Three Reasons WSU Will Upset Oklahoma State

Tomorrow will officially begin a new era for the Washington State football program.  The Cougs will open the season on the road.  OK.  They open in Seattle, hosting the Cougar Gridiron Classic.  Sort of a home game.  Heck, the stadium they'll be playing in is funded by an ol' Cougar.  That's relevant, right?

From the players perspective, kickoff time tomorrow won't come soon enough.  Trust me, the Cougs are tired of banging on each other and looking forward to putting their practice to some useful purpose.  You know, beating on your opponent for four quarters.  That kind of purpose.

If you follow media reporting and blogging about this WSU football team, you almost wonder why they are even going to bother to show up and play.  The optimistic take on the game is that the Cougs will surprise folks and play good football for three quarters and end up losing by about a touchdown.  The critical take on Washington State has them falling behind by two touchdowns in the first ten minutes before settling into a blowout by the OSU Cowboys.

Well folks, I'm here to tell you they are wrong.

First, as in reason one, the Washington State Cougars are going to win their opener against Oklahoma State because of teamwork.  Outside of Brandon Gibson, there aren't many individual star performers on the roster.  That's not a problem.  In fact, in a game that is a team sport, that can be an advantage.

Individually, Washington State is an average group of football players.  Collectively, they are going to play inspired football.  New head coach Paul Wulff knows a lot about building teams.  He did so up the road at Eastern Washington.  If you follow WSU football closely, you can see he's doing the same thing in Pullman.

Case in point:  Keith Parr, Jr. has been plagued by injuries his first two years at WSU.  This year the kid is finally healthy but discovered he doesn't quite fit into the team concept.  He wants his moment in the sun and it wasn't going to be in Coach Wulff's plans this year.  Truth be known, Coach Wulff isn't about giving players their moment in the sun.  He's about teamwork and playing solid football by everyone, players and coaches, alike.  Putting out their best effort as a team.

Next, as in reason two, Coach Wulff has installed a new offense that will maximize the talent of his players: the no huddle.  The no huddle, pressure, offense is all about attacking the weakness of a defense.  It isn't about passing for 400+ yards or rushing for 200+ yards.  It's about ramming the football relentlessly at the opponent's defense.  For Cougar fans, that's going to take some getting used to.  For Cougar players, it's the kind of system that builds confidence for the offense.  Last year WSU was awesome on offense until they reached the red zone.  That won't be the case this year.  Red zone offense will be similar to anywhere else on the field.  When the Cougs have the ball, they will be attacking.

Finally, as in reson three if you're still counting, this team is all about Cougar Pride.  Coach Wulff is a Cougar, having played there during his college days.  Coach Wulff understands why some people love Pullman while others don't.  He also knows, that when a player lands in Pullman, his blood turns crimson and gray.  This collection of players has begun the transition of Cougar football to a team sport, first and foremost.  There is a grand example of how that will work.  Take a look at what Coach Dick Bennett and Coach Tony Bennett did with the basketball program.  They formed a foundation of teamwork that has translated into a successful program.

Building Washington State football into a successful program begins tomorrow afternoon in Seattle.

Any questions?