Bleacher Report - Articles by Lew Wright

Washington State Basketball: Cougars To Face No. 16 Gonzaga

Lew Wright — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:03:06 -0500

Washington State men's basketball team has played six decent teams in this young season. The Cougars have looked good, winning all six games and a tournament championship.

"It's time to step forward and face some good competition," said Coach Ken Bone on Tuesday morning during his news conference.

The very young Cougars have played very good basketball to begin the new season. With a new coach, a new system, and only one upper classman, few would have projected WSU to completely dominate a good San Diego Torero club in the Great Alaska Shootout Championship Game.

Wednesday night, Coach Bone and the Cougars will travel 73 miles north to Spokane to take on the No. 16 Gonzaga Bulldogs on their home court.

Wednesday night, the schedule gets very tough and won't get much easier until November of 2010.

Listening to Coach Bone talk Cougar basketball, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Make no mistake, Coach Bone is quietly confident his team will be prepared to take a step up in the quality of their opponents.

In his words, "I’m excited for our guys. I think it’s good. I think it’s exactly what we need. We’ve played some decent teams, but it’s time to take a step forward and face some good competition. Unfortunately we’re playing great competition. You know, that’s one of the reasons these guys go on to play college basketball. To play in venues like what Gonzaga has. There will be a great crowd. They’ll be hostile. That’s fun for guys. I’m excited they’re going to get a chance to play in front of a good crowd and find out what we’re made of at this point."

After the first six games, Washington State's play barely resembles the style of play fans have been accustomed to over the past few seasons. Sure, they still play tough defense, but the new version of crimson and gray are playing a different brand of offense. Coach Bone has his team looking to push the ball up court whenever possible and if players have an open look early in the shot clock, they take it.

No question the new brand of Cougar basketball will be put to the test in The Kennel facing an outstanding Gonzaga Bulldog club.

Regarding the competition, Coach Bone said, "They’re really good. There’s a reason why they are ranked sixteenth. Those big guys, (Robert Sacre and Elias Harris) that’s a huge reason why they are so good...because of their presence on both ends of the court. They will present some problems for us just like they do for everyone else. They just keep coming at you with their ‘bigs’ and their guards, but their ‘bigs’ are good."

When asked if there were lessons learned from playing San Diego who is coached by Bill Greer, a long time assistant for Coach Mark Few of Gonzaga, Coach Bone responded with, "I thought about that before playing (San Diego). It’s a chance to play against Bill (Greer) and knowing that he was at Gonzaga all those years. But there’s a little difference between Gonzaga and San Diego right now.

"There might be some similar stats. Some tendencies are the same. All in all, I don’t think we get a whole lot accomplished from thinking we’re playing a little better team than San Diego. (Gonzaga's) a lot better team. San Diego is good and Bill does a great job. And that night we played well and they didn’t. Gonzaga is a whole different monster."

Though the respect Coach Bone holds for the 'Zags is serious, he managed to lighten things up when responding to the cliché question about his freshmen point guards Reggie Moore and Xavier Thames feeling pressure from the intense atmosphere The Kennel will present Wednesday evening.

Coach Bone's thoughts are, "I’ll be disappointed if the crowd gets us to turn it over. That could happen. They don’t step out on the court, do they? They’re just loud. I hope they don’t get out there… If they’re loud and that bothers our players then that’s an even better learning experience. We’ll go into some other places that are loud this year and the guys are going to need to handle it.

"It’s all part of the learning process for the young guys. I know their crowd gets into it and that’s good for Gonzaga and that’s good for us. We’re trying to prepare ourselves for the Pac-10 season. Games against teams like Gonzaga and Kansas State do exactly that."

Just like Washington State, Gonzaga has a different look this season. The names have changed, but the team play remains. Coach Few has four players to lead a balanced scoring attack.

Matt Bouldin is back playing solid defense and scoring from everywhere on the court. He leads the 'Zags in scoring averaging 18.2 points, five rebounds, 4.2 assists per game, and he has the potential to go off for 30 points any night.

His mate in the back court, Steven Gray, is right there with Bouldin, scoring 16.4 points, pulling down 4.2 rebounds, and dishing off three assists per game. Robert Sacre and are a force in the front court scoring, 14.4 points and 12.6 points respectively per game.Elias Harris

According to Coach Bone, "They have a different team but following Gonzaga basketball for however many years, Mark’s been there eleven years now, it really doesn’t matter if they tweak this and tweak that. At the end of the day they’re really, really good.

"They have a great staff. Jerry Krause has been coaching for like 85 years now. If they get some big kids, and they have a better presence in the post, then they’re going to go to them. If they’re guard oriented, they’re going to go to their guards. If they have an Adam Morrison, they’re going to go to him."

For fans hoping to see the game Wednesday at 6:00 pm in Spokane, you better already have your tickets. Mentioning that the Bulldogs have sold out their home game is as obvious as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The game will be broadcast on FSN Northwest . If you want to hear the game called right, tune your radio to the Cougar Radio Network with Bud Nameck calling the play-by-play.

Originally published on Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football: Another Look at Apple Cup 2009

Lew Wright — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:48:10 -0500

Sunday afternoon Washington State football coach Paul Wulff paused to reflect on the outcome of the Apple Cup and the performance of the Cougs.

Listening to coach Wulff respond to media questions, one didn't need the skills of a psychic to either read his mind or peer into the future of Cougar football. This has been a dreadful season for the Cougs. Mercifully, the final curtain has come down on a tragedy seemingly penned by Sophocles.

Greek tragedy? No, the 2009 football season for WSU was all too real.

Before heading forward to continue rebuilding the football program at Washington State, coach Wulff talked about the 30-0 loss to the Huskies last Saturday.

Wulff confirmed he had 14 defensive scholarship players suited up for the game. To say defensive coordinators Jody Sears and Chris Ball were limited in personnel would be a monumental understatement.

You may recall last week coach Wulff asked a wide receiver to take some reps during practice with the defensive backs. Not only did he accept the challenge, saw significant playing time against Oregon State making 10 tackles. Johnson remained on defense against Washington and turned in another good performance. He played so well, one had to ask if his future next season might be on the defensive side of the ball.

(Easton Johnson) sure played well and played physical. That was the thing that was encouraging, he played physical. If he’s comfortable with (defense), he definitely shows more promise there than he did at receiver. He played safety for us when he first got into the program, but he just wanted to change. We gave him that opportunity, to move to receiver and I think he felt a little out of place there and he was (injured) for a while. He was the only guy who had any experience on defense whatsoever, which is why we moved him (to safety) a week ago last Thursday. All of the sudden, he’s stepped up and done some really good things. Let’s hope it’s one of those ‘coming out’ stories and he takes a big step.—WSU coach Paul Wulff

Setting aside the virtually non-existent depth chart, the intensity of the Cougar defense was exceptional. coach Wulff began his review of the Apple Cup with his assessment of the Cougs on "D."

Our defense played pretty darn good. We had some guys out of position, which happens at times, obviously because of the changes we’ve had. I thought our defensive front played very well. They did a week ago (against Oregon State). Looking at who we had out there playing, I’m very proud of Travis Long , (Anthony ) Laurenzi and Casey Hamlett . These guys are all first year guys playing in the program. They did some wonderful things. We did some great things on defense. Got a little worn down in the fourth quarter a lot like we did the week before.—Coach Wulff

For the observer obsessed with the scoreboard, losing any game 30-0 might seem to be a complete breakdown. In the case of last Saturday, there were numerous chances within reach of the Cougs to make a close game of it. Breakdown? No. Growing pains? Big time.

Offensively, we had a very good game plan. We had a lot of receivers open. We dropped nine balls that were huge in the ball game. It didn’t allow us to score points. It didn’t allow us to get first downs and keep the chains moving. Blocking wasn’t as good as it needed to be consistently.—Coach Wulff

Plan or no plan, coach Wulff had to use three different quarterbacks in the first half while the No. 1 QB, freshman Jeff Tuel, was reduced to signaling plays in from the sidelines because of a knee injury. That's been the storyline the entire season for Washington State.

We intentionally tried to slow the game down. When you only have three D-linemen who can truly function and are healthy, we had to shorten the game or else we would have been in a situation where they would have been gassed out by the second quarter or early in the third. It could have been a lot, lot worse. We had to manage the clock. It’s not what we wanted to do ideally but it gave us the best chance to keep our defense fresh. If we would have converted on offense the plan would have worked very well. We just didn’t convert with all the opportunities that were there.—Coach Wulff

No doubt scoreboard watchers don't want to be bothered with a "big picture" view of either the Apple Cup or this past season. Perhaps such a perspective shouldn't matter, but in the context of rebuilding a football program, the fact of the matter is ignoring coach Wulff's plan leads to unnecessary disappointment.

The Cougar game plan included throwing a few trick plays at the Husky defense. There is no question the trick plays were ineffective. When asked if the special plays were a new wrinkle just for this game, which might have explained why they didn't work, coach said:

We’ve had (trick plays) in our game plan a lot. For weeks we’ve been practicing those things. We just never were in a position to use them. We weren’t even able to use a couple more we had. They pretty much were all there and had the opportunity to be successful. We just didn’t execute them completely.—Coach Wulff

Offering perspective to scoreboard watchers, coach Steve Sarkisian has some very good football players sprinkled throughout the Washington roster. His quarterback, Jake Locker, is the best at the position in the nation this year, which is well documented. When Locker handed the ball off, it was to a very talented freshman, Chris Polk, who has improved as a player week after week.

Coach Wulff pointed out a couple of other players for the Huskies who are big-time contributors.

Donald Butler is definitely one of the best linebackers in the Pac-10. And Mason Foster , those guys right there are as good as any in the Pac-10. Those two guys in particular have been healthy all year. They’re good football players. One’s a senior and one’s a junior so they’ve got lots of seasoned experience and they’re good players. They know what they’re doing out there. The game is going to come a lot more natural to those guys because they’ve played and have a lot of experience.—Coach Wulff

Washington State has some up-and-coming linebackers of their own who are growing into the role of big-time contributors. The difference today is quite simple: Both are developing and maturing as players who haven't come close to reaching their potential as football players.

I'm very happy with the performance of (Mike Ledgerwood and Alex Hoffman-Ellis ) the last few weeks. Those guys have stepped up and played well which is very encouraging since Louis Bland has been out. It’s been good to see those guys take a big step. Both those guys are just sophomores. They played well in this game. They flew around and made plays. I was very proud of their effort and ability to tackle. They made some good, physical tackles. Very clean tackles. That’s what we haven’t had a lot of so that’s very encouraging.—Coach Wulff

In terms of the linebacker position for Washington State, coach Wulff was excited about the number of freshmen redshirts who will be vying for playing time next season. Myron Beck will be a junior next season that has played well the past two years. What's the big deal about these linebackers? All of them bring good speed to the position. That's the big deal.

Looking back at the Apple Cup, couldn't help but wonder if some of the issues with the offense executing plays was linked to the WSU quarterback situation.

I’ve never been through anything like this (with the injuries) in my first two years. On offense, it’s just so hard to have anything look really good when you have so much change rolling in and out. I’ve been around it. I’ve seen (offense) be able to perform at a certain level. You start missing a few parts here and there and you drastically change your ability to function. When you can stay healthy, a lot of times you can maintain a high level of excellence on offense or defense. But when you start losing certain parts, it’s really tough. We’ve just lost too many parts to keep the consistency or even grow to the level we want to. With Jeff Tuel being out, we stopped growing with him being in there and with the young receivers. Against Cal, he threw for 350 yards. Then we just struggled after that to build the consistency around him to help him keep growing. Then he got nicked up after the Notre Dame game and moving in to Arizona. It slowed up our growth. To wrap up the quarterback change, it does effect everything we try to do.—Coach Wulff

Will have news to pass along this week about the offseason for the Washington State football season.

PLAYER NOTES:

Both DT Toby Turpin and WR Kevin Norrell are expected to be fully reinstated to the team the first week of the year when everyone returns.

No additional news on the severity of the oblique muscle injury QB Kevin Lopina sustained late in the first half of the Apple Cup. Lopina had to be helped from the field.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Cougars Head To San Antonio Confident

Lew Wright — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:18:10 -0400

Thursday afternoon Coach Paul Wulff was ready for a conference with media once again.The Washington State Cougar football coach was raring to go and seem to catch the media napping. If a Pac-10 official would have been in the room, a flag would have been thrown for either a delay or false start following unexpected silence after the first question.

Those of us in the media might have been off our game, but Coach Wulff wasn't. Once the conference got up a head of steam, he had plenty to say.

The status of the offensive line for WSU continues to be better news. Much of this season the OL has been the unit hardest hit by a plague of injuries.

Last week, offensive guards BJ Guerra and Zack Williams returned to the gridiron on either side of Kenny Alfred at center. Though neither is quite up to full speed yet, they are two effective players. Their play enhances what Alfred can do as well.

Two question marks for Coach Harold Etheridge's OL are Steven Ayers and Tyson Pencer. Both are looking good in practice this week. But both are still a little gimpy. Ayers will rotate in with Micah Hannam at right tackle after competing for the start this week. The same situation exists at left tackle where Pencer and Alex Reitnouer will rotate to keep fresh. Coach Wulff praised the progress freshman Reitnouer is making and expects him to develop into a really fine football player.

With the loss of Louis Bland for the season, there's competition for the starting middle linebacker, or MIKE, between Mike Ledgerwood and Alex Hoffman-Ellis. The job will go to whoever performs best in practice this week. With just one practice remaining before leaving for San Antonio, Hoffman-Ellis will probably start the game with Ledgerwood rotating in when the situation calls for it.

Numerous folks have been quick to observe and point out Notre Dame has given up a lot of passing yards on defense this season. The issue came up once again today. Coach Wulff made it pretty clear those stats don't tell the real story of what's going on with Coach Charlie Weiss' defense.

