GAME WEEK!

Hello Followers.  Hope you’re having a great week.

As for me, well its been a bit crazy.  You see, on Saturday, I finished overseeing Cletis’ and Brinkhater’s trench digging project on my NY state compound.  Seems like we had gotten just a TTTTTAAAAAAADDDD bit of water in the basement/dungeon over the winter and the spring, so I put the knaves to work to see if we could get that little problem patched up.

Then, on Sunday, we had a nice visit from some wild old chick named Irene.  Mind you, the old basement stayed bone dry throughout the whole affair with her.  But, here is a picture of the park (that was DRY on Saturday, I kid you not) that is not far from the PuRam.

Frightening.

But alas, Monday came, and when it did, the 85 degree + Humid weather had vanished.  And, as I walked the pooch across the neighborhood early that morn, that certain smell was in the air. 

And that smell was FALL!

So, as classes started round here with a new wave of savants beckoning to be enlightened , I started to get REAL excited about football in general, and about Saturday’s contest, in particular.

So, with that all in mind, want to know my thoughts about this week’s tilt against Spud State?  Then read on.

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Folllowers, Sedi and I have been talking the past two weeks about Bill Doba’s sentiments re: playing “hapless” foes. 

In a nutshell, Doba always hated to play the cupcakes because he felt that those games always made you feel like a failure irrespective of the score.   In fact, Sedi was recounting how horrible Doba and his staff felt about the Grambling game in 2007 despite the fact that we won something like 56-0.

And really, this weekend brings the same type of feel:  Either we blow them out, or our season portends to be another failure.

Of course, all of that is hogwash.  Which brings me to thought #1:

1) Win the damn game and get out of dodge.

I know that many of us are looking for a 35-0, 35-3, or 35-7 halftime score in this one.  But to quote Bill Murray in Meatballs:  “It just doesn’t matter.” 

Bottom line: IF we KICK THEIR BEHINDS while earning a ton of style points in the process, are we that much more prepared for next week, the week after, or the week after that?  Um, don’t think so.

So, all else being equal, we have one goal for this weekend:  Become 1-0 for the first time since 2005.

2) Get the starters out of the game as quickly as possible.

Typically, a key goal of these creampuff games is to get the starters about a half game of work and then let the reserves get some good game experience against less talented players.  The pay-off:  Kids (reserves) learn how they can improve in game conditions at the same time they gain a sense of efficacy about themselves as college football players.  So, beyond winning, here’s to hoping that once a three score lead is secured in the 3rd quarter, Wulff pulls the starters and puts in the reserves.

After all, the LAST THING we need is a Friday Night Lights redux where Tuel blows out his ACL going for touchdown pass  #5 when we’re already up 42-10.

3)  Put it on the Mitz.

Those who have frequented these here blog parts know that the WSU Football Blog has always loved Logwone Mitz.  And yes, I rank near the top of that fan club (even though Aimeable has horded the President’s title for the past two years).  

Anyhow, despite our love of Mr. Mitz, Logwone has always seemed to find ways to put himself in the coaches’ doghouses. 

So, while we are ALL looking forward to watching Mr. Galvin do his stuff this Saturday and beyond, here’s to thinking that Mitz’ thunder will be HIGHLY instrumental to Galvin’s ability to show his lightening.  So, against a smaller FCS foe like Supd State, I’m looking for 200 yards rushing on Saturday.  And 100+ of that has got to come from my man, Mitz.

4)  Tempo, Tempo, Tempo

One of the quietest nuggets from Paul Wullf’s first Tuesday was his excitement about the prospect of finally being able to play at his tempo.  And you know, I actually believe him.  After all, you can look back at all of our openers in the Wulff era and find a drive or two where the other team’s D is grabbing at their socks and nearly yacking on their own 35 yard line.

Unfortunately for us,  we have not been able to sustain that tempo and effectiveness throughout a game–let alone a season. So, even though I will not see us play until week 3, I’ll be looking for reports that indicate that we kept tempo for one entire half.  Do that, and I think the Spud State D will be so tired, our scrubs will be able to run them off the field in the second half.

5)  Pass (past) Defense

Arguably, the toughest mental task facing the team this weekend falls on the defense.  Given that this group has been much (and fairly) maligned over the past few years, it is going to be important for this group to stand up in week one and make a statement.

At the same time, this group has to be careful to not expect too much of themselves in Game One. After all, FCS teams routinely move the ball and score against FBS teams.  So, seeing the spuds put up 10 points in the first half should not lead to the type of desperation/ individual play that has killed us in years past.

So, I am hoping to hear that this group plays fast, aggressive, and most importantly, stays SMART and COMPOSED.  In particular, I’m looking for strong run support up the middle, good pressure on the passer, and NO STUPID ASS penalties.  In short, I’ll take no takeaways in this game if it means systematically getting them off the field in a more “ho-hum” manner.

Oh yeah:  It would be nice for these guys to also stay healthy too, right?

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In the end, I, like many of you, will be dissapointed if we haven’t put up the 28-7 or 35-0 halftime score this Saturday. But, really folks, lets stay away from that trap.

What is important for this week is to win, gain addition game experience, and avoid injury. 

Do that, and I, for one, will turn on that Oregon-LSU game in a very good mood: I’ll have a winning football team for the first time nearly 5 years.

Enjoy the game.  And GO COUGS!