of driving, 3 concerts and a Cougar Football Saturday, I was finally feeling something resembling well-rested by Thursday morning and am of clear mind to throw out some more locks this week. For those of you scoring at home, I was 9-1 straight up last week and 8-2 against the spread. What I’m saying is, I’m a genius. On to the picks…
Oklahoma State 45 – Arizona 21: It’s a good thing this game is going up against the first game of the NFL season because a match-up that I think will be a beatdown needs to be seen by as few people as possible. The conference’s reputation is already shaky enough as it is.
Arizona St. 31 – Mizzou 28: If the Sun Devils really do fancy themselves to be among the big boys, this is the sort of game they have to win. At home, at night with the nation watching (well whoever in the nation is at home on a Friday night), I expect ASU to restore a little Pac 12 pride. Admittedly if they don’t, I would probably chuckle at their misfortune.
Wisconsin 38 – OSU 13: As if losing to FCS opponent Sacramento State wasn’t bad enough, the Beavs have to back it up with a trip to Camp Randall? In the illustrious words of Shaggy, “Zoinks!”
Stanford 49 – Duke 7: (Insert joke about the two schools’ sterling academic reputations here)
California 27 – Colorado 20: Alright! Our very first Pac 12 game! History in the making, folks! Wait…what’s that? They’re in the same conference and this is a non-conference game? Oh sure, that makes sense. This is a battle of my preseason picks to finish last in each of the Pac 12 divisions. Cal’s week one showing has me re-thinking that just a touch (especially as it relates to the Beavs); Colorado, not so much.
Oregon 56 – Nevada 20: With the line for this one somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 points, this looks like a pretty tough cover, but I think a motivated bunch of Ducks in the not-so-friendly confines of Autzen will explode in this one.
Washington 31 – Hawaii 28: I really really really really really wanted to pick Hawaii to win this one outright, but I couldn’t pull the trigger. I do think they’ll cover, though. I’m sure Bryant Moniz is daunted by the prospect of facing a secondary featuring the reigning Pac 12 Player of the Week, unless of course he realizes the honor was a joke since said player was part of a unit that was absolutely lit up by Bo Levi Mitchell and co. Look, Trufant made a great play to salvage the game, but prior to that, I’m fairly certain he was not so good. Rant over. Go Warriors.
USC 29 – Utah 23: Alright! Our very first Pac 12 game! History in the making, folks! For real this time! It seems that I’ll have to put unusual numbers in my USC score predictions this year since Lane Kiffin will be doing funny 2-point things. Thanks, Lane. I’m pretty intrigued by this game. I love that Utah gets the long time conference standard bearer in its first outing. It could go either way, but I tend to err on the side of USC’s talent unless proven otherwise.
UCLA 34 – San Jose State 10: Boooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrring.
Cougs 38 – UNLV 17: What the hell decade are we in that there is literally no way to watch this game without being in Pullman?! I know, I know, I should suck it up and make the trip, but unfortunately I can’t. After last weekend, my car might just call it quits somewhere around Othello. The new tv deal can’t get here fast enough. Hopefully I don’t make anyone mad when I’m posted up by the radio for the first three hours of a 2 year old’s birthday party.
As for the game itself, I must admit it’s been a battle this week to shake the bad vibes that the last few years have instilled in me and just believe the Cougs will roll in this one. The team-wide flu combined with The Clavicle Incident were enough to let doubt creep in just a touch. Fortunately, I’ve been able to convince myself that UNLV is not good and that WSU is at the very least pretty good. I feel good about the Lobster this week and am looking forward to more production from the multi-headed rushing attack. There might be some moments of worry in this one, but probably not many. At the end of the day, the Cougs will be 2-0.
Tommy’s Tries
Good hanging last week with you all at the tailgate! With that, here are my picks.
Oklahoma State 45 – Arizona 28: This one has the makings to be the game of the week. Could be a preview of a future conference game. A lot of great players to watch in this game, but unfortunately Juron Criner will not be one of them which is why I give the edge to the Cowboys. That and they’re at home. Oh yea, and they’re good.
Arizona State 20 – Missouri 17: Another awesome Big-12/Pac-12 matchup, enjoy them while they last. I expect it to be a defensive battle with the Sun Devils coming out on top at home.
Oregon State 14 – Wisconsin 38The Badgers look like national title contenders while OSU lost to an FCS team last week. This prediction is pretty generous to the Beavers here, especially at Camp-Randall. Yikes.
Stanford 49 – Duke 6: There’s nothing to suggest this will be a close game. Stanford showed last week that they are as advertised.
California 28 – Colorado 21: Being the first ever Pac-12 matchup, nobody really knows what to expect from this game. However, Colorado laid an egg in Hawaii last weekend while Cal took care of business against Fresno State. I think Cal is going to be better than people expected going into this season.
