As usual, don’t forget your weekly picks. Here’s the information for the Yahoo pick’em:
Group #1:
Go here.
Group: 14767
Password:gocougs
Group #2:
Go here.
Group: 16079
Password:wazzufbblog
With that, let’s get started.
SUTRA SEZ:
Hello Followers. Hope you’re having a great week.
Well, with Saturday’s game threatening to end Paul Wulff’s tenure at WSU, I have to admit that I have been in total knots about this one.
And, to be frank, I haven’t been sleeping that well this week as a result.
So, in the middle of the night, I woke up as I have time and time again, thinking about our beloved Cougs.
Only this time, I found myself horrified by what I saw:
Standing above me at the side of my double Kingsize bed was none other than Brinkhater. And let me tell you, boy was he angry.
Mind you, because of space limitations here, I will not tell you the ins and outs of what Brinkhater later described to a friend as “heated” conversation.
But this was the gist of what he said: “You have no stinking right to be a blogfather, Sutra. You’re way too (bleeping) soft.”
When I asked him to explain what he meant about being “soft,” all I got was some sort of gibberish about how he was like 64-4 picking Cougar Football and Basketball over a two year-plus stretch. And while his record during that time certainly was impressive, I still couldn’t understand for the life of me how HIS record somehow made ME soft.
Of course, because BH is an idiot, he provided no answer to that question. Instead, he told me to go F myself, Mike Bellotti, Brock Huard, as well as anyone else out there who actually claims to enjoy watching Oregon play football.
So, after thinking a bit more about it, I started to realize that perhaps he was right. I mean, the beauty of Brinkhater was his willingness to go out on a limb based on his unique desire to be controversial–especially if he had a hunch that he was going to be controversial AND right at the same time.
And so, when I look at this game this weekend, I see a VERY rainy day. I see a CAL team that can certainly run the football, but is not so great at throwing it. And I see a vaunted defense that is so good, they managed to hold teams down to 79 points in the first half over their past two road games.
And, in tandem with those visionary facts, I see our Defense charged up just enough to play the type of bend, bend, bend, bend, bend, THEN break style that I was expecting at the beginning of the season. And while I think that Jeff Tuel, Marquess Wilson, and Jared Karstetter will be able to do their thing, I also see Marcus Richmond playing Dwight Tardy a la UCLA in 2007– but not running the football–but catching it out of the backfield. And, I see the loss of James Montgomery giving Logwone Mitz an opportunity to put it on ’em.
Therefore, while Brinkhater may wind up laughing in spades for suckering me into a pick that I’m sure he knew would make ME look like an idiot, I’m going Cougs in this one 31-30.
And may the good man, CPW, keep his job as a result.
Other games:
Oregon 51 Washington 20. And the funny thing is, this will be a flat, letdown city performance for the Ducks.
Oregon State 31 UCLA 30. Its a good score, so why not use it twice? Beavs defense still is prone to give up yards and points and I think UCLA showed against Arizona that there’s still fight in the Bruins–at least at home.
USC 35 Arizona State 24. Interesting to see if the Trojans start to lie down after last week. But here’s to thinking that they have too much O for the Sun Devils..
Stanford 45 Arizona 41. Might be the game of the year in the Pac-10. Two great offenses going at it until Luck wins the game in the last minute.
And a bonus for you, followers – the National Game of the Week:
Utah 28 TCU 27. Utah makes early statement for being the favorite in the Pac-10 south next year.
SEANHAWK SEZ:
What up Cougs? So, is this THE WEEK, where this lousy Pac-10 streak is set to end?
Some of you may not remember, or at least you were in diapers and/or elementary school at the time, but did you know the Cougs have endured a similar string of sad losses in Pac-10 play, just 12 years ago? It’s true. Starting back in 1998, WSU lost every Pac-10 game that year, and it extended into a couple of Pac-10 losses in 1999. But that was “only” 10 straight Pac-10 losses, before the streak came to a sudden end on October 2nd, 1999. This current program has beat that ugly run of conference losses by five, as the Pac-10 defeats are now up to 15 in a row. Anyway, did you know who they beat that glorious day in Pullman, by the score of 31-7, to FINALLY end their Pac-10 losing streak?
While record keeping from that era – the roaring 90’s – is spotty at best, it’s actually true. The Cougs dominated the Bears from Berkeley that day, and the 27,000+ fans in Pullman celebrated the end of a miserable run. In fact, WSU had lost 12 straight games overall coming into that game, so it wasn’t just beating a Pac-10 team that was at stake, it was beating ANY team with a pulse that made for serious desperation!
Now, it has to be said that a lot has been made about Cal’s struggles on the road this year. Yes, they’ve been awful, but maybe not that awful?