"The thing about them is that they’ll give up some yards in the middle of the field in the passing game at times. They get really stingy when it gets down in to the red zone. Sometimes in the passing game they’ll bend a little bit, but they don’t break. They don’t give up a lot of big plays in the passing game. They give up yardage, but not big plays and are pretty stingy in the red zone. That’s the one thing they’re willing to do. It’s a philosophy…but ultimately they don’t give up a lot of points on the scoreboard. They do a good job." - WSU Coach Paul Wulff

As often as the situation with the Irish giving up passing yardage has come up, there is one issue with Washington State which has escalated to becoming overblown and over-used. Once again Coach Wulff was asked about how he plans to get the team ready for the opening kickoff. Exasperated, here's what he had to say about the Cougs starting games slow.

"What we’re trying to do is just continue to improve from week to week. I know that sounds cliché but it’s the truth. There’s enough that if these guys keep playing and will continue to make big strides, I just think that’s what’s going to happen. We’ve pressed the issue of starting fast and playing fast. I think there’s been too much talk about it. We just need to go play football and quit using it as a crutch or an excuse that if we don’t start fast, well, here we go again. We just need to get out there and play strong and play early. That’s really it." - Coach Wulff

With the Cougs going out of conference for this game and flying down to the Alamodome, Coach Wulff was asked if the team might be effected by the travel.

"I think that if the game was in the morning, a 12 o’clock or 1 o’clock game and it’d be a 9 or 10 o’clock kickoff our time I think it’d be a bigger issue. But the fact that it’s going to be 4:30pm out west and 6:30pm in San Antonio, it shouldn’t really have an impact with our players. Time-wise, it’s like in the middle of practice time for us anyway. I don’t think it will. Obviously the travel is a little longer than a Pac-10 game but I really don’t think based on the start time it should have an impact." - Coach Wulff

Coach Wulff sounds confident the team will be prepared to play their best football of the season this Saturday.

Could be the confidence shown by Washington State's head football coach is contagious. Ted Miller of ESPN was so bold to suggest reasons why "Washington State may shock the world:" To find out Miller's reasons that a WSU victory Saturday could happen, click HERE and scroll down the page to his story titled, "What to watch in the Pac-10".

A wise man once said, "That's why they play the game."

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Basketball | A Chat With Coach Ken Bone

Lew Wright — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:12:01 -0400

Los Angeles - Thursday morning was Pac-10 men's basketball media day in Southern California. All ten head coaches were on hand to give an overview of their team, the conference and the year ahead.

Had a chance to sit down with the new men's basketball coach at Washington State, Ken Bone. From a personality standpoint, there are some striking similarities to the man he replaced, Tony Bennett. Bennett left WSU to take over the basketball program at Virginia.

Coach Bone, his wife and three daughters are settling in comfortably in Pullman and adjusting to life in a small town. Previous coaching positions at Portland State, University of Washington and Seattle Pacific located the Bone family in metropolitan areas. You can call Pullman a lot of things, but metropolitan isn't one of them.

"...Pullman is just an extremely intimate town. There’s not quite as many distractions for the kids, or concerts going on or different things they might have done in Portland so I find them at home more often which is great. We hang out as a family. We have dinner together more often. We just have been doing more as a family together. They still have their friends. They still have a life. They just don’t have as much of a life. They have more of a life with my wife and I now... It’s worked out well. The biggest transition is the fact that there’s no Nordstom’s (in Pullman). That’s a big deal to those girls." - WSU Coach Ken Bone

Coach Bone has hit the recruiting trails looking for players for a small school (Seattle Pacific), a large school (UW) and one that falls somewhere in between (Portland State). Now that he's head coach for a Pac-10 school, things are different for him in terms of the recruiting process.

"It is (different). We have a Pac-10 label now instead of a Big Sky label. You’re able to communicate with kids and coaches maybe didn’t give you the time of day. So you can get in some other doors now. That doesn’t mean we can land those kids. We get a chance to talk with them. But to able to get those kids to sign on the dotted line, it’s pretty competitive." - Coach Bone

Changing the subject to the coaching staff was like asking a proud father to talk about his family. Coach Bone clearly is enthusiastic about his assistants as men of character and their knowledge of coaching.

"I love our staff. I was able to bring Curtis Allen with me who played at the University of Washington when I was coaching there as an assistant. Curt was with me all four years at Portland State. Then there’s Jeff Hironaka who was with me at Seattle Pacific for 11 years, from 1991 to 2002. Then he took over as the head coach for the last seven years and did a great job. We were able to retain Ben Johnson. Ben is just extremely valuable. He was on staff with the Bennetts. Played with Tony (Bennett) in high school and college. He played for Dick (Bennett). He has a feel for the culture at Washington State. Not just the players, but how everything works. He’s been so valuable to our staff." - Coach Bone

One of the biggest surprises for Coach Bone about his team is the attitude and aptitude of the players.

"I find them extremely coachable. Not that I haven’t coached guys in the past that were coachable. Every time I look at these guys, their eyes are right on me. They’re like sponges. They want to learn. They’re young and eager to see if we can’t put this together and be a solid ball club. I’m excited about that. (The Bennetts) did a good job of recruiting high caliber kids. Good character kids. I’m very pleased with the kids in the program and can’t wait until they get older." - Coach Bone

Washington State is going to have a new look team this coming season with the graduation of some very familiar players in Taylor Rochestie, Aron Baynes, Caleb Forrest and Daven Harmeling. They leave some big shoes, basketball-size shoes, to fill having left their mark on Cougar basketball over the past four years.

There will still be some faces who are familiar. Klay Thompson started every game last season, while both DeAngelo Casto and Marcus Capers saw significant playing time. One of the new members of the team might just remind Cougar fans of a player from just a few years back.

"The other guy I’d mention would be Reggie Moore. I think Reggie’s pretty good. A guard that’s a freshman. He’s a prep school freshman. Moore might remind Cougar fans of Marcus Moore. He’s not as tall but he’s got a scoring mentality. He can really shoot it. But he’s not just a shooter, he’s a scorer. He can score in a variety of ways." - Coach Bone

Not only will there be new faces playing for WSU this year, there might be a new look to the Cougar offense as well. Coach Bone tends to run an offense that is up tempo when compared to the deliberate style favored by his predecessors Dick Bennett and Tony Bennett. But when I asked him what the reaction was to his preference to run more on offense, my expectation was hearing just how much the players like his philosophy of playing up tempo ball.

"(The players) like it a little too much. They don’t realize that there was great success there playing very conservative, slow style of game. We do want to speed it up, but not to the point where we’re just running and gunning. That’s not the point. It’s to try and advance the ball and see if there’s an opportunity in transition. If not, we want to run a half court game just like the Bennetts did." - Coach Bone

Coach Bone had an early flight back north to continue leading valuable practice time for his very young squad of student/athletes. Though it's early and this Cougar team is just beginning to take form, I wondered about the coach's impression of team chemistry.

"I think the team chemistry is good. The guys seem to get along really well. But it will be different when games start, when there’s even more adversity. I’m anxious to see if we can keep that team chemistry of what we’ve been able to create so far come game time." -Coach Bone

Fortunately, Washington State doesn't have to dive right into Pac-10 competition. Their non-conference schedule is certainly easier going than when conference play begins. Will it be easier for the Cougs to get some wins under their belt over the first month of their schedule?

"It should be. But if you have some hiccups in there, then you have a monster. We need to be able to take care of business." - Coach Bone

No question Coach Bone is intent on preparing his team to be ready for another great season of Cougar basketball. As he said, "We need to be able to take care of business."

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

Pac-10 Preview | Week Nine

Lew Wright — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:07:56 -0400

Though there isn't a full compliment of conference teams in action this weekend, the Pac-10 will feature the top college game in the nation.

While Arizona, Stanford and Washington rest during a bye week in their respective schedules, the rest of the conference schools will be locked up in some key battles.

The way my picks have gone this season, have to concede that last week was one of my better ones with a record of 2-3. Obviously I don't have to depend on "skills" in picking college football games to keep a roof over the head and food on the table.

Staying with the usual format of previewing conference games in order by kickoff times, let's get on with a look around the Pac-10.

California vs. Arizona State +6.5

The Cal Bears are coming off an impressive win over WSU at home. Cal looked as though they could score at will on the Cougs in a variety of ways. It's not likely they will have their way with the Sun Devil defense. Arizona State has been searching for ways to put points on the scoreboard. Though ASU can slow down any top offense in the country, they struggle to end drives with touchdowns. The news for Coach Dennis Erickson and his offense isn't good in terms of matching up with Coach Jeff Tedford's defense. Though Cal has given up a lot of yardage this season, they don't give up many points when they show up to play. The news for ASU good in terms of team consistency by the Bears. Against two top Pac-10 teams, USC and Oregon, the Bears were bad news. If history holds form, Cal should be playing consistently good football the rest of this season. All Pac-10 running back Jahvid Best will get enough touches to garner another multiple touchdown performance against an outstanding ASU defense. He'll be the difference in this game. PICK: California

UCLA vs. Oregon State -8.5

This was supposed to be the season where people discovered there were two outstanding college football programs in Los Angeles. Instead, the marketing machine for UCLA clearly put their cart in front of the horse. Bruin fans haven't had much to cheer about since their team traveled to Tennessee and knocked off the Vols off their Rocky Top. The highly touted offensive genius team of Coach Rick Neuheisel and Coach Norm Chow have been missing a secret element to mesmerize opponents defenses. Without a healthy, experienced quarterback the UCLA offense has languished in a series of futile drives week after week. Who would have thought the strength of this Bruin team would be it's defense? For Coach Mike Riley and the Beavers, they have lived up to expectations. With a lot of new players on defense, it's taken a few games for the Oregon State defense to get up to speed. The Rogers brothers have sparked the offense. Not only are the Beavers on track for a bowl bid again this season, they could surprise a couple of teams coming up and run the table right into a place among the elite of college football in 2009. It's tough for visitors to win in Corvallis. PICK: Oregon State

Washington State vs. #25 Notre Dame -28

The Cougs will travel to play the Fighting Irish on their home field in San Antonio, TX. What? Notre Dame will be out to prove that they can call just about anywhere home by moving this game to the neutral site of the Alamodome. It's estimated that 4,000 Washington State fans will make the trip to Texas to rout for their beloved Cougars. Crimson and gray clad supporters will mirror the task their team faces as the balance of the 65,000 fans at this game will be Irish...at least for Halloween. This nationally televised game will feature two of the most exciting players in college football in Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate. Tate is such an explosive player, Coach Charlie Weiss will try and get the ball into his hands early and often. Clausen is simply the best player lining up under center this season. Coach Paul Wulff and his staff have been working overtime to get his young team the reps they need to compete at the FBS level. It took a few games, but Coach Wulff found a quarterback. He finally has some players back from injuries to protect freshman Jeff Tuel in the pocket. Both teams have similar philosophies on defense playing "bend don't break" style football. But if the WSU defense is left on the field for too much of the game, they tend to break down. It's possible that Irish players are looking forward to a week where they won't need their 'A' game to win. Washington State players have no fear about losing. Been there. Done that. They are looking at this game from an entirely different perspective. This will be their bowl game in 2009. PICK: Washington State

#4 USC vs. #10 Oregon +4.5

This my friends should be one heckuva college football game. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Duck fans filling Autzen Stadium are among the most passionate in the nation. The noise they generate cheering Oregon on to victory is legendary. It's been said the noise level after an Oregon touchdown at Autzen could drown out a nuclear bomb test. That might be a stretch, but when it comes to stretching, Coach Chip Kelly's offense will do that and more. Oregon is the only state that would legally allow an arsenal with the firepower of the Duck offense to exist. The visiting team in this game will be bringing plenty of their own weapons to the game Saturday evening. Coach Pete Carroll has the key to this shootout. If his offensive line provides the blocking for sustained drives, USC has what it takes to silence the crowd. I'll let others bombard you with stats on the players for both teams. This game will boil down to the essence of football. When both teams have comparable talent, the winner will be determined by who can block better and who can tackle better. Those two elements are the key components to the creative headlines yet to be penned. If you're going to a Halloween party, be sure to set your DVR to record this one. You won't want to miss a single play. PICK: Oregon

2009 PAC-10 FOOTBALL STANDINGS

Team	Conf.	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Oregon	4-0	1.000	6-1	.857
USC	3-1	.750	6-1	.857
Arizona	3-1	.750	5-2	.714
Stanford	4-2	.667	5-3	.625
California	2-2	.500	5-2	.714
Oregon State	2-2	.500	4-3	.571
Arizona State	2-2	.500	4-3	.571
Washington	2-3	.400	3-5	.375
UCLA	0-4	.000	3-4	.429
Washington State	0-5	.000	1-6	.143

Lew's picks are now 22-28 on the season. You've been warned!

DISCLAIMER: College football is all about the spectacle and event. Wagering on games taints the experience. Have some fun, enjoy family and friends this weekend.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Looks Ahead to Notre Dame

Lew Wright — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:24:33 -0400

Before heading out to Rogers Field for practice Tuesday afternoon, Washington State Cougar football Coach Paul Wulff paused to talk to media about the game with Notre Dame coming up this Saturday in San Antonio at the Alamodome.

Topics covered during coach Wulff's press conference ranged from the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to another player lost for the season.

Let me take you through just a few highlights of what Coach Wulff had to say.

No question that the game with Notre Dame is the biggest non-conference opponent WSU has faced in recent years in both talent and tradition. Coach Charlie Weiss has the Irish playing good football this season. The team is presently ranked No. 23 in the BCS standings with a 5-2 record.

One of the topics fielded by both coach Wulff and Bill Stevens, WSU sports information director, was the site of the game. It's expected to be a sellout of about 65,000 seats. Notre Dame was allocated 25,000 tickets and those are gone. Washington State has only a few tickets left from their 4,000 allotment. Though San Antonio is theoretically a neutral site for the two teams, expect the stands to be dominated by Notre Dame fans.

When discussing Notre Dame, coach Wulff did so with the respect the Irish have earned coming into the nationally televised contest Saturday on NBC beginning at 4:30 p.m. PDT.