Oregon 59 – Nevada 17: I expect Chip Kelley to run up the score on this one just to prove a point. They made mistakes they could not overcome against LSU, but that won’t happen at home against Nevada. Ducks win big.
Washington 38 – Hawaii 35: This makes me want to puke, but I think the Huskies will somehow find a way to regroup and pull this one out. Bryant Moniz is a stud for Hawaii though, and they very well could knock out their second Pac-12 opponent in as many weeks.
USC 28 – Utah 24: This was the toughest game to pick because neither looked spectacular in their 2011 debut, which makes it a huge game for both teams in their Pac-12 openers. I think USC takes it in a close one at the Coliseum.
UCLA 35 – SJSU 13: The Blue and Yellow Bowl. Wouldn’t mind seeing UCLA get knocked off one bit here.
WSU 38 – UNLV 30: I think this is going to be a closer game than some suspect. Sure UNLV got whooped by Wisconsin last week, but as I mentioned, the Badgers are national championship contenders. And we are not. UNLV knows this and will come in playing some inspired football. I think we pull it off in the second half though and start the season a sweet 2-0!!!
Adam’s Arguments
What’s up Coug Nation! After hours of intense deliberation spent in my dark lonely room analyzing this weekend’s games, I’ve come up with the following picks!
Mizzou 28 – Arizona State 24: I don’t want to hate on the Pac-12 like the rest of the country, but Mizzou is usually a decent road team. ASU doesn’t have an elite quarterback, which I think will come back to cost Dennis the Menace late in this one.
Wisconsin 45 – Oregon State 21: I’m not sure Wisconsin was actually as good as they looked last week. Additionally, there is no way OSU will play as poorly the rest of the year as they did in their loss to Sac State. I think the Beavers keep it close in the first half before a tough-as-nails Badger offensive line wears them down in the second half.
Cal 27 – Colorado 14: I can’t wrap my mind around how in the hell this is a non-conference game. Either way, both teams are pretty mediocre. Tedford keeps his job for another week as Cal rolls.
Oregon 49 – Nevada 17: The Ducks will be pissed and motivated in front a sold-out crowd at Autzen Stadium. I don’t see any possible way the Wolfpack could hang with one of the best teams in the country.
Hawaii 35 – UW 27: Huck the Fuskies.
USC 31 – Utah 28: Matt Barkley takes a step towards earning his stripes as the best (healthy) quarterback in the conference. I see Utah being slightly overwhelmed by the huge stage. Maybe after they lose Orrin Hatch will finally quit whining about getting cheated out of a playoff system and try to effectively run the state. Maybe not….
UCLA 28 – SJSU 3: I was not aware San Jose State had an athletic program still. Half the battle is showing up boys!
Stanford 38 – Duke 10: If Jim Harbaugh were still coaching the Cardinal he would run the score up into the 60’s.
WSU 31 – UNLV 24: No matter how hard I try, I simply can’t shake the memory of Ocho Rojo throwing three picks in the first quarter two years ago against UCLA. I’ve read all the positive press about him being a changed quarterback this week but I’ll be convinced when I see him throw a few touchdowns against an FBS team. In the end, I think the big hosses up front will dominate the line of scrimmage against a porous Mountain West defense. As long as Lobster can avoid throwing picks the Cougs can move to 2-0 and we can party like it’s 1998.
Go Cougs!
SeanHawk Sez
Oklahoma State 40 – Arizona 17: Will be close and entertaining early, but the ‘Pokes just have too much throwing the ball behind Brandon Weeden(did you know he is the same age as Aaron Rodgers??). Still not sure on AZ’s D either, and that will be their undoing.
Arizona St. 24 – Mizzou 23: Thinking this will be a defensive battle more than anything else. Mizzou will hang tough, but Denny’s Devils too much under the lights.
Wisconsin 31 – OSU 29: All logic says this should be a boatrace in favor of the Badgers, but, I dunno. Far too many times the Beavs have been left for dead, like a lifeless carcass on the side of the road, only to rally. Something tells me the Beavs battle HARD in a search for pride, but come up just short at Camp Randall.
Stanford 58 – Duke 12: Nothing to see here, nothing at all.
California 34 – Colorado 20: Berkeley Bears get off to a solid 2-0 start after being underestimated by pretty much everyone (but I liked ’em, seriously!).
Oregon 43 – Nevada 21: The Wolfpack have lost a ton, and the Yucks are angry after last week. But you just have to wonder…..are coaches kinda/sorta starting to figure out a few things about how to slow down Oregon? Nevada can’t run with with ’em, and the Ducks will win comfortably. But something seems a little off with Oregon.