In the plus side for them, they have played some good, ranked teams on the road. For example, they lost 52-31 at Nevada after trailing by a TD late into the 3rd quarter, as Nevada pulled away with some excellent play in the 4th quarter. Oh yeah, Nevada is ranked in the top 25. And they lost 10-9 at Arizona, as the Wildcats scored a TD with just over 1 minute left in the fourth quarter to win it. And that was when Arizona was healthy with Nick Foles at QB, as the Cal D would hold AZ to 311 total yards for the game. Yes, Arizona was/is ranked in the polls.
But they’ve had some awful losses too, like at USC, down 42-0 at the half on the way to a 48-14 loss to the Trojans. And finally, last week. Cal goes to Corvallis and gets crushed, 35-7. However, Kevin Riley, as mediocre as he is, gets lost for the season with a first-quarter knee injury. The Beavs get up big early, Cal has to abandon their game plan and are forced to throw it, and it’s blowout city.
While that sounds encouraging from a WSU point of view, well, I don’t like this one. If we know anything about the Coug D, it’s that we cannot stop the run. At all. In fact, WSU is now 119th against the rush, giving up 5.5 yards per carry. That means on average, if the opponent just runs it two times in a row? Move the chains, that’s a first down baby! But with the recent injuries to the defense, and all the youth that has been thrown out there, it’s been a rough go of it in trying to stop someone, anyone, from running the ball.
Cal, on the other hand, has very little problem running the ball. I mean it’s Cal, and under Tedford they ALWAYS run the ball! This year they average 4.37 yards per carry, and we know what Shane Vereen is capable of, every time he touches the football.
Factor in that Riley is out and they are going with untested Brock Mansion at QB, on the road? Well, if you were Cal, what would you do?? Student body right, student body left, halfback dive up the middle, blah, blah, blah. I think at this point, it will be an upset if Mansion throws it more than 15 times on Saturday.
In the end, Cal’s running attack is the deciding factor, and will be too much. Cal wins it, 38-20.
Other games:
Oregon 65 Washington 17. Pedal to the metal. Oregon hates UW, and they will show no mercy on Saturday.
Oregon State 28 UCLA 14. The Beavs are in circle the wagons mode, winning three of their last four. And UCLA’s offense? Eeesh.
ASU 30 USC 17. After losing their “Super Bowl” last week vs. the Quacks, SC mails it in.
Stanford 35 Arizona 27. Andrew Luck is in the zone right now. While Stanford isn’t the greatest home field advantage around, it will help, as they can rise up and make a little noise when they have to. I like the Cardinal to pull it out late.
All for now. GO COUGS!
LUCAS COUG SEZ:
Washington at Oregon: Did anybody get a chance to listen to KJR earlier this week? It was hysterical listening to people try to justify the Huskies having a shot in this one. Sark must have spiked that purple drank (kool aid) with some Everclear or something. This would be the single-handed greatest win in UW history if they were to pull it off. Friends made fun of me last weekend (I am talking to you Carp) for saying the Ducks will probably hang 60 on the Trojans. If they stay healthy and can win out, they will roll whomever they face in the National Championship. Oh, and Jake Locker won’t be playing this week. Meanwhile, has anybody checked out www.firenickholt.com? Quacks 65 – Dawgs 3
Cal at Wazzu: Well last week was a tough one for our Cougs, no need to cover that again. The injuries are definitely starting to mount up as Kaufusi has a sore back and Karstetter rolled an ankle in Tempe. Cal is not without their injury issues though, as four year starting Quarterback Kevin Riley is done for the season. I would assume that means it will be Brock Mansion at QB, but we may end up seeing Beau Sweeney, who is the QB who started ahead of our very own Jeff Tuel in High School? I honestly have no clue how this bad boy is going to play out. Cal’s only close road contest was a 10-9 loss in Arizona, but no other road game has been within 21 points. One factor for the Cougs is how they can overcome the absolute debacle of a performance from last week. If they can, look for a tight game into the fourth quarter. If not, it could be another tough day on the Palouse. I am going to believe that Wulff leads this group to the latter. Cal 30 – Wazzu 24.
Oregon State at UCLA: The Beavers are looking hot, the Bruins are not. No insightful analysis necessary here. Beavs 24 – UCLA 9
Arizona at Stanford: If College Gameday weren’t in Salt Lake for the Utah/TCU game this week, I would imagine it would be in Palo Alto. This is going to be a fantastic match-up, that could very well determine 2nd Place in the Pac 10, and determine whether or not we have a second BCS Game team in our league. I think Stanford will be able to neutralize the Arizona rushing attack, but will have a difficult time stopping the air attack. Ultimately this game will hinge on whether or not the Wildcats can stop the Cardinal running game. Stanford 34 – Arizona 28
Arizona State at USC: I still don’t buy what ASU is selling, and I have seen them play twice in-person this season. If the Sun Devil defense doesn’t show up, this game could easily break the 100 points combined threshold. Does anybody know if Vontaze Burfict is sitting out because of injury in this one? In the end, I believe USC is too talented to lose four of their past five. Trojans 56 – Erickson’s 49
GO COUGS!
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