Good morning Coug Nation. Ah yes, Cougar Football Saturday, another one upon us on this beautiful late-summer morning. And as you can see, whitey and crimson are flying high today in Columbus. Two flags, one pole. Great work by those on the scene, and as always, a big thanks to Will Walker. Will has been quick to post pics from the Gameday set of the Coug flags, every single week, and he’s still at it this year. Will helped me out a few years ago back at AOL with stuff like this, so again, we thank him for his efforts.
Moving on, gameday. I wish the news was better in the sick-bay department….but it’s not. Kevin Kooyman now out 3-4 weeks with a PCL knee injury suffered in practice? Western transfer Casey Hamlett and Jesse Feagin, who was beaten up in camp and then beaten out by true frosh Travis Long, will now step into his slot on the D-line? Not good news. Although Kooyman didn’t exactly dominate Stanford last week, with just 2 tackles as the team gave up 288 rushing yards, still, his senior presence will be missed. And he DID have the only sack of the game last week, so there goes potentially our best pass-rushing option on the D-line. Needless to say, some of these kids up front? Yeah, they need to grow up. NOW.
Here’s the latest injury report, per Ted Miller:
DE Kevin Kooyman, knee, out
DT Dan Spitz, illness, out
S Eric Block, concussion, out
CB Aire Justin, quad, out
S Tyree Toomer, pec, questionable
LB Louis Bland, knee, questionable
Couple Kooyman’s loss with an unknown/uncertain status of Louis Bland, hands down the best defensive player on the field last week for WSU, and suddenly….I’m more nervous about this thing than I was yesterday, let’s put it that way. It’s been talked about to death, here and everywhere else you read Coug stuff, but they must figure out a way to get pressure on the Hawai’i passer but still defend the passing game. But if the ranks are thinned out due to injury, how can they? With Kooyman out, I really wonder now if they will roll with the 3-man defensive line, maybe by necessity more than anything else? For the first time in a while, we do have some depth at defensive tackle with Bernard Wolfgramm, Toby Turpin and Josh Luapo all ready to go inside. Maybe Wolfgramm could slide outside and play a “heavy” defensive end in the 3-man defensive line? He initally came to WSU as a d-tackle, but he did play some defensive end in the JC ranks.
I hope I’m wrong, and this is all Saturday AM gloom going on, but I don’t like the idea of going into this one already dinged up so much on defense. Not one bit.
Other stuff out there for your morning consumption….
In a move sure to moisten the eyes of all Crimson-n-Gray fans in attendance today, Cory Mackay will raise the Coug flag at Qwest Field. Fantastic idea, and if you are in the stands today, let your voice be heard when it happens (not that we need to tell you that!). It’s great to hear that Cory is planning on returning to Pullman for the spring and try to get back some normalcy in his life.
Howie Stalwick has a great rundown of what to look for in today’s game. I like the theme of how he’s on to the idea that the time is “ripe” for a WSU win, this week and next. We’ll see.
Why exactly are we playing Hawai’i today? Because THE Ohio State University quit on us, that’s why. We all remember the 2002 game in Columbus, well, the original agreement was for the Buckeyes to come back out this way. Ohio State backed out, opting instead to write a 400k check. I still remember talking to our friend in the athletic department, about how Ohio State was supposed to come back out there. My initial reaction? THEY WILL CANCEL, just watch. He said that’s the feeling, and “they’ll have to write Jim a nice check to make it all go away.” So there you go. I guess they would rather play USC. I hope the Trojans show them what a mistake this was today….
Oh, and Bud Withers also has this on the game today, picking Hawai’i to beat the Cougs, 30-24. Now, I like Bud Withers and I think he plays it pretty fair, even in the nutcase world of Husky fans in Seattle. He’s managed to stay above the fray, unlike Bob Condotta, who has been seduced by the dark side, more machine than man now, twisted and evil. But my one little “bitch” is that he has Hawai’i’s linebackers higher than WSU? Seriously? Even without Louis Bland, the Cougs can still roll with Andy Mattingly, Jason Stripling, Myron Beck, plus some younger, talented guys like Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Mike Ledgerwood and even Darren Markle. Hawai’i has Brashton Satele back as a senior leader at middle linebacker, but, they aren’t exactly stacked elsewhere at the position. Love ya Bud, but I am missing how Hawai’i’s linebackers are better?
That’s it for now. We’ll be back later, during and after the game. Drop by if you get a chance. GO COUGS!
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