Measuring Stick Time: Part One

Hello Followers.  Hope you are doing great!

A few weeks ago, I put myself “out there” a little bit by all-but guaranteeing a win against the Oregon Ducks.  And the reason for that bravado was simple:  I thought we posed a significant match-up problem for the Ducks.

Of course, that same type of match-up problem was also evident in spades on Saturday—especially in the first half.  Once again, we showed that teams that cannot pressure Luke Falk  consistently are going to get lit up.  And since Oregon State’s secondary needed a lot of help from their linebackers, they were not able to mount much pressure against Falk.

And the rout was on early (and, in a stunning fashion) as a consequence.

The good news is that Arizona’s defensive front seven (six?) is nothing to write home about either—especially with Scooby Wright sitting on the sidelines.  And for that reason, we should all be pretty darn optimistic that we will see the offense move the ball and score points this Saturday (assuming that River Cracraft and Tavares Martin are, in fact, healthy).   And for that reason, we should all expect to see a strong effort from our offense in Tucson this Saturday…

But the flip side of Saturday’s wonderful performance was also a healthy dose of reality.  And that reality is as follows:  We are still below average on the defensive side of the ball.  And for that reason, I think that we can expect to get exposed in a major way over the next two games.

It is definitely a “measuring stick” kind of game..

So, with that background in mind, here are my quick schizophrenic takes for this Monday…

Will the Real Cougar D Stand Up?

We all saw the potential of this Cougar defense in our game against CAL. But that potential is really going to be put to the test over the next four games. Because for the next two games against Arizona and Stanford, this group is going up against two teams that absolutely beat the tar out of us last year.  For example, Arizona has an offense that can truly spread you out horizontally in the run game, all the while maintaining that real threat to kill us over the top with the vertical passing game (See:  Anu Solomon has 13 TD’s and ZERO picks on the year).

Then, with Stanford, we have a legit National Title contender that has an offensive line that eclipses anything we have seen to date….

In other words, a big part of me thinks we should prepare for the possibility of an ugly slide to 4-4 .  Because no matter what Vegas says about both contests,  we should be considered MAJOR underdogs in both of these games.

But There’s Room For Hope!!!!!

While I genuinely am expecting to lose  a 48-30 type affair on Saturday in Arizona, the fact of the matter is that our offense may be good enough to win the game all by itself. And if they do, then College Gameday will be coming to Pullman for Halloween.  Now that ESPN has scheduled the Stanford game for a 7:30 PM PST start, it is right in the Worldwide Leader’s wheelhouse if the Cougs can get to 5-2.

And for this reason alone, I encourage all of us to sit back and enjoy watching this team mature.  After watching lots of football on Saturday, I remain convinced that this team is well positioned to be a real force on a national level in 2016. So, this year is about enjoying the process—even if that requires an experience two weeks in the valley before Arizona State comes to town!  And oh-by-the-way, NO Cougar team in the modern era that has made it to a 4-2 start had failed to finish with less than six wins. So, here’s to thinking that we’re going to take care of that bowl eligibility thing this year.

Ah, hell, LET’S GO FRICKIN’ DO THIS!!

Yesterday, the ESPN Pac-12 blog slotted us fourth in their Pac-12 power rankings. Today, Ken Goe of the Oregonian did the same. So, even though those rankings are not intended to be predictive, there’s growing sentiment that the Cougs are now a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12.

So, win this Saturday, the bottom line is that we’re 60 Minutes from College GameDay!!!

Who’d have thought that possibility even existed just one short month ago?

All for now. Go Cougs.