Washington 37 – Hawaii 24: The line has jumped from 3.5 to over 6 in the last few days, so the Vegas boys are on to something. UW gets their house in order and improve off a puzzlingly flat performance in the home opener, as Hawaii does what Hawaii does when they leave the Island – play dead on the road.
USC 23 – Utah 20: I really felt a toss-up here. SC isn’t SC anymore, clearly, but I think that Utah may struggle in their first Pac-12 game. SC has enough Matt Barkley and Robert Woods to sneak out a W at home (and SC gets in the conversation as worst 2-0 in the country!).
UCLA 45 – San Jose State 16: Neuheisel puts the pedal to the metal and the Bruins romp in a laugher that is not worth watching.
Finally, one of the biggest games in the Wulff era – WSU and UNLV…..
Like many of you, I caught some of UNLV’s act vs Wisconsin in the opener. The Badgers rolled up a bunch of yards and points in the first half, and really just took control from the beginning. UNLV looked young, inexperienced and just not sure of themselves, on the road against a highly ranked opponent in a hostile environment at that. But there is decent talent here at QB in Herring, and at RB with Cornett. But they are just sophomores on a team where the two-deeps are dominated by underclassmen. A program in full-on rebuilding mode under Bobby Hauck, they are still a LONG way away from putting a scare into a BCS powerhouse…….
But, uh, well, we aren’t exactly a BCS power, are we? Even the most optimistic Coug fan will tell you that they really like the promise, but the best is yet to come. I love what we saw in week one, but come back to reality for a moment….
Now that the Busch Light’s have worn off over the last few days and watching some of the video from the blowout in the opener, it’s awfully clear just how far behind Idaho State really is compared to the rest of the college football world. They are like a really bad version of 2008 or 2009 WSU – Small, no depth, not very fast, brand new coaching staff, and just not very good. And it was especially ugly up front, where Marshall Lobbestael could make a ham sandwich in the pocket before throwing the ball wherever he felt like, and the running backs could have driven our 30-foot RV through some of those holes provided by the offensive line!
But for as much as UNLV has struggled in week one, and have slogged through a year+ under Bobby Hauck? They still are not Idaho State.
I too wonder about a bit of a hangover effect here? Second game at home, in the heat, after a huge win where they have been getting a lot of pats on the back from fans and students everywhere. Can they handle this early success? Will they keep playing hungry? Is this magnificent start to 2011 a carryover of the immense improvement shown at the end of 2010? And is Marshall going to play at the same level that he did in week one? Or, how will he look with a less effective running game, or fewer seconds to set up and throw the ball with a chance of getting drilled into the turf? Will he revert back to the younger Marshall, where he makes one read and then forces the action? Or will he play like the 5th-year senior that we know he can be, with veteran leadership and serious moxy?
All that said, I believe this one is going to be a STRUGGLE. Not to be a pessimist, but this just has a bit of an uneasy feeling this week. The stomach virus, the huge laugher in week one, the heat, and oh yeah, losing the best player on the roster at the most important position in football! I don’t doubt that WSU has improved tremendously on both sides of the ball in the last year, and there are some real weapons and depth on this roster for the first time since 2006/2007. This is definitely a game they should win, and Vegas sees a 14-point spread as just about right. However I am going to disagree to an extent. WSU wins it, 27-20. We’ll see a 2-0 record and all that is great, and suddenly we’ll realize we are four wins from a bowl game. But there will be hand-wringing across Cougar Nation, as unfortunately this game will create more questions than answers. GO COUGS!
Lucas Likes
Happy Friday to all of you Cougs. I cannot believe it is already week two of the football season. The last time I banged out Cougar Football Saturday on back-to-back weekends in Pullman was in 2006 against Cal and Oregon. Although since 2006, I have attended back-to-back Cougar games, they just all haven’t been in Pullman a few different times; in-case you were concerned about my dedication to WSU. My body and liver just aren’t what they once were, so Saturday will be a test for me. Before we jump into my picks, I want to give an updated look at the standings between our two Yahoo Pick Em Leagues, after Week One.
User Total Points Record
NJAdams 49 9-1
Cloude 48 8-2
TyMiles24 48 8-2
Coug999 48 8-2
Reed 48 8-2
Nice job fellas (and ladies?). Now, without further ado, here are my thoughts on this weekend’s games.
Arizona State 24 – Missouri 18: This should be a solid test for the Sun Devils. While I haven’t seen the Tigers play, I think they may be a bit overrated. That being said, ASU has not beaten a Top 25 team since 2007, coincidentally Erickson’s first year and the team he inherited in Tempe. Has Vontaze Burfict beaten up any coaches, teammates or fellow students yet this week? No? Then, I’m taking Sparky.
