Wulff’s Last Stand

Hello Followers. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Well, as the header states ever so clearly, Saturday represents the last stand of Paul Wulff at WSU.

Wanna check out my last word on Wulff’s status before December 6th? Then read on.

For those of you who have frequented this blog for the past six months, you all know my position on Paul Wulff. I like him. And I want him to stay at WSU more than you’ll ever know.

And if you’ve read what I’ve written closely as of late, you also know that I said that the outcome of the Apple Cup WOULD NOT influence a decision on his job (as did John Blanchette last week).

But, in the end, when the final decision is made, I now believe that the Apple Cup WILL determine whether CPW stays at WSU.

Mind you, there are a lot of factors at work here, but let me give you one scenario that I think says a lot about why a win this weekend will keep Wulff at the helm of WSU Football. With a win this weekend coupled with an Oregon State loss against Oregon this weekend, here are some numbers:

1. Oregon 5-0
2. Stanford 4-1
3. WSU 2-3
4. UW 2-3
5. OSU 1-4
6. CAL 1-4

In case you were wondering, those numbers reflect the intra-divisional standings of the Pac-12 North for this year. So, with those numbers in mind (and yes, I know that real divisional records reflect a team’s standing against non-divisional teams in conference), you can see that win Saturday lands us as the third place team in the Pac-12 North (again) THIS YEAR.

Now, when you add to those standings the fact that ALL the teams below us would be coming off non-bowl seasons and you can see that next year doesn’t look that bad–especially for a team that would have beaten two 5 loss (near bowl eligible) teams in the last two games of the season.

Then, factor in that Oregon State is losing a lot on defense next year, that CAL, UW, and (probably) Stanford will have new quarterbacks, and where the former two are concerned, their bowl droughts would be expected to continue.

So, with a win on Saturday, our beloved Cougs would actually be standing at THIRD (or a tie for third) in the new divisional pecking order as we head toward the 2011-2012 season. And when you consider where we were just a few weeks ago, and that our BEST team looks to be two years away, how would that NOT merit another year (or two) under Wulff?

But, if we lose Saturday, and Washington heads off to San Diego or (gulp!) San Antonio, then we fall WAY down the pecking order at the same time that we lose a precious 15 practices to the Dawgs in the process. Moreover, with rumors swirling now from the Sporting News that the “quiet feelers” have already been thrown out there, it is more than obvious that the old adage “where there’s smoke there’s fire” has come to life.

And so, whether any of us like it or not, its all on the line this weekend: For the Dawgs, its a bowl, and within, a HUGE step toward ascending up the Pac-12 North ladder. For us, its our coach, and potentially, all the pain that we’ve endured for three LONG years.

And a final note on our coaching situation:

Don’t know how many of you caught the Ohio State-Michigan game this weekend. But I did. And, at the helm of the mighty Michigan is the guy who was the hottest coach in the country three years ago.

But, since taking the Michigan job, Rich Rodriguez has been nothing short of a disaster. On Saturday, Desmond Howard called Michigan’s defense the worst in program history. All day long, the ABC commentators were talking about how Michigan lacked the size and speed on defense to compete in the Big Ten. And yes, again, this was Rodriguez third year at MICHIGAN!

On top of that, the team’s punter was suspended the week of the game, so Michigan’s first punt went for ten yards. Where the rest of their special teams were concerned, Michigan went for it on every fourth down in Ohio State territory because their field goal kicker is terrible. And, Ohio State ran back one kick-off for a touch and had their way in every other aspect of special teams.

Moreover, outside of Mr. Robinson, Michigan’s offense was weak. No breakaway running backs. Receivers dropping balls all over the place. And yes, their offensive line was NOTHING to write home about either.

So, in sum, you have a HUGE splash hire at a school that is among the greatest in all of College Football (not to mention the academics which are top 10-20 across the board) and three years later, you have NOTHING.  And yes, unlike us, Michigan actually had talent when Rodriguez took over.

So I ask you, do you want to see a Rich Rodriguez type coming to Pullman (and that is who the booster-types have got to be calling for) over a guy that has already shown that he can recruit, recruit, recruit at a school that will NEVER compete with the big boys in glitz or lore?

Lets go win on Saturday so we don’t have to find out.

Go Cougs!