“They just have a knack of being in every ball game. They win the close ones. They find a way to do that. Three years ago they were struggling and they were very young and played a lot of young players. Obviously some of those guys have grown up and allowed them to be a competitive team right now.” - WSU Coach Paul Wulff

You can't talk about Notre Dame this season without discussing their outstanding quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

“Jimmy Clausen is a really good player. He’s good because he has experience. It’s his third year of playing. He’s got a great arm. He’s more comfortable in their offense, and obviously with more maturity. He’s got a special player to go to in Golden Tate to go to. Maybe one of the best receivers in the country. Enough run game to keep you off balance.” - Coach Wulff

The offense for Notre Dame is firing on all cylinders through their first seven games. The team ranks 15th in the NCAA averaging more than 438 yards a game against some of the best defensive teams in the nation. Clausen is the No. 2 quarterback in the NCAA in terms of efficiency. One of the reasons he's having such a good year is his talented teammate at wide receiver, Golden Tate, who is averaging 121 yards in receptions a game. He ranks No. 4 in the NCAA.

Defense for the Fighting Irish is a different story. Giving up more than 409 yards a game they clearly are winning games by outscoring their opponents and have struggled stopping anyone's offense.

“They are a little younger on defense, in particular at the beginning of the year. They’ve become a little bit older by playing. They’re a zone pressure team. They do a lot of movement in their defensive line. They’re always moving or twisting or bringing some type of zone pressure. They really keep you on your toes.” - Coach Wulff

When a reporter asked Coach Wulff, "What would it mean for your team if you came down (to San Antonio) and really played well?" Wulff was humored by the tone of the question and chuckled.

“We’re coming down to win. I really believe a lot of our players are set in their mind to do that. It’ll mean a lot. That we keep growing in development and improvement. We’ve got five ball games (left) and dang it, we want to compete in every one of these games until we’re in a position to win. “ - Coach Wulff

This will be a very different week of preparation for Washington State. Finally there will be enough players to compete for position playing time rather than being put on the field because of a teammate going down to injury. The most competitive area appears to be one that has been a problem unit for the Cougs, the offensive line. Two of the guards slated to be starters coming out of fall camp were finally able to line up on either side of center Kenny Alfred in the Cal game.

“B.J. (Guerra) didn’t start the game but he came in on the second series. He and Zack (Williams ) played the whole game. They’re not full strength. There’s no reason those two guys shouldn’t take a big step in their performance the second game back. It helps us a lot. We’re physical. We can match up with defensive tackles now and create a pocket for our quarterback to step up into. The other two key elements we’ve got to get back are Tyson Pencer and Steven Ayers, two guys that can play tackle. We’re going to give Steven Ayers a chance to play some right tackle this week as well as left. He and Micah Hannam are going to have to battle it out at right tackle. We need Tyson and Alex Reitnouer to keep growing at left tackle.” - Coach Wulff

A second moment of levity came when it was suggested to Coach Wulff the Irish are giving up a lot of passing yardage on defense which should play into the strength of Washington State.

“I’d like to think that our strength is throwing the ball, but we just had one game that went well.” - Coach Wulff

As for the running game, there is a trio of backs who will carry the load, but one player looks to become a cut about the others.

“Carl Winston is coming on. When those young guys keep taking reps they just seem to keep getting better every week. He showed flashes again this past game. He took a big step on how physical he ran and how quickly he hit the hole on a couple of those runs. He’s probably right there. Logwone Mitz has shown some flashes in running the ball. I think Dwight (Tardy) is in the mix but these other guys are starting to do a things a little bit better on a consistent basis right now.” - Coach Wulff

Take a look at the depth chart going into this week of practice and you'll see that the Cougs are getting some players back.

The most significant change on the depth chart going into this game is one that will impact the Cougs for the balance of their schedule.

“(Louis Bland) is going to have a scope to do a little exploratory on the knee. They’ve got a pretty idea of what’s going on with it on the inside. There’s some cartilage issues and the continued PCL problem that he’s had since the spring. It just looks at this point that there’s a high, high probability that the season is over for him. He’s probably been our best football player top to bottom on defense in the last year and a half.” - Coach Wulff

The loss of Bland is a tough one because of the passion he brings to the team. That will open up competition for the starting spot as the MIKE linebacker on the WSU defense.

“Alex (Hoffman-Ellis) and (Mike) Ledgerwood are going to compete in practice to see who will start next Saturday.” - Coach Wulff

Competition for playing time is yet another component that will continue the growth of this young Washington State football team.

If you'd like to watch the highlights of Coach Wulff's press conference this afternoon, just click HERE .

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Cal Game Awards Worth Noting

Lew Wright — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:18:04 -0400

Following each Washington State Cougar football game, Joe Nickell of WSU media relations releases a list of game awards handed out for outstanding play.

The WSU awards for this past weekend point to areas where the hard work and effort being put in by Coach Paul Wulff, the players, and the coaching staff are beginning to show results.

If you still aren't familiar with the three post-game awards, let me detail them.

The Cougar Lunch Pail goes to the offensive player who not only performs well during the game, but also exemplifies the work ethic expected of a Cougar football player.

There is a counterpart to the CLP for the defense: the Cougar Hard Hat. Shouldn't stretch your imagination to picture the background for this award.

Special teams have their own award as well, the Crimson Boot. More times than not, the effectiveness by special teams has a significant impact on the outcome of a game.

You need only hearken back to the Cal game for an example. The Bears brought the opening Cougar kickoff deep into WSU territory, putting them in scoring position to open the football game. That play was key to the fast start the Bears got off to.

Let's get to the awards.

Cougar Lunch Pail

Jeff Tuel threw for 354 yards, the second-highest total in school history for a true freshman and only the second 300-yard passing game by a Cougar true freshman. Should he top the 300-yard mark again over the course of the final five games, he will establish a new school mark.

Tuel completed 67 percent of his passes (28-of-42), added two touchdowns, and didn't throw an interception. Working out of the shotgun formation much of the Cal game, Tuel looked poised and in control of the Cougar offense, a quality he has taken out on the field every game since his first against USC.

If you haven't seen him play yet, tune your television in Saturday for the Notre Dame game. You will see a part of the future for Cougar football.

Cougar Hard Hat

Xavier Hicks, Jr. was flying all over the field against Cal, making a team-leading 14 tackles. The soft-spoken senior leader from Fullerton, CA lets his play on the field do the talking for him. Hicks is second on the team in tackles after seven games with a total of 45. He also has an interception (pictured above).

Impressive stats aren't all that accounts for his contribution to the team. Hicks brings experience and has the respect of his teammates.

Crimson Boot

Reid Forrest is another Coug who doesn't worry about making ESPN's Top Play list. Forrest simply goes about his responsibility as punter with intensity and efficiency. Slowly, surely, and with consistency, he's climbing the school record book ladder.

Forrest was called upon to punt seven times in the Cal game. Three of his efforts pinned the Bears inside their 20-yard line. That brings his total to 14 such punts on the season, just one shy of his total for all of 2009.

The hard work Forrest put in during the offseason is showing up on the field, not in the headlines. In a close game, you're going to notice just how good Forrest is after his punting influences field position time and time again.

More comments from the Cal game...

Coach Jeff Tedford had this to say about WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel in response to a question by Cal Bear Examiner Rob Calonge:

"I think he's a really good player. He's got a lot of poise for a young guy, threw some nice balls, he's big, he's physical, he can pull it down, he can make some plays with his legs as well, he can move the pocket. I think he's got a bright future."

Myron Beck, sophomore linebacker

On Cal's offense:

"They didn't do anything we didn't expect or prepare for. We knew what was coming at us. It was just a lack of execution. The coaches coached us up on everything they ran, including the wildcat. It was just about being (where) we were supposed to be and playing '11 as one.' We didn't do that. We didn't show up like that."

What Beck took away from the Cal game:

"The positives are that we can prepare more to come out faster. Preparation means a whole lot. Next week starts tomorrow. It starts as soon as we meet tomorrow and prepare for the next game because that is the most important one."

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com.

WSU Football: What They're Saying after the Cal Game

Lew Wright — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:10:06 -0400

Before moving on to look at the next football game coming up for the Washington State Cougars, let me take you back to the tunnel to the visitors locker room at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, CA.

WSU coaches and players met with media after the game in a rather fitting place.

Due to construction taking place on the California Golden Bears home field, the only space available other than the team locker room was the tunnel leading there from the stadium floor.

Waiting for Coach Paul Wulff and others to share their thoughts and respond to questions following a tough loss for the Cougs, it crossed my mind that the Washington State football team may have been wondering if there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hard work by the entire squad wasn't enough to secure a victory over a very good Cal team.

Being a glass-half-full kind of guy, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter for Coach Wulff and the Cougs. There are others who believe that light is an oncoming train.

Listening to members of a team that played hard Saturday, it's easy to believe in the direction of Cougar football.

“I thought we had some kids grow a little bit today. I saw some guys do some good things. I think we had some individuals grow. I think we all grew a little bit. Still, it’s not good enough. We had some execution things, penalties, red zone-we should have got some more points when we were down there. There’s a ton of room for improvement yet. We’ve got to be hungry to improve because we left a lot of things out there today.” —WSU Coach Todd Sturdy

“It’s really frustrating. We’ve got good kids and (they’re) working really hard. When people get hurt and you’re trying to build a program it makes that much tougher. The kid’s effort was good in practice and we’re learning. We’re a young football team. We’ve all got to respond better. And that’s everybody from the players to the coaches. The thing we’ve got to do is (continue) working hard. We’ve got to keep grinding. We know we’re young and people are getting tired of hearing that, but it’s the truth." —WSU Coach Chris Ball

Cal is a big play team and they made their quota of big plays Saturday. However, the Cougs are starting to show some signs of becoming a big play team as well.

Last week quarterback Jeff Tuel connected with wide receiver Johnny Forzani for a 99-yard touchdown. Those two hooked up again Saturday, this time for a 68-yard score. Four minutes later Tuel hit wide receiver Gino Simone for a scoring strike from 19-yards out.

“I was able to step up in the pocket and deliver a few times. I have faith in my ‘O’ line, I trust what they’re doing and I feel pretty good about (them)." —WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel

Some would have you believe that football is becoming a complex game. Don't count Gino Simone in those numbers. Here's what he had to say about his touchdown catch.

“It seemed that it would work. It was just a little corner post. Jeff stepped up in the pocket. The line did a good job. He just threw it and all I had to do is catch it.” —Gino Simone

Does it get any simpler than that? Perhaps.

“It’s just a deep post play. I usually run it in practice. I basically just run fast, break to the post and Jeff throws it as far as he can. (The play) was a good call, it was a good call." —Johnny Forzani on his 68-yard TD

When Tuel has time to deliver the football, he does so with the accuracy of a seasoned player. The return of BJ Guerra and Zach Williams to the offensive line made a difference in the overall performance of the offense.

“It was real nice to line up and see three pretty big dang guys next to each other in front of me." —Jeff Tuel

"It felt great out there. (My knee) felt like it did before I got injured. I love football and I missed those guys sitting out the five weeks that I did. It felt great to be out there with them playing." —WSU offensive lineman BJ Guerra

BJ Guerra got his chance to get back out on the playing field on WSU's third offensive series. Once he was in, there was no taking him back out. After the third offensive possession by the Cougs, they settled in to play some good football putting up 17 points in the first half. Guerra attributed the better play to, "fire in the middle and chemistry." Expect to see more of that the rest of this season.

Sophomore linebacker Mike Ledgerwood made his first start, filling in for another sophomore who was injured, Louis Bland. When asked about the game this is what he had to say.

"It felt really good. I tried to treat it like I’ve been playing so it wouldn’t mess with my mind and just go with the team.” —Mike Ledgerwood

When it comes to the win/loss results of Cougar football this season, the team isn't where they need to be. Yet. Some of the players were candid about where they believe this team is going.

“Losing sucks. Losing…it’s not good to be around. It’s tough. We played a lot better (against Cal) than we did against Arizona State. We moved the ball. No turnovers. No interceptions. Like our coaches said, we’re heading in the right direction. We can win. We can win games." —Johnny Forzani

“It’s easy to see we’re on our way. We all know the goal and we’re working toward it. It’s just taking time and we need everyone to be patient." —Gino Simone

“Learn from it all. We should have amped it up a little more (in the fourth quarter). We’ll take that into the next game.” —Mike Ledgerwood

"We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and keep working. We’re going to get it fixed. One of these days I hope we look back and laugh at it and say, 'Man, do you remember that…?' We’ve got good young players in the program and we’re going to get this thing done." —Coach Chris Bal

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Points To Areas Cougs Will Build On

Lew Wright — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:05:00 -0400

Early Sunday evening, Washington State football Coach Paul Wulff talked about areas where the Cougars have improved.

The outcome of the game Saturday afternoon with Cal frustrates everyone around Cougar football. There isn't a single soul, players, coaches or fans who isn't anxious for another WSU victory.

Judging by the demeanor of coaches and players after the game Saturday, they are visibly, shall we say, 'ticked' off by losing another game.

Rebuilding Cougar football is testing the patience of a lot of folks, not the least of which is the team.

"We want to take another step as a team and as coaches," Coach Wulff said. He went on to add, "I think in some areas we really did that Saturday and some areas we didn’t. We want to be sure we’re slowing raising the bar on our own expectations. Really that’s all it is so we can keep growing as a football team."

With the level of frustration building from losses, WSU is challenged to learn and grow under fire. Coach Wulff knew he faced a tremendous challenge when he took over Cougar football. However, he hasn't wavered or buckled to pressure associated with losing football games. He was succinct in offering a simple, obvious reminder.

"Right now we’ve just got to continue to grow and I feel like we’ve got a good attitude to do that."—WSU Coach Paul Wulff

Washington State dug themselves a deep hole to begin the game Saturday, something that will guarantee a loss to a good team every time. Coach Wulff, the players and coaches are all keenly aware that slow starts have sealed their fate in every game this season save the SMU comeback win in overtime. The answer to this problem is as basic as tackling and blocking.

"We have got to find some rhythm early on offense some how, some way and on defense we’ve got to be able to make a couple of plays early to force somebody to punt. That’s going to be the key way to turn around our slow starts."—WSU Coach Wulff

One of the components to turning around Cougar football is establishing a starting quarterback. Without a capable player to run the offense, WSU isn't going to move forward. It's looking more and more as though Coach Wulff has found his starter.

True freshman Jeff Tuel put up some good numbers against Cal. Specifically, Tuel's 354 yards passing amounts to the second highest total in school history for a true freshman. That's heady stuff for just his third start. The last WSU quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game dates back to 2007 when Alex Brink threw for 399 in the Apple Cup.

"Jeff (Tuel) did some really good things. The protection was just average to below. He still took too many hits. He had to get rid of the ball fast some times. He trusted his protection when it was there. He stepped up in the pocket and made some really key throws. He played more relaxed. You can tell he’s got good accuracy on the deep balls. We just need to keep growing around him."—WSU Coach Wulff

Another positive sign that Cougar football continues to improve was the overall performance of the offense. The 440 of total offense against Cal is the best effort for WSU against a Pac-10 opponent since the Apple Cup in 2007 when the Cougs had 509 yards for the game.

"There’s a lot of raw tools (on this team) we’re working with...You’ve got to realize the guys (Tuel’s) throwing to are playing their first year of Pac-10 football in Johnny (Forzani), (Jeffrey) Solomon, (Gino ) Simone and (Jared) Karstetter is only in his second year. They’re growing and they are taking steps together."—WSU Coach Wulff

In the Cal game, Johnny Forzani caught a career high four passes for 116 yards. He's the first Cougar receiver to record 100+ yards in a game since Brandon Gibson about a year ago. Gibson plays on Sundays in the NFL these days.

True freshman Gino Simone hauled in the first touchdown pass of his college career in the second quarter of the Cal game. It was a 19 yard post pattern worked on in practice every day. Cougar fans should look forward to seeing Simone making more of those plays for years to come.

Transfer junior Jeffrey Solomon made seven catches for 81 yards Saturday. Both marks are career highs for the sure-handed Solomon.

Coach Wulff spoke of the team learning and growing together. Here are some stats from the Cal game supporting steps in improvement:

With Myron Beck's second interception this season, WSU reduced the 2009 turnover margin to minus one. Through seven games last year the turnover margin was -12.
Last season WSU forced just 13 turnovers. The Cougs already have 19 this season with five games left to play.
Junior Toby Turpin's field goal block on the final play of the first half was the first registered by WSU since Aaron Johnson swatted one away against Stanford in 2005.
Through seven games in 2008, the WSU defense had given up 8 running plays of over 40+ yards. After seven games this season, the Cougar 'D' has given up three running plays of 40+ yards.

Yes, this WSU football team is a work in progress. Progress is being made by players who will have a significant impact on the team for years to come. With Terrance Hayward and Mike Ledgerwood making their first starts Saturday, the total for first career starts this season has now reached 19. Coach Wulff has a combined total of 36 starts by freshmen this season, a total which already exceeds nine of the last 10 seasons with five games left to go. I'll save you looking it up. Last season there were 47 starts by freshmen.

"We want to be sure we’re slowing raising the bar on our own expectations. Really that’s all it is so we can keep growing as a football team."—WSU Coach Wulff

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Gives a Reality Check

Lew Wright — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:28:01 -0400

Washington State head coach Paul Wulff met with media Tuesday afternoon. Following a bye week, he had both good news and bad news.

No secret the Washington State football team has encountered a second consecutive season plagued with injuries. No news there, good or bad. That's just the way it is.

The good news.

Coach Wulff was clear both defensive lineman Bernard Wolfgramm and offensive lineman Zack Williams are ready to go to battle this coming Saturday against the Cal Bears in Berkeley.

Both center Kenny Alfred and linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis had stitches removed Monday and will see limited contact during practice to assure their wounds heal. They should be ready to answer the bell against Cal.

Now for the bad news.

Coach Wulff said, "There’s still some question marks with (offensive linemen) Steven Ayers and BJ Guerra . I think they’ll be able to practice a little bit this week but I’m really not sure what their status will be for the game." He added, "(offensive lineman) Tyson Pencer is still nursing a sore ankle from the Arizona State game."

The situation with offensive lineman Brian Danaher is serious. He's definitely going to be out. Danaher had a serious concussion 18 months ago and now a second one this season. His potential return to football will be a doctor’s call.

Staring into the face of a significant reduction to the roster of players because of serious injuries, Coach Wulff addressed the possibility of giving more true freshmen playing time. Wulff was crystal clear on his preference.

"I think there’s a freshman or two that could definitely help us to a certain degree. It’s just not worth it. At this point we have enough guys playing and who can continue to play through the season and grow." - WSU Coach Paul Wulff

With so many talented recruits making up the incoming class of 2009, there are a number of student/athletes who might be able to step in and contribute. History would suggest the odds are against many of these young men actually being successful seeing Pac-10 competition so early in their college football careers.

Wulff isn't viewing the remaining games this season with a tunnel-vision perspective. Winning Cougar football games is important. That's a goal of Coach Wulff and his staff. Building a program that not only produces wins, but includes developing young men and returning to a level Cougar Nation can be extremely proud of.

To elevate Cougar football requires looking at the big picture.

"The number one thing we can do is right now, physically, we have who we have. What can we do different and what can we improve on based off the first half that we can make improvements on (is basic). We’re not necessarily going to get taller or gain more weight or get a tenth faster (in the 40). Those types of things are what they are right now.

But what we can control is our mental preparation. Can we practice harder? Can we prepare even harder? Can we demand even more from each other?

Continue to take a larger step in that maturation process.

When you have a team that the core of it’s very young, you don’t have a mature group savvy enough to where they understand how to prepare every week. It’s a learning process.

We’ve got to develop some maturity on how to prepare each week and how to attack each game. Then flush that game, win or lose, then move on to the next week.

Mentally, we can just be more mature in our approach.

The facts are what they are. We’re on pace to break the record for the most freshman starts in school history. We’ve got young guys playing so we’ve got to get them to be as mature as we possibly can. That’s what we’re doing. That’s the focus right now. That will help us right now.

It will help us beyond right now as well." - WSU Coach Wulff

Coach Wulff appears unwavering in his passion.

As the Cougs work on the game plan for Cal this week, passion for playing Cougar football remains undaunted. The team had an extra week to "flush" the outcome of the last game.

Bring on the Bears.

WSU running back James Montgomery recovering

Coach Paul Wulff offered an update on junior running back James Montgomery who had season-ending surgery on his leg a few weeks ago.

Montgomery is still wearing a boot on his injured leg, but he's getting around without crutches. Wulff said that Montgomery seemed to be doing quite well and can move his foot a little. His range of motion is still quite limited right now.

"They’re starting therapy to see how he really can progress and to what level," Wulff added.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

UCal-Washington State: Cougars Claw It Out with Rejuvenated Bears This Week

Lew Wright — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:55:15 -0400

Washington State, fresh off their bye week, will return to the practice field and prepare for their next Pac-10 game against the University Of California on Oct. 24.

Cougars Head Coach Paul Wulff is counting on getting some players back from a variety of injuries.

Specifically, Coach Wulff would like to see some offensive lineman return to the lineup for a very thin OL unit. Thin might be the goal of Jennie Craig folks, but it usually spells trouble for football teams.

The Cougs will take on the Cal Bears next Saturday down in Berkeley. Coach Jeff Tedord's team is coming off a convincing victory over a UCLA team that has been playing good defense much of the season.

Defense?

Cal torched the Bruins defense for 494 yards of offense with a number of big plays, including a 93-yard touchdown blast by All-American candidate Jahvid Best .

Quarterback Kevin Riley was very efficient with the football tossing three TD passes without giving up an interception.

The challenge for Washington State looks tougher today than it did before the Cal/UCLA game. It would appear that a bye week for Cal was exactly what they needed to return playing the level of football expected of them before the season began.

Things were getting so bad around Berkeley, fans and media were grousing about Coach Tedford's ability to lead a team. Such rantings are commonplace when a team has yet to win a conference game after two tries. Well, the Bears now have earned their first conference win and will look to double that total when they host WSU this coming Saturday.

Depending on your perspective, the news coming out of the Rose Bowl after the 45-26 victory by Cal isn't all bad.

If you're a WSU fan, the Bear defense gave up a lot of yardage to a UCLA offense that has been racked by injuries all season long.

If you're a Cal fan, no matter about the Bear defense being porous. Washington State is last in the Pac-10 when it comes to total offense.

Yes, Coach Wulff could use some offensive linemen with experience to return from injuries. There may be some word on that later tonight. Rather than continue a propensity for speculation on who will "likely" be back this week, let's hold tight for word from the head coach.

Speaking of coaches for the Cougs, they have been on the recruiting trails most of this week. With 14 student/athletes already verbally committing to Coach Wulff, he mentioned last Sunday that there might be another top high school prospect going crimson this week.

Barry Bolton of Cougfan.com broke news today that Marquess Wilson will be playing his college football at Washington State. Bolton is always right when it comes to making such calls. That being the case, Wilson has chosen WSU over offers from top FBS programs including Arizona State, Fresno State and Nevada.

Help is on the way for WSU, justifying a high level of patience.

Some of that help will be suiting up to take the field next Saturday against a very good Cal team.

Add to players returning another significant factor in the rebuilding of Cougar football. There's a wealth of experience already gained by a host of first and second year players Coach Wulff has pressed into action.

Bring on the Bears!

Former Cougs Enjoying Gridiron Success

It wasn't long ago that Coach Robb Akey was leaping and exhorting Washington State defensive units for Coach Mike Price and Coach Bill Doba. When the opportunity to take over the football program at the University of Idaho, he jumped at the chance.

Named head coach of the Vandals on Dec. 20, 2006, their fourth head coach in four years, Coach Akey has turned things around for Idaho. He has the Vandals in first place with a perfect 3-0 mark in the Western Athletic Conference and 6-1 on the season.

Idaho defeated Hawaii in Moscow Saturday by a final score of 35-23.

The second leading rusher for Idaho against the Warriors was former WSU running back DeMaundry Woolridge who carried the ball 17 times for 81 yards.

Good to see these two having a great season.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football: Four Cougars Named to Mid-Season All-Pac-10 Team

Lew Wright — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:44:28 -0400

W ashington State is midway through the 2009 football schedule. Frankly, it's been rough going for Coach Paul Wulff and the Cougs, who are in the second year of a rebuilding program.

Not only have the Cougs improved their team play this season, there are some individuals who have earned national attention.

Phil Steele's College Football magazine announced the mid-season selections for All-Pac 10 Friday afternoon.

Four Washington State players were named on Phil Steele's list: Reid Forrest , Kenny Alfred , Travis Long and Chima Nwachuwku .

Coach Wulff's punter, redshirt junior Reid Forrest of Ephrata, WA, was named first team. Forrest has been somewhat of an overlooked weapon on WSU special teams. His efforts will be more noticeable as the Cougs stay closer in games the rest of the schedule this year.

Forrest is equally adept at punting conventionally for hang time and rugby style to put pressure on an opponent's return team. He currently ranks third in the conference and 17th nationally in punting, averaging 43.9 yards per punt. His seven punts of 50-plus yards ranks second in the Pac-10. A complete athlete, Forrest is a danger to pull down the ball and run if there isn't a decent punt rush put on him.

Senior Kenny Alfred was named second team at center. His leadership on the offensive line has been helpful with the rotation of players at guard and tackle because of injury. The last few games, the only fellow lineman with significant game experience has been Micah Hannam . Coach Wulff has been forced to play freshmen before they are physically ready for Pac-10 play at the level he expects the Cougs to play at.

Alfred is like having a coach on the field to help his younger teammates learn on-the-job. In the first six games this season, Alfred has been named outstanding offensive player five times. Doing the math equates to respect from coaches, teammates, and opponents. He is also on the Rimington Trophy Watch List for the second straight year, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding center.

Chima Nwachukwu (pictured left) has played excellent football over the course of the first half this season. The junior safety was named third team All-Pac 10. He is leading WSU in tackles with 45, of which 31 are solo tackles.

Nwachukwu has an interception and recovered two fumbles along with a forced fumble. The junior from Allen, TX is a versatile defensive back who has been called upon to play both safety and cornerback due to injuries to teammates. Regardless of where he lines up in the defensive backfield, Nwachukwu is a player.

One of the truly bright spots for the Cougs on defense this season has been the play of Travis Long (pictured right) at defensive end. Long was named third team All-Pac 10 and was one of only two true freshman put on the 84-man list.

Last season, Long was playing high school football up in Spokane for Gonzaga Prep. He has started all six games for Coach Wulff this season. Long leads all defensive linemen in tackles with 27, 19 of which are solo. Three of those tackles are for a loss, with two being quarterback sacks.

Ask any of these Washington State players about being named for such honors and it's likely they would much rather be mentioned in connection with winning football games.

When the team returns from their bye week, all focus will be on just that. Preparation to win a football game down in Berkeley, CA against the Cal Bears.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Welcomes a Good Bye Week

Lew Wright — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:01:19 -0400

Washington State Cougar football has the week off. The timing for Coach Paul Wulff and his team couldn’t have been better. Extra days to heal are just what the WSU medical staff would order for a team wracked with a wide range of injuries.

With six games completed and six games to go, pausing to evaluate Cougar football also seems timely.

Coach Wulff and the Cougs have just one win to show for their efforts up to this point in the season. It doesn’t seem likely there will be a turnaround in the team record in 2009, but WSU still has six opportunities to capture wins.

Nothing profound or insightful about that.

I followed the usual routine yesterday in preparing to write an article for my column, trying to ignore the bye week. That included listening to former WSU head Coach Jim Walden on the Ian Furness show, 950 KJR-AM - Seattle, which piqued my curiosity.

Coach Walden was pointing out the lack of experience across the Cougar offensive line as a contributing factor to the offensive struggles. He made sense. But does his point stand up to checking the facts?

Taking a look at other Pac-10 teams worthy of comparison revealed facts that surprise some of the critics as to where Coach Wulff is taking Cougar football.

First, let’s look at the offensive line USC coach Pete Carroll will have lining up this Saturday against Notre Dame. He’ll have three seniors, one junior, and a sophomore protecting the pass for freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. The depth chart for running back at “Tailback U” is still stocked with three juniors following the tragic injury that ended the season for senior starter Stephon Johnson.

There is a direct correlation to experience and production. The Trojans lead the conference in total offense. It’s likely that all three senior offensive linemen will go no later than the first three rounds of the NFL draft.

Next, let’s look at the natural comparison with the UW team that failed to win a game last season and is finding ways to win for their first-year coach Steve Sarkisian. Sure, Sark has one of the best players in the nation under center in the person of junior Jake Locker. It’s likely that Locker will turn pro after this season and be the first quarterback selected in the NFL draft.

But Locker would be struggling without decent play from his offensive line. The depth chart for UW this week lists one senior, two juniors and two sophomores on the OL.

Finally, take a look at the most comparable offense in the Pac-10 to Washington State in terms of stats. WSU is last in total offense in the conference. The team ranked above them is UCLA. Like Coach Wulff, coach Rick Neuheisel has shuffled quarterbacks around because of injuries. This week, he’ll be starting Kevin Prince for the third time. Prince will be lining up behind an offensive line that starts one junior, three sophomores and a freshman.

When it comes to offensive play in the Pac-10, experience matters.

Last Saturday, Arizona State devoured Cougar quarterbacks for 12 sacks and countless hurries. The significant factor contributing to the Sun Devils making it look so easy was two-fold.

ASU starts three seniors, one junior, two sophomores, and a freshman on their defensive front seven. WSU played two quarterbacks behind a young, patchwork offensive line that has a total of seven career starts. Yes, Marshall Lobbestael is a sophomore and Jeff Tuel is a freshman.

The offensive line starting for Coach Wulff last week included one senior, two juniors and two freshmen. One of those freshmen, Alex Reitnouer, was slated to redshirt this season to grow into college football. The lone senior of the unit, Kenny Alfred, left the game in the second half with a serious laceration on his knee. From that point, sophomore Chris Prummer took over duties at center.

The experience factor is improving for Coach Wulff’s team. Players are getting lessons on the gridiron here and now. As the season progresses, it follows that the team will continue to improve.

And the season will continue progressing next week when WSU travels to Berkeley to take on a Cal Bears team that is just itching for a win.

Then again, so are the Cougs.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football: Monday Morning Quarterbacking the Cougs

Lew Wright — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:55:56 -0400

With more than a day to mull over Washington State losing their Homecoming game to Arizona State, there must be a enough ideas flying around to fill a three-ring binder with schemes dreamed up to turn things around for the Cougs.

A quick review of my notes and suggestions revealed the level of brilliance jotted down on paper is easily called into question. None of my genius translated into a plan of action after a review of the player roster. Until Coach Paul Wulff has a stable of horses healthy enough to ride, the going will be tough for Cougar football.

Saturday’s game against the Sun Devils was an exceptionally frustrating loss in light of the outstanding effort and results of inspired defensive play by the Washington State.

It’s a team game. You win as a team, and lose as a team.

One of the leaders for WSU on defense is senior Andy Mattingly, who contributed six tackles, and logged an interception on Saturday. Mattingly was interviewed after the game by Bud Nameck of the Cougar Radio Network, responding to questions as only a team player would.

“We were just executing on those certain plays. Doing what the coaches told us to do and getting where we’re supposed to be. We knew they’d throw us a couple of balls and they did. But we didn’t do it every play. We weren’t making plays as much as we should have been. We let them score too many points. The game could have been a lot closer if we would have executed on more plays than we did.”

“When the offense is struggling, we have to pick it up because there’s time when we’re struggling and they’ve got to get us going. We know they’re real banged up right now. We’ve just got to try more to score on ‘D’ and try to keep that offense up,” said WSU senior linebacker, Andy Mattingly.

Until Coach Wulff can get some players back to bolster the offensive line, not even David Copperfield lining up in the Cougar backfield could make an opponent’s pass rush disappear.

Nameck spoke with the lone starting lineman who has played every down on offense this season, junior Micah Hannam. He addressed the challenge created by so many OL players going down with injuries.

“…there’s a chemistry with guys, especially when you play positions next to each other. When a guy comes in, you have to learn how he plays, how he blocks and how he does things. It’s a slight adjustment. When you have guys coming in every other week it gets a little difficult and it gets a little frustrating," said WSU junior lineman Micah Hannam.

Frustration.

There’s plenty of that emotion hanging over Cougar Nation these days.

Former WSU Coach Jim Walden who does the color commentary for the Cougar Radio Network had some sage thoughts to share after the game,

"You can win. You can lose. And you can have good days and bad days, but you should never not play hard. I think this team is starting to remind me of the kind of players we had back in the early 2000's. Teams that played hard. A lot of that is centered around older guys that understand how to play hard."

Walden pointed out that ASU has the No. 1 defense in the Pac-10 without a bunch of players who will make All-Pac 10, and maybe just one or two who might go on to play in the NFL. The Sun Devils have experienced players who are well coached and go hard on every down.

Having an extra week to retool and recover from injuries is the best "idea" out there to continue moving Cougar football forward. Coach Wulff expects to get some players back by next Sunday when preparing the team for their next conference game against a Cal Bear team that has been staggered on the playing field recently.

There's still a lot of Cougar football to be played this season.

Homecoming Game Awards

Following each WSU football game, Joe Nickell, Assistant Director, WSU Athletic Communications, passes out awards recognizing Cougar players making significant contributions on the field of play. Here's Joe's picks for the Arizona State game:

The Cougar Lunch Pail

Offensively, I'm going with The Bomb...Jeff Tuel to Johnny Forzani, the longest play from scrimmage in the history of Cougar Football. The 99-yard play will be in the books forever...

The Cougar Hard Hat

Louis Bland, who got the start at middle linebacker with Alex Hoffman-Ellis out, was all over the field. He tied for the team lead with eight tackles, intercepted a pass and sacked the opposing quarterback.

The Crimson Boot

Reid Forrest would tell you he is not pleased with his performance. He punted nine times for an average of 41.1 per attempt—well off where he wants to be. But he brought back memories of last year's Apple Cup with his fake punt, extending a drive with his legs.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Pleased With Defensive Effort

Lew Wright — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:48:58 -0400

Every week the Washington State Cougars play a football game on Saturday, the coaching staff's Sunday rituals includes watching game film.

They pour over video in search of things done well to build on. If there are areas where improvement can be made, notes are taken. Practice during the week will be built around the review of game film.

Coach Paul Wulff typically completes the day dominated by watching film, to meet with media to share comments from the game, and what the coming week may hold for Cougar football.

WSU came out on the short end of a 27-14 score Saturday against Arizona State. Though the Cougs lost the game, Coach Wulff was pleased with some aspects of the game.

"I thought defensively, obviously we did some really good things. Forced a lot of turnovers. Played extremely hard," said Wulff. He went on to say, "Had a few lapses that caught us but other than that a pretty darn good job."

Few could find fault with Coach Wulff's assessment. The Cougar defense was flying around the field Saturday, making plays with energy and intensity.

The defensive line earned the praise of Coach Wulff. They are a group that is learning and growing together, an important point he drove home.

"Playing across the defensive line, Dan Spitz and (Anthony) Laurenzi, two redshirt freshmen, Travis Longa true freshman and Casey Hamlett who came in here in the winter, the majority of the game I was very impressed with those guys."

Coach Wulff went on to mention the fine play of Louis Bland, who picked up the slack created when Alex Hoffman-Ellis required treatment for an infection, which forced him to sit out the game. Bland recorded one of the three interceptions created by the Cougar defense. Add to the interception a sack and eight tackles. For those watching, Bland is maturing as a football player right before your eyes.

Defense wasn't the only unit mentioned by Wulff when talking about improved performance on the football field.

"Special teams were really solid. They (ASU) have one of the best returners in the conference. I thought we were really good in our kick coverage. Very good in punt coverage. We probably had the best blocked kickoff returns clearly that we’ve had all year."

Unfortunately, things didn't look any better for the offensive line 24 hours after the game. The shuffling of players in and out of the lineup because of injuries has been well documented. It wouldn't be a Cougar game this season without at least one offensive lineman going down with an injury. The ASU game was no exception to that rule.

Senior Kenny Alfred suffered a gash on his knee that required getting cleaned out and stitched up. Wulff was confident that Alfred will be back on the practice field next week, and ready to go against Cal. Brian Danaher is another story. He suffered another concussion, and is out indefinitely. With his history of concussions, Danaher will be watched closely.

With only one starter from fall camp remaining in the OL lineup, the Cougar running game never got started, and the passing attack was the only way WSU could move the ball on the Sun Devils.

"Offensively, you know our protection broke down. We really struggled. We got man-handled up front. It just blew everything up in regards to protection in our passing game for any kind of consistency in our running game. We just struggled growing on offense. That was the disappointing part of it."

It wasn't all on the offensive line. Arizona State has the best defense in the conference this year. They are especially tough to run against. Not a good combination for the game Saturday if you're the head coach for Washington State.

Coach Wulff updated the status on Daniel Simmons. It wasn't good news. Simmons suffered a broken fibula, and is likely out for the rest of this season. LeAndre Daniels was lost earlier this year to a broken leg as well. Going back to fall camp, Tyree Toomer was lost for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. All three of these student-athletes were counted on to contribute to the secondary coverage for WSU this year. The status now, is wait until next year.

"I’ve been around the game enough to know when you go through times like this and you’re not winning ball games but you’re trying to get young guys to make plays. You’re trying to do that, it’s just frustrating things occur. But as they mature and get stronger, you hope they do it in the middle of the year and they keep growing. As you move year to year, these stepping stones we are making will continue to add up in our favor. We’ll perform better and better moving forward. It’s tough. We’ve got to learn from those mistakes we make and we’ve got to grow."

If ever a team needed a bye week to get players healthy, WSU is the team. There's a good chance Coach Wulff will see the return of a few players, but that won't be sorted out until next week. The bye week means even more to the future of Cougar football.

Seven coaches will hit the recruiting trails once again next week. Coach Wulff said they will primarily focus on prospects in California and Washington, though there will be time spent in Idaho and Oregon as well.

Fourteen student-athletes have verbally committed to Coach Wulff and Washington State. The class is shaping up to look like another excellent group of players. Wulff feels recruiting is on pace with last year, one of the best for WSU in recent memory.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Cougs Nearly Take One Away From ASU, Losing 27-14

Lew Wright — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:41:28 -0400

The Washington State Cougars competed head-to-head with Arizona State on Saturday afternoon, but came up on the short end of the scoreboard, 27-14.

Coach Paul Wulff faced his former college coach across the field in Martin Stadium. The student was trying to give the teacher a lesson.

It was the teacher, coach Dennis Erickson, and his Sun Devils delivering a lesson and escaping Pullman with a win.

Barely.

The defensive unit of ASU brought their "A" game with them. They confused, befuddled, dominated, and shut-out the Cougs the entire first half, yielding a mere 34 net yards of offense.

Washington State was able to generate a couple of touchdowns in the second half. One of those came on a school record 99-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Tuel to Bohnny Forzani. Forzani showed his speed after hauling in Tuel's heave under pressure, something the Sun Devils defense applied to the Cougars offense all afternoon.

Both teams have yet to find a genuine starter at quarterback. Neither head coach found many answers based on the play in this game.

ASU starter senior Danny Sullivan had decent numbers, connecting on 18-of-28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. But Sullivan was picked for three interceptions by a WSU defense that was flying all over the field. Coach Erickson gave his big freshman Brock Osweiler playing time in the first half. Osweiler didn't impress, though he completed three of his four pass attempts.

Coach Wulff started true freshman Jeff Tuel for the second consecutive game. Behind an offensive line that was overmatched by the Sun Devils, Tuel played inconsistently and seemed rattled by the speed of the game.

With 6:05 left in the first half, sophomore Marshall Lobbestael took over at quarterback. Lobbestael quickly had the Cougs driving 59 yards toward a touchdown. He threw a short route to Daniel Blackledge for his fourth completion on the drive. But when Blackledge turned to go downfield, he was rocked by ASU's Gerrell Robinson and fumbled the ball away to end the march.

Lobbestael continued at quarterback to begin the second half. However, without a running game, the Sun Devils were using stunts with the defensive linemen that kept WSU off the scoreboard through most of three quarters.

When Tuel was put back in the game midway through the third quarter, it was clear he was confident. In his first series back, Tuel called his own number on 3rd-and-10, coming up a couple of feet short of the necessary yardage for a first down. As the offense came off the field, Tuel hoped to get another chance before ASU put the game out of reach.

The last game played at home by the Cougs was won by the defense. In creating six turnovers, they put out another great effort to repeat history a second time this season.

Tuel's desire to get right back out on the field was fulfilled by a great interception by senior linebacker Andy Mattingly. ASU quarterback Sullivan was forced to hurry his throw by blitzing Coug safety Xavier Hicks, giving the aggressive Mattingly a play on the ball.

It took Tuel just four plays to lead WSU to a touchdown.

Four plays.

Did I mention the last play of the drive was 4th-and-2 from the ASU 23?

The drive resulted in a touchdown when Tuel lofted a pass into the corner of the endzone for Blackledge that sophomore Jared Karstetter jumped in front to snipe the reception and score.

It appeared the Washington State defense might have run out of gas early in the fourth quarter when they gave up a touchdown quickly, putting ASU up 27-7. They ran the ball at will on the drive, and the Cougs were flagged for a 15-yard penalty to help the Sun Devils along.

The ensuing kickoff was placed nicely up against the sideline and carromed off WSU freshman Carl Winston and out-of-bounds on the five-yard line. That start was the setup for the 99-yard bomb putting, Tuel and Forzani in the Washington State record book permanently with a play that can be matched, but never exceeded.

Even if neither head coach came away with solid starting quarterback, there were some good signs for both Coach Erickson and Coach Wulff.

For Erickson, his defense recorded 12 sacks on the day.

For Wulff, his defense created six turnovers on the day.

After the game, Coach Wulff talked about the play of his team.

"Defensively, (we) created a lot of turnovers and (we) tackled pretty well," Wulff said. "They did a lot of great things and the offense could never relieve them and take advantage of all the turnovers the defense was getting and keep that momentum going."

"It just shows you. We scored that (first) touchdown...and the defense comes out and that just lifted them so much. They even played better with more intensity," he said.

"...our struggle has been creating any kind of big play on offense. Today you saw us have a lot of trickery in there," he said. "We tried to execute some things. We had some things available to us early in that department and we didn't capitalize on any of them. They were all makeable plays."

Here's where Cougar fans will have to face the truth. Today, WSU faced a team that traveled with just seven first-year players. There were several times on offense today where the Cougs had seven first-year players on the field at the same time.

That's the situation, like it or not.

"We're playing some young, young guys that aren't ready to play. We're asking them to play. It puts pressure on everybody," said Wulff. "We got beat up and demoralized and really whooped on our offensive front today. We just didn't give our quarterbacks or any of our skill guys a chance."

While there were a number of mistakes made by the young players on the Cougar o-line, there were some good plays made as well. When Lobbestael come on in relief of Tuel, Jeff had time to listen to his coaches clarify what ASU was doing defensively. Tuel absorbed instruction and executed plays designed to counter what the Sun Devils were doing.

"I thought (Tuel) grew and played better in the second half. I was impressed by some of the throws he made. Considering the pressure, I thought he did some good things," Wulff said.

There will be plenty for WSU to build on coming off this loss. One play sure to get viewed repeatedly in the coming days, weeks, and months was the length-of-the-field-touchdown play.

"We just (called) a quick play action, and Johnny had a vertical route one-on-one outside. Jeff took the shot and (he's) got a nice arm. He just layed it out there. Johnny made a good play coming back to the ball just a little bit," Wulff said. "The guy fell off the tackle. Johnny's got very good speed. I think we saw that as he was able to outrun everybody to the endzone."

More of those plays are needed by the Cougs.

WSU Football | Young Cougs Expect To Win

Lew Wright — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:49:11 -0400

Coach Paul Wulff met briefly with the media before heading out to practice Thursday afternoon. And as usual, he was candid in his remarks about Washington State Cougar football.

Today will be the third practice session for WSU in their preparation for Arizona State. Coach Dennis Erickson and his team are hungry for a conference win and redemption on the heels of a couple of tough losses.

In their loss to Oregon State in Tempe last weekend, the Sun Devils bore little resemblance to the team most expected to see going into the season.

Playing outside the Pac-10, ASU racked up a lot of points against Idaho State and Louisiana-Monroe in route to winning their first two games of the year.

Since then, their offense has marched up and down the field without scoring touchdowns. The result from a misfiring aerial attack has been a couple of losses.

Should the Sun Devils continue to stagger on the gridiron this coming Saturday, it might not be possible to turn things around going through Pac-10 play.

But if Coach Erickson and his team buy into the word of college football experts, they should have no worries this week. ASU is a three touchdown favorite to win on the road.

A three touchdown underdog on your home turf to a team that comes into Pullman having lost their last two games is more than just a snub.

Then again, Coach Wulff and the Cougs are more than accustomed to be considered the Rodney Dangerfield of the Pac-10.

Here's what Coach Wulff thought about the game plan ASU will bring to Pullman:

“They want to prevent the big play. The games they’ve lost they’ve given up a few big plays. They haven’t scored a lot on offense (in their two losses) so big plays have really stood out for them... This is a team that tries to throw the ball all the time so I think that’s affected their sack totals. But they’ve got a very stout defensive line and linebacking corps. They’re probably stronger than USC is, in terms of defending the run and in terms of physical presence along the line and their inside linebackers.”

Arizona State has the best defense in the conference, yielding just 232 yards of offense per game. They rank third in the nation defensively. In terms of strength, that explains why ASU is a heavy favorite over the Cougs. Washington State has yet to get their offense moving the football and scoring touchdowns.

However, and it seems as though you can always come up with a 'however', both teams took a step backward last week.

“We’ve got a big challenge on our hands. They’re (ASU) a good football team that went to Georgia and darn near beat Georgia. They didn’t play a great game last week. I think both teams will play better than they did the previous week. Whoever plays the best on Saturday is going to end up winning the game. It’s pretty simple.”

Coach Wulff may not have been offering a profound insight with his prediction, but that isn't what he's ever been about. His goal continues to be working to get his football players on solid ground and prepared as best as possible. The significant challenge he's taken on started from a rather weak position. If you scan the names on the Cougar roster, there are roughly 115. Two-thirds of those names are first or second year student/athletes.

As young as WSU is, in terms of the time players have been in college, they are not bothered by critics or experts who suggest they won't notch another win this season.

Some of the bravado that can be associated with youth was on display earlier this week when true freshman starting quarterback Jeff Tuel made it clear that both his teammates and him expect to win the football game Saturday. It followed that Coach Wulff was asked if Tuel's remarks were simply a reflection of youth and exuberance:

“I think that it’s a combination of both maybe. We have some young guys that are highly competitive and have high expectations. That’s a wonderful sign to be honest. We believe that’s where we’re headed with higher expectations for ourselves.”

Moving from his starter at quarterback to the situation at ASU, Coach Wulff was asked if he knew much about the backup for senior Danny Sullivan, freshman Brock Osweiler. Sun Devil fans have begun calling for the demotion of Sullivan as the quickest way to get back to scoring massive numbers of touchdowns and winning football games.

“He hasn’t played a lot. Obviously Brock Osweiler is a big kid (6’8” and 237). He’s going to become a good player. We knew of him in Montana in high school and then he went to Gonzaga to play basketball. Then he changed his mind to be a football player. I think he’s got a pretty bright future. He’s big and he can see over all the tall linemen. He’s got a nice arm and he’s got a chance to be a good player.”

Whether it's Sullivan or Osweiler, the Cougs will have their work cut out for them to stifle the spread offense and passing attack favored by Coach Erickson.

For WSU to be effective on defense, it's imperative they put pressure on the Sun Devil quarterback. Coach Wulff talked a little bit about who is expected to line up with their hands down on the defensive front.

“Probably Anthony Laurenzi (will start) at defensive tackle because Bernard (Wolfgramm) is now out. Toby (Turpin) will start…Then (Dan) Spitz will play a lot in there as well. He’ll rotate in there with Turpin and Laurenzi. And then Jesse Feagin and Casey Hamlett will rotate in there at defensive end with Travis Long.”

Staying with the defensive line, Coach Wulff took time to talk about Feagin at DE.

“Jesse (Feagin) has worked hard to put himself in good academic standing. He wasn’t academically eligible a year ago, but he’s done a nice job progressing as a student and on the football field. Again, our philosophy coming in here (WSU) is a lot different than what was going on, particularly in training methods. We hired Coach Lovat, the new strength coach a year ago at this time. Jesse was one of those guys who hadn’t done a lot of the squats and platform work. He’s made some improvements from his physical (presence) with the one winter and summer to work with Coach Lovat. He’s continued to improve his conditioning level. He’s stronger than he was a year ago at this time. He’s done some good things. He’s showed flashes but we need him to be a little more consistent and play at a high level with intensity. He’s showed some good things.”

With two more days of preparation before the 2009 Homecoming game Saturday afternoon at 2pm, Washington State looks to return to moving the football program forward and registering their first Pac-10 win on the year.

Injury Update

Coach Paul Wulff is doubtful that Alex Hoffman-Ellis will be ready to go for the ASU game. Louis Bland, who normally rotates with Hoffman-Ellis, will be the likely starter in the middle at linebacker.
Brian Danaher will return this week, though Coach Wulff wasn't sure how much playing time he'll get. Wulff said, "He’s just coming off a concussion and seems to be doing OK. We’re a little leary. We don’t want to line him up and take every snap in this ball game because, I think he’s better, but he has had a little bit of a history with concussions. We want to be safe. He will probably play, but how that unfolds we’re not sure yet. Ideally we can get out of this game without redinging his head and then we get the bye week. Then again back at Cal he truly has an opportunity to be back at 100%.”

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Cougs Carrying Chips on Their Shoulders

Lew Wright — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:32:52 -0400

Coach Paul Wulff was as calm and poised as ever this afternoon while fielding questions from members of the media. The second-year head man at Washington State tends to reserve his passion for the game of football for his players and coaches.

Most of the press conference went as you would expect. Coach Wulff was asked to talk about his offense, defense, and the opponent this coming Saturday afternoon in Pullman, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The tone of his responses carried significant conviction near the end of the press conference.

We'll get to that after passing along some of the other highlights first.

The weekly battle cry of the offensive from the WSU practice field and sidelines has been "all hands on deck" for much of fall camp, and the entire season up to now. Coach Wulff has done more shuffling with the OL the last few weeks than Gregory Hines did on the dance floor over an entire career.

Things may have stabilized for a week.

"...At this point it will stay the same from Oregon with (Alex) Reitnouer at left guard and (Tyson) Pencer at left tackle, then (Joe) Eppele and (Micah) Hannum on the right side with Alfred at center. At that point it will stay the same as of today and it wouldn’t surprise me if it stays that way into the game. We’re just going to wait and see about (Brian) Danaher and how he comes back and at what level. The same thing for (Zack) Williams and his high ankle sprain.”—WSU Coach Paul Wulff

Danaher is coming off a concussion, so his health will be closely monitored. Williams' return will be tempered with the caution a high ankle sprain calls for. Unless he's almost completely recovered from the sprain, Coach Wulff won't risk bringing him back too soon and re-injuring the same ankle.

When true freshman Jeff Tuel was knocked out of the game last week, Marshall Lobbestael came in and was able to finish it out. But if both No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks go down, who would get the call? One option that won't be available for the ASU game is senior Kevin Lopina. Wulff stated that he won't be ready to go.

“At this point (sophomore) Dan Wagner is number three. (True freshman) David Gilbertson will travel. He’s doing some really nice things and we’re impressed with his progress. But if possible, he’s getting a redshirt.”

Coach Wulff took the opportunity to share some observations the new players made in their first serious playing time for WSU.

“Alex Reitnouer played pretty good. He made some mistakes. We were down there on the goal line and we ran a dive play. A guy came free and made the tackle on Logwone Mitz. He just missed that. It was a freshman mistake. He had a few other things that didn’t go right for him, but the things that he did do right were some extremely athletic plays. Some pass protection (he showed) signs of being very athletic with his feet and hands and actually protected in some respects extremely well. There were some impressive things that were done by him that we haven’t had. It’s just some pure athleticism. But you’re right. When you face some 300 pound guys for him to get real physical on them isn’t an easy thing for him to do right now because of his size and strength. There’s some pluses with him … He’s a smart kid. He’s very tough. He plays very hard. We’ve got a lot of nice things to work with.”

“(Carl) Winston had a fumble and then he had a protection breakdown. He went the wrong way and then he came back and got a piece of his guy but (the quarterback) got sacked. Those were two obvious mistakes he made but when he did run the ball he found some nice creases in there. He’s got a burst and I think you saw that. I think he did some really nice things for the first time ever touching the ball and playing. He had a nice kickoff return where he made a few guys miss and weave through it. He’s got good vision. He’s got good quickness. He’s a tough kid…As he gains experience and keeps hitting the weight room, I think he’s got a bright, bright future.”

“Jared (Byers), I know he surprised a lot of people. He surprised us. He had a really good fall camp as a first year freshman at linebacker. We moved him over this week because we just weren’t getting consistent play at the fullback position. He came in there and just picked things up really quick. We really like Jared. I think he’s a tough kid with good feet. He likes contact. I think he’s got a heckuva future for us at fullback position on our offense. I think he’ll do a great job moving forward. He’s got enough ability and toughness to give us a good presence on special teams as well. He’ll just get better and better.”

The session with Coach Wulff began, and ended, talking about Arizona State, and what WSU can expect to see on the field this Saturday. Like Washington State, the Sun Devils have struggled to get their offense running on all cylinders.

“They’re throwing the ball maybe a little bit more than they have in the past. I think they’ve been struggling a little bit in their offensive line and getting some consistency. They’re in year three there. They’re still trying to build their offensive line up. I know that’s been an issue for them since the day they got there. So they probably haven’t run the ball as much as they would like because it’s a work in progress…so they’re throwing it a decent amount… It wouldn’t shock me at all to see them try to run the ball a lot more this week than they have in the past.”

Despite a fair performance by senior quarterback Danny Sullivan in the Sun Devils' loss to Oregon State last weekend in Tempe, fans at the game turned on the leader of the ASU offense. Some home field advantage when your own fans are booing you and calling for a freshman to take your place.

Coach Wulff didn't share the view of the fans in the stands.

“He’s a player that’s experienced and he’s been around. He’s a really big tall guy that can see over the rush. They keep him in the shotgun and give him a lot of opportunities to throw. He’s got a couple of really skilled wide receivers. He’s a solid player and he’s a veteran player.”

However, Coach Wulff understands some of the frustration in Tempe over the play at quarterback. He's had his own challenges determining who is going to step up and take over the WSU offense. ASU Coach Dennis Erickson has been around long enough to cope with the issue of establishing a legitimate starting quarterback. There have been numerous occasions over the course of his career where he felt like Bullwinkle trying to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

“Like anybody...they’re really looking for that guy to pull the trigger. Right now in the Pac-10, across the board, there’s only a couple of guys that are taking charge of their football team and are very, very valuable to their wins and losses. They’re (ASU) probably feeling a lot like some of the other schools where they’ve got to find a guy who can take charge. I think that’s what they’re feeling. That's why you (may) consider it a controversy or someone that isn’t settled in the position or however you want to describe it."—Coach Wulff

When the conversation with Coach Wulff turned back to the Cougar defense, he spoke freely about his unit that is working hard to make the right adjustments from one week to the next.

“We have some strengths on defense right now and we have some weaknesses on our defense. Right now our overall team speed on defense isn’t what we need. So when we get in a position where that could be exposed a little bit, it shows up. We’ve gotten bigger and stronger on our defensive line and our linebacking corps from a year ago. We held Stanford probably as good as anybody in a lot of ways in the run game. And we played USC extremely tough. Those two teams in particular are a little more conventional...we do match up better. Right now with those types of teams that are balanced and try to run the ball equally and play action, we defend those guys better. When we get spread out right now because of our speed, that is an area where we do get exploited at times. But I will say this, with some of the young (players) being redshirted and some of the injuries, like to LeAndre Daniels and Tyree Toomer who can’t play...as we move forward our defensive back in from linebacker to secondary will dramatically, and I mean dramatically, improve the team speed...There’s been a high effort in getting some speed into this program (through) recruiting and I think if you’ve been paying attention to recruiting you will see that we’re bringing in speed as much as we can possibly get and as quickly as we can get. That’s what we’re trying to do. When the Cougs have been good on defense and most defenses, you’ve seen great speed...That’s what we’re trying to get here as fast as we possibly can.”

In other words, that's the reality of the situation as the Washington State football program continues to move forward.

Before things wrapped up, there was a great question asked of Coach Wulff, which had to be on the minds of many who watched the Oregon game last Saturday night.

Didn't Coach Wulff think it was strange to challenge a touchdown call when the Ducks were leading 45-0?

“I would tend to agree with that, too. There are some things that are going to happen. Let me just say this. In my first season and particularly in (the Oregon) game there’s been some things that happened. We’re down right now. We know that. But there are some chips that are being thrown on our players and coaches shoulders right now that we’re going to carry with us for awhile. We’ve got a lot of motivation and we’re getting pieces of motivation from time to time and we’ll have plenty of motivation moving forward. Believe me."

The only question better than the previous one was the follow-up: Will the Cougar players and coaches remember these things?

"Yes."

The conviction in the voice of Coach Wulff was devoid of anger. Coach Wulff was simply affirming "Yes," on behalf of the football program.

That's the way it is.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Coach Paul Wulff Anxious To Get Back On The Field

Lew Wright — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:36:58 -0400

Head coach Paul Wulff found positives to take away from the loss to Oregon and get Washington State Cougar football moving forward once again. His brief Sunday evening session with media was loaded with things the Cougs could build on as they prepare for Homecoming Week and hosting Arizona State this coming Saturday in Pullman, Wash.

It would be easy to mope after being taken to school by one of the best college football teams in the nation...Make that back-to-back top teams in the nation.

Coach Wulff isn't building the Cougar football program on wishes and wants. He's developing a roster that is fundamentally sound both on and off the gridiron.

WSU players weren't disappointed by their poor performance Saturday night in Eugene.

They weren't just frustrated by the loss.

The Cougs are mad.

The Washington State football team is looking for redemption now. Not next month or next season. They are itching to strap it on and get back out there to compete with their next Pac-10 conference opponent, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

"This is the first game of all our games that they felt like they didn’t respond and play well. Particularly in the environment. There was a certain level of being rattled out there. We didn’t respond to their speed, the tempo they came at us with on both sides of the ball. Even on special teams. We had some big plays on special teams that were called back because we got beat with some speed and we got caught holding and creating our own issues. I think everybody just felt pretty disappointed. We’ve got a big week in front of us to respond. I think we all want to get back on that field. We’ve got to redeem ourselves a little bit."

— WSU head coach Paul Wulff

To put it another way, the Cougs have been thrown off their horse and are anxious to get back on and go for a ride.

If that sounds like so much hot air, consider the effort Washington State put out in the game Saturday night. Statistical comparisons with previous seasons don't tell the real story.

This team doesn't quit. Everyone in the program remains dedicated to success. Such dedication may not be evident to some. Trust me, it won't be long before games like Saturday night are no more memorable than the poor grade you may have received on a math test your sophomore year of high school.

Redshirt freshman Terrance Hayward and true freshman Carl Winston were two young players for Washington State who saw substantial playing time against the Ducks. Coach Wulff talked about both of them, part of the future for Cougar football.

"You know, he did a good job. He’s physical. We need to remember with this kid he’s 17 years old and doesn’t turn 18 until November and he’s in his second year of college already. I think he’s grown an inch or two since he’s been here. He’s 6’1” and he’s going to be a good player. He’s getting better and better and growing up all the time and I’m very encouraged with his growth so far."

— Coach Wulff on Terrance Hayward

Hayward and sophomore linebacker Louis Bland led WSU in tackles against the Ducks. They each had a total to nine. Hayward had six solo tackles and two tackles for a loss. And the young man isn't even old enough to vote!

Winston saw playing time in both the offensive backfield and returning kickoffs. Coach Wulff planned to redshirt Winston this year to provide him a chance to mature. With the loss of WSU's top running back and playmaker, James Montgomery, the potential Winston exhibited on the practice field changed Coach Wulff's mind.

"For a first year freshman and playing his first live action, he showed some explosiveness. The ability to see some things. His vision was really good. I think Carl’s going to be a good player. He’s not as strong as he’s going to be. He’s going to get quicker and stronger as he keeps hitting the weight room over the years. I think he’s going to be a good player. He’s definitely got some instincts out there running the football. He can see things well."

— Coach Wulff on Carl Winston

Of course, Coach Wulff had comments about his offensive line that has been decimated by injuries prior to fall camp, during fall camp and carrying over into the season.

"Here’s what I saw. I saw Kenny Alfred be Player of the Week third week in a row. He is playing at an extremely high level. The guy is an incredible student/athlete, football player and team leader. I saw two guys get their very first start and another guy in his second start. You know, they actually did do some good things. There were some young mistakes made in there with (Alex) Reitnouer and (Tyson) Pencer and Joe Eppele but what I did see was some athleticism. I saw some guys win on some things we haven’t seen in awhile which is impressive. It was very encouraging to see the young athleticism in there and do some things for our offensive front that we haven’t had done individually…blocking assignments whether it be pass or run. There were some very encouraging signs (for) the future…those guys, we need them to keep growing up this week so they can have a better week and keep moving forward. There were some very, very encouraging signs. We’re playing with some inexperience but they did some very good things and they made some mistakes that hurt us as well in blocking, particularly in the run game."

— Coach Wulff on the play of the OL

For WSU to have been successful Saturday night, the offensive line would have had to match the flawless play of the Oregon defense. They didn't. WSU isn't part of an exclusive club in that regard either. The Ducks have played outstanding football, as good as any college football team in the nation, for the past four weeks.

There's a natural comparison between the offensive style of play for both Oregon and WSU. Under Coach Chip Kelly, Oregon has been successful with a no-huddle offense. The Ducks executed their offensive approach to perfection Saturday night by varying the speed of play enough to keep the Cougs on their heels the entire game. That's the beauty of a well run no huddle offense.

"We want to be able to have that type of tempo, but we have a little different philosophy on the types of plays and what we’re doing. We want to be able to have tempo like that. It takes a veteran team and mature program to be able to do that. We’re working our way toward that. It’s just not happening as fast as we want to but I can’t speed up time right now and that’s really what we need."

— Coach Wulff on no-huddle offense

The no-huddle offense dictates the entire flow of a football game when it's run properly. It can apply an encompassing effect on an opponent to take them out of the game.

"That’s the point about their offense. They spread you out and you’ve got to be able to match their speed and you’ve got to be able to tackle well. When they have an advantage on you like that, they’re going to move the ball and score a lot of points on anybody. That’s the style of their offense. It’s kind of a different version of the run and shoot. They do it more from the ‘run first’ concept. They went up and down the field on Cal and they’re really starting to hit on all cylinders. They’re operating fast. They’re executing well. They’ve established a running game that’s helped their screen game and their pass game. They put it on Cal. They put it on us. You can see their growth from their first two games. They’re a tough team to face right now. I don’t know that there’s a team in the Pac-10 that has better overall team speed from top to bottom clearly than Oregon."

— Coach Wulff on game tempo

For Washington State players and coaches, this week might play in slow motion. Getting back out on the field turf of Martin Stadium and applying the lessons learned will be niggling away at the Cougs.

Remember the feeling when you crashed your bike countless times after the training wheels were taken off by your dad? The pain of falling hurt, but the feeling of freedom without those training wheels was something special.

Washington State football is working hard to become special once again.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Sunday Hangover Following Cougar Loss to Oregon

Lew Wright — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:27:09 -0400

The aftermath of Washington State's loss to Oregon Saturday night darkly looms over Cougar Nation today.

Succumbing to the hovering gloom brought on by the complete dismantling of a young and inexperienced WSU football team is simply short-sighted.

Coach Paul Wulff has understated the potential of his football team for good reason.

Without seeing what his young players can accomplish on the football field at Pac-10 game speed, there's no reason for suggesting the future and the present are one and the same.

Watching the young Cougs play the No. 16 Oregon Ducks last night was like watching your 10-month-old child try to walk. There were some moments of sheer delight overshadowed by some very nasty bumps and bruises.

One bright spot for WSU was the collegiate debut of true freshman Carl Winston. He's been turning heads on the practice field. Winston showed some of that flash on the field of Autzen Stadium where it counts.

There were highlights for Cougar Nation to be gleaned from the loss the Cougs absorbed in Eugene.

- True freshman Carl Winston led the Cougs in rushing with 56 yards on 7 carries for a 8.0 average. Winston also brought back two kickoffs for another 33 yards giving him 89 all-purpose yards in his first college football game.

- Redshirt sophomore Logwone Mitz was the Cougars second-leading rusher with 48 yards on 10 carries. He also had the longest run from scrimmage with a 28-yard gainer.

- Once again Reid Forrest quietly did an outstanding job punting the football. His nine punts averaged 43.1 yards with a long of 56. He put three of those punts inside the 20.

OK, that's a pretty short list. Temper your reaction with the fact Oregon is one of the best and hottest college football teams in the nation right now.

If you can name a team getting the job done better today than Coach Chip Kelly's players, share your suggestion in a comment below.

Seriously.

Experts are offering a variety of views on the performance of Coach Wulff's team against a Top 25 opponent in back-to-back games.

“...the younger the player is, the more he has to think and the longer it takes him to cover that ground. A banged-up player moves slower as well. So all Oregon did last night, in scoring pretty much at will in the first half, was once again reiterate WSU’s inability to run.” - Vince Grippi of the Spokesman-Review

“Few visiting teams have been able to quiet the raucous crowds that pack Autzen Stadium, but the Washington State Cougars managed to pull it off Saturday night, to their everlasting regret. The Oregon Ducks scored so fast, so often and so easily, the notoriously loud Autzen crowd was lulled into relative silence…” - Howie Stalwick for the Kitsap Sun

“So destitute are the Cougars right now that they even soiled one of their few good story lines. Jeff Tuel, the true freshman quarterback who played so promisingly against USC, got his first start here, and lasted all of three series (which fittingly began at the WSU 15-, 5- and 14-yard lines).“ - Bud Withers of the Seattle Times

“It was men playing with boys…” "Whether we like it or not, that's a junior varsity team out there." - Jim Walden, former WSU head coach and current color commentator for the Cougar Radio Network

“Washington State hoped that the mobility of true freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel, making his first college start, would mitigate the inexperience of an injury-riddled offensive line and provide a spark against Oregon. Alas, Tuel didn’t survive the first quarter, and when he left the game with a lower back/hip injury…” - Ron Bellamy of the The Register-Guard

“The outcome seemingly never in doubt from the opening kick, the Oregon student section formally nailed shut Washington State’s coffin with a “Na na na na…hey, hey, hey, goodbye” chant – with 1:40 left in the second quarter.” - Robert Husseman for dailyemerald.com

If nothing else, the 2009 Washington State football team is a source of creative analysis.

The team has returned to their home, Pullman. Coaches will pore over game video today to gain a solid evaluation of strengths and weaknesses to lead this young and inexperienced team forward.

Cougar football will now focus on preparation for Arizona State.

The Cougs return from Eugene banged up, but their spirit isn't broken. They played 60 minutes of Pac-10 football Saturday night and look forward to the opportunity again Homecoming Weekend on the field of Martin Stadium.

Count on one certainty next Saturday afternoon. If you are at the game, you'll see a football team and program growing up with every snap.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

Oregon Decisively Dominates WSU 52-6

Lew Wright — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:18:15 -0400

The opening kickoff by Washington State was taken up the right side by Oregon redshirt freshman Kenjon Barner, who appeared to fumble the ball after being hit by Cougar redshirt freshman Joshua Garrett.

It was an omen.

The play was reviewed by officials; Barner was ruled down before fumbling.

Ducks don't lose the ball.

Ducks don't lose the game and trounce WSU by a final score of 52-6.

Junior Jeremiah Masoli led his team on a well executed eight-play, 58-yard drive that took just 2:08 to put their first touchdown up on the scoreboard.

Before the game would conclude, Ducks would soar across the imaginary line establishing the end zone six more times.

After the game, the Cougs were left to imagine what it would be like for their offense to score multiple touchdowns.

The Oregon opening drive looked easy. For that matter, everything looked easy for Coach Chip Kelly and the Ducks Saturday night in front of another sold out crowd.

Coming out of the tunnel and starting fast continues to be something the Cougs just can’t pull off in 2009. Even for a very young football team, WSU has failed the lesson of how to begin a game.

“Early on we had a couple of chances to have some momentum go in our favor, and it didn’t work out that way,” said Coach Paul Wulff after the game.

Coach Paul Wulff could only watch as his young team expended a lot of energy with little positive result.

“The players got to a point where they were very disappointed. The defense (was) worn down and that’s just the way it was. Offensively, there was a struggle, and we just couldn’t get things going. We didn’t play as well as we’d like.”

A number of young WSU players took their first foot forward onto a Pac-10 football field. The Cougar football team took a step backward.

True freshman Jeff Tuel made his first college start tonight. He was only in the game long enough to attempt two passes, completing one for just three yards. Tuel had to leave the game after taking a helmet in his back and suffering a hip pointer.

Another true freshman, Carl Winston, shed his redshirt to take his first college football handoffs. Winston carried the ball six times for just 13 yards. He also returned three kickoffs for an average of 19 yards. It’s a start.

Add Alex Reitnouer to the list of true freshman tossing their redshirt off to help teammates now instead of waiting until next season. Reitnouer started the game at left tackle next to redshirt freshman Tyson Pencer, who was inserted into the starting lineup at left guard.

With the Oregon defense completely shutting down the Cougar offense, WSU went to an "I" formation with a traditional fullback. That’s right. Coach Wulff was looking for some kind of answer to deter the swarming Duck defenders. Naturally, if the Cougs were to shift out of character by running out of the "I," they had to follow form and insert yet another true freshman at fullback. Jared Byers from Pullman HS threw some blocks at the guys wearing lemon yellow jerseys, sporting a pair of wings over their shoulder pads.

Make no mistake in assessing the game in Eugene.

Coach Kelly has his team playing as good as any college football team in the nation. The Ducks made the Cal Bears look like a junior varsity team last week. Saturday night, they exposed the Cougs as a team young enough to be labeled junior varsity.

Oregon is going to be tough to beat the rest of this season if they stay healthy.

Washington State might recover and take a step forward next weekend if they get a few of their players healthy enough to return to action.

It won’t show on the stat sheet. It sure didn’t show up on the scoreboard. The one lesson this team has learned from Coach Wulff is to play hard for 60 minutes.

Without the effort being dedicated by WSU players, even when on the losing end of a lopsided score, the team won’t get back to playing 60 minutes of football to win a game.

“You got to give Oregon credit. They came out and got on top of us really early, and right now we don’t have enough team confidence yet to overcome big, big deficits like this. It’s part of our growth. We have to keep growing through these tough times. Keep learning from them and find ways to get better off these types of games.” —WSU Coach Paul Wulff

Washington State was taking steps forward and improving going into the Oregon game Saturday night.

Absorbing a good old fashioned spanking, 52-6, the Cougs took a step backward.

“There’s certain teams we matchup with better than others right now based on our personnel. We’ve just got to continue to work hard. I like our matchup against Arizona State. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to respond. Lick our wounds and come back and have a good week of practice and get a win at Homecoming.”

Washington State had three different players leave the Oregon game with hip pointers. Jeff Tuel, Gino Simone, and Bernard Wolfgramm all sustained the same injury. All three finished the game watching from the sideline.

Tuel spoke on the post game show with Bud Nameck on the Cougar Sports Radio Network indicating that he'd be ready to go next week against ASU.

Postgame Notes

- With Carl Winston (running back), Alex Reitnouer (offensive guard) and Jared Byers (fullback) all seeing action today, the Cougars have now played six true freshman in 2009…WSU played nine true freshman during the 2005 season.

- In addition to Tuel, Reitnouer also received the first start of his career in his first collegiate game today against the Ducks…WSU has now had 16 players make their Cougar starting debuts in 2009, six on offense and 10 on defense…WSU had 24 first-time starters in 2008.

- Redshirt senior running back Dwight Tardy became only the ninth running back in WSU history to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards with his 23 yards today against the Ducks…Tardy now has 2,008 on his career, and ranks ninth on WSU’s career rushing list.

- Redshirt freshman cornerback Terrance Hayward recorded a career-high nine tackles…his eight first-quarter tackles were more than he had entering today’s game (three).

- Redshirt junior punter Reid Forrest, the nation’s third-ranked punter entering today’s game with an average of 45.3 yards per punt, climbed WSU’s career punting lists with his performance today…Forrest averaged 43.1 yards on his nine punts against the Ducks (388 total yards), moving into eighth on the Cougars’ career punts list with 156, and into seventh on WSU’s career punting yards list with 6,512…Forrest passed Kareem Anderson (1998-99; 154) on the total punts list, and moved past Anderson (1998-99; 6,219) and George Martin (1994-95; 6,375)…Forrest also booted his eighth punt of 50-plus yards this season.

WSU-Oregon: A Look at the Cougars' Next Challenge

Lew Wright — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:00:33 -0400

After a feeling-out process in the first quarter of their game with Cal last Saturday, the Oregon Duck coaching staff spotted more soft spots in the Bear defense than you’d find in a Barcalounger showroom. A few adjustments and tweaks to the offensive game plan and the rout was on.

Washington State has yet to get off to a fast start in any of their first four games. By the time the second quarter has begun for Coach Paul Wulff and his team, every game has been nearly out of reach. Wulff has his team playing great football for three quarters. Unfortunately, the first fifteen minutes have been ugly for Cougar football.

The repetitive slow starts for WSU in their games isn’t a military top secret. No sir. The players know it. The coaches know it. Fans know it. Wulff is quick to remind as his players mature, that will change.

There is reason for the optimism of Coach Wulff as he looks forward to kickoff Saturday night.

Coach Chip Kelly’s Ducks haven’t exactly come roaring out of the tunnel, onto the field, and lighting up the scoreboard in the first quarter. The Ducks have been doing damage to opponents primarily in the second and third quarters, clearly making offensive adjustments to take what defenses are giving them.

Rather than bury you in stats proving how good Oregon plays in Autzen Stadium, let’s make that a given. The Ducks have a tremendous record in front of a sold-out crowd of enthusiastic fans. Yes, the last time there wasn’t a sell out at Autzen was back in the 20th century.

If there is a better home crowd of 59,000 loyal supporters, you’re going to have to point them out by leaving a comment below.

Here’s a fun fact for you. Saturday evening, Autzen Stadium will encompass the 9th largest population community in the state of Oregon.

What is working for first-year coach Chip Kelly and Oregon through the first four games of this season?

Attitude.

It’s the swagger Oregon struts with that is making the difference in their play. Don’t get me wrong. There are some outstanding players on the Duck roster, but they have something under their helmets the Cougs don’t.

Oregon players know what it takes to win and go on to the gridiron to execute.

On paper, the Ducks look good but not the stuff Top-25 teams are made of. In terms of Pac-10 team performance, Oregon is good, but nothing special. They rank sixth in total defense and seventh in total offense. Set those numbers aside. The only ranking coach Kelly is concerned with is conference standing in game results. The Ducks are 1-0, which has them at the top of the Pac-10 where it counts most.

Attitude and swagger by Oregon results from having a system in place that everyone buys into. Coaches know what they’re doing. Players know what they’re doing. Put that together and you have a team that has defeated two top-25 teams in the past three weeks.

In case you are confused as to how a first-year head coach puts his system in place in just a matter of months, coach Kelly didn’t have to go through much effort. Former head man coach Mike Bellotti handed the reins of Oregon football over to his then-offensive coordinator, Kelly. Coach Kelly has been smart enough to maintain the basics of the system Bellotti was successful with for years.

It bears mentioning that Oregon also runs a very complex offensive and defensive scheme. With players coming up in their system for years, it’s possible for the coaching staff to design what clever sports reporters like to refer to as “trickeration." Oregon will come at you from so many different directions, they are simply a nightmare for an opposing coaching staff to game-plan for.

One of the keys to success for Oregon this season has been the running game. LaMichael James, a redshirt freshman from Texarkana, TX, has emerged as a their top rusher. WSU Coach Wulff describes him as “a good, quick player and a good running back. (James) is giving them a big lift.”

Jeremiah Masoli was outstanding last week against a very good Cal defense. Masoli was an incredible 21-for-25 pass attempts for 253 yards, three touchdowns, and zero, repeat, zero interceptions. That’s a darn good performance against a top-10 football team.

If there is a flaw in Masoli’s game, it’s his ability to hit receivers when staying in the pocket. He’s most dangerous when throwing on the run and improvising. Washington State will need to contain Masoli to be effective. If the Cougs drop eight players into coverage, another part of Masoli’s game will open up to him. He's the second leading rusher on the Oregon roster.

Switching to a look at the Cougs, there will be more new faces seeing playing time this week.

Yesterday afternoon Coach Wulff talked about more true freshmen taking off their redshirts and getting a taste of why they chose WSU.

“There’s no question that you’ll see Carl Winston play this week, “ said Wulff. “Alex Reitnouer will play his first college snaps.”

Reitnouer will play left guard next to Tyson Pencer who earned his first start last week against USC. Wulff went on to say, “The left side will be young, but they’re athletic kids and have bright futures.”

Add Joe Eppele with his first career start at right guard and the Cougs will have a youthful offensive line starting against the Ducks.

Looking deeper at the offense of Washington State, there will be another very young player in the huddle. True freshman Jeff Tuel will be starting at quarterback following a very nice performance over the final 2.5 quarters of play in the USC game.

Coach Wulff anticipates Tuel building confidently on last week. Talking about what his freshman quarterback need to do to have a good game, “…(if) he doesn’t get rattled and he executes our offense, takes advantage of the play that is there, and doesn’t turn the ball over,” Wulff said.

When it comes to learning what it takes to win, the Cougar defense should be a step ahead of the offensive unit based on continuity. The Cougs will have the same young men available to get after the Ducks come Saturday evening. Both coach Jody Sears and coach Chris Ball, co-defensive coordinators, have witnessed their unit mature the past couple of games.

Familiarity.

The WSU defense continues to improve primarily because players are not only doing their individual jobs, they are trusting their teammates to do the same. To play successfully at a Pac-10 level, trust throughout the defense is critical.

Final bit of information leading into the game Saturday night: WSU media relations director Bill Stevens announced Thursday afternoon there will be limited broadcast of the game available through Comcast subscribers. The actual cable outlets and channels are, well, hit-or-miss.

Here’s a link for you to see if the game will be available through your Comcast affiliate. WSU vs. Oregon Comcast Coverage Failing the Comcast option, you can always listen to the outstanding coverage of Bob Robertson and Jim Walden on the Cougar Radio Network.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com

Pac-10 Preview Week Five: USC and Cal Vie for Supremacy, WSU Aims for Upset

Lew Wright — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:33:56 -0400

By late Saturday evening, every Pac-10 school will have at least one conference game under its belt. From this point forward, the run for the Pac-10 title is on in earnest.

The way the schedule has begun, there are a number of teams with reason to believe they will be the ones wearing championship rings in December. Realistically, there are three or four teams who look to wrestle the top spot away from USC.

That said, the Trojans still appear to be the team to beat.

Arizona will be regrouping this week and ready to make their run after a bye week. The rest of the conference teams will be in action this weekend.

With the improved play by both Washington and Washington State, it’s back to the good ol' days in the Pac-10. There are no easy games on the schedule, and winning on the road will be very, very tough.

My rather forgettable skills as a college football handicapper were on display in full regalia once again last week. Yes, my picks were right on a modest three out of five games.

There are some outstanding games this week, including one non-conference clash with the team from South Bend, IN.

Let’s take a look at the schedule.

UCLA vs. Stanford (-5)

This will be the first conference game for the Bruins. Unfortunately for them, it’s at Stanford, where fans are returning to watch Cardinal football. Or are they there for the marching band?

Back to UCLA...the Bruins have a balanced offensive attack that has scored enough points to win each of their first three games. Their defense has been the key to victory, holding the opposition to around 250 yards a game.

A couple of defensive stats jump off the page at you. No one has rushed for 100 yards against the UCLA defense, and if you don’t score on them in the first quarter, you might not get another chance.

Stanford will challenge the strength of the Bruin defense with the power and speed of Toby Gerhart. But if they key on him, Andrew Luck has been sensational throwing the football and can gain plenty of yards when he tucks the ball and runs. Luck has an outstanding receiving corps. Together the Stanford offense is averaging over 400 yards a game.

The Cardinal defense gives up yardage outside the red zone. They are good at shutting the opposition down when they get near the 20-yard line.

PICK: Stanford

Washington vs. Notre Dame (-13)

This is an important game for both teams. Notre Dame could easily be 4-0 on the season barred a last second meltdown against Michigan. Washington fans spent an entire week strutting their stuff after a huge upset at home over USC. They were back to simply wearing purple and gold gear after being run over by Stanford.

But harken Husky faithful, your team is going in the right direction—unless that direction is east to South Bend. The Fighting Irish are beyond the stages of building the program up. They are there and ready for all comers. Jimmy Clausen is throwing the football well, while Armando Allen is averaging 108 yards per game.

If Jake Locker is patient, the Irish secondary can struggle at times. Problem for the Husky fans is their need for patience. Their 0-12 team last season was not loaded with talent, and it will take time for the new faces to consistently play as they did against the Trojans.

When the UW was ranked No. 24 in the polls, a legitimate cry of overrated echoed across the college football landscape. But when the Huskies board the team charter back to Seattle, they will have UW chanting that very same thing about Notre Dame.

PICK: Washington

Oregon State vs. Arizona State (-5)

Arizona State finally played a good football team last weekend, while at the same time, Oregon State was busy making a Pac-10 football team look good.

The Sun Devils managed to give themselves a chance to win a game back in Athens, GA against a Bulldog team that embarrassed them last season in Tempe. But with a complete lack of offense, it didn’t happen for ASU.

Oregon State literally threw Arizona a bone in the form of two interceptions. That was the difference in their game.

OSU has been playing completely out of character early in their schedule. They were off to a good start with a couple of wins and then lost two at home, albeit to very good football teams. Their offensive attack has been rolling up yardage through the air at the rate of 2-to-1 on the ground. The Beavers are also yielding over 360 yards a game. Just who are those guys in the orange and black?

When it comes to not knowing a team, there just isn’t much to glean from either of the Sun Devil wins and their close defeat to Georgia. A game in the Valley of the Sun should provide answers about both teams.

PICK: Oregon State

USC vs. Cal (+4.5)

The Trojans had their hands full with Washington State last weekend. It was a game that showed USC coming back to the Pac and WSU improving their play. Matt Barkley had a nice game and should be even better this week as his sore shoulder continues to heal.

Cal, well, what can I say? They rolled into Eugene a national powerhouse and were powered off the field by a bunch of Ducks. The Bears reinforced the truism that it’s tough to win on the road, especially at Autzen.

Are the Trojans no longer in a league of their own? Could the Bears really be bad news? This should be one heckuva game going down to the final possession.

PICK: California

Washington State vs. Oregon (-33)

The Ducks looked like the class of the conference as they completely dismantled Cal last week. Most were surprised by the Ducks' total domination. They looked like the team that was nationally ranked preseason.

WSU gave up too many points in the first quarter for the fourth game in a row. After yet another slow start, the Cougs played toe-to-toe with the Trojans the rest of the way.

Oregon has a renewed confidence. WSU