Oklahoma State 41 – Arizona 24: When was the last time the Pokes didn’t score 35 points in a game? Well, it has happened only three times in their last 14 games, and one of those games they dropped 34 and another 33. I have a hard time believing tonight’s score won’t look similar to when these two squads squared off 8.5 months ago. Although you aren’t seeing this post until Friday, and the game was played last night, just so you know, I am typing this at 5:17 PM and haven’t see the score.
Stanford 49 – Duke 6: Sorry Duke, basketball season doesn’t start for another 90 days or so.
Wisconsin 38 – Oregon State 17: I know Mike Riley is a fine football coach and all, but this team has lost any semblance of leadership they had the last few years and are banged up right now. This baby could get ugly!
Cal 31 – Colorado 21: Zack Maynard may have been the biggest surprise for the Pac 12 in Week One. Cal’s hopes and dreams this season ride squarely on his shoulders. The Buffs just looked plain awful last week, sorry DaniBuff, it looks like 0-2 to begin the Embree Era.
Oregon 51 – Nevada 27: The Ducks have lost consecutive games for the first time since the 2007 season, and it appears the recipe to stop their Cocaine Fiend Paced Offense is simple. Get an SEC Defense to suit up for your team. I am curious to see how the Pack plays minus Colin Kaperohcrapimstartingfortheniners.
Washington 31 – Hawaii 30 (OT): I didn’t catch much of the UW game last week, but what I saw was a defense that looked lost. It’s a shame Trufant was named Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Granted he had double digit stops, a FF, and the game saving INT, he was abused like a DG Freshmen by Bo Levi Mitchell. Must have given up a dozen receptions. The other thing concerning for UW fans should be they only registered one sack on 69 pass attempts last week. DL was supposed to ba a major strength. Moniz is a helluva passer and the Dawgs should be in for another close one on Montlake. It looks as though the Honks at Dawgman are aiming to improve their prognasticating abilities after their terrible efforts in Week One.
Utah 27 – USC 21: Like others before me in today’s picks, I think this game is a total toss up. While USC gets Marc Tyler back fresh off his suspension for popping off to the TMZ Cameras, I think Norm Chow should know how to break down the Trojans. He’s only a season removed from being UCLAs OCoord, so I like the Utes in this one.
UCLA 54 – SJSU 13: It was strange to see the Bruins put so many points on the board last week.
WSU 38 – UNLV 23: I don’t want to get too creative here, but it will be interesting to see if our offense is as balanced as it was last week (35/34). While Marshall made some excellent decisions and throws last week, why not blast an opponent where they’re vulnerable? I would be happy to see another 200+ yards on the ground in this one. I’ve already begun hydrating…
SUTRA SEZ
Hello Followers. Hope you’re ready for Week 2.
ASU 42 – Mizzou 10: Mizzou had hard time scoring last week againts Almae Mater #2 Miami Ohio. While the Redhawks aren’t bad, they are far from Berfict.
Clay Bennett State 37 – Zona 14: Cowboys jump out to 21-0 halftime lead and never look back. Seriously, is there a coach in the country who has done a better job than “I’m a Man?”
Wisconsin 45 – Beavs 10: I’m hoping that the Beavs show some fight in this one, but here’s to thinking that a home loss to an FCS team means one thing: THEY’RE BAD.
Cal 31 – Buffs 10: Just as I feared, CAL looks like the #3 team in the North. And the Buffs? Well, here’s to hoping that they figure it out right around October 8th.
Stanford 49- Duke 10: Total yawner. But, here’s to thinking that the Trees aim at giving Luck a big day before conference play starts.
Hawaii 24 – Washington 21: I already hate this pick–its too easy to jump off the Muttlake hype just because of one lousy game against an Eastern Team that is pretty darn good. Problem is, if youth really is the problem with the Dawgs, I don’t see how that gets corrected in one week. What’s more, Hawaii is very, very experienced on offense–giving them the upper hand in winning the game in the fourth.
Oregon 56 – Nevada 13: Oregon discovers that Thomas is a much better quarterback when he runs the ball. Meanwhile, Nevada will find out they aren’t very good when they can’t.
UCLA 42 – SJSU 14: Some nice window dressing for Ricky.
Utah 21 – USC 20: Another game where I hope I’m wrong. Kiffin’s the type of coach you want at SC–cuz he’s just not very good. But, methinks that this season is going to put pressure on Haden to look in another direction.
Cougs 38 – UNLV 28: They’ll score, but we’ll score more. Just like our rebuilding teams of the past three years, the key for UNLV will to get an early lead and make us play from behind. Unfortunately for them, their secondary and LB corps had a hard time staying on the TV screen once the ball got out in the flat last week against Wisconsin. And while the Badgers have more “beef” than us up front, we’re just as fast at the skill positiions. So, if our offensive line can block at alll, we should runaway with this one. But, I think they’ll score several points late–just like our loss to Stanford last year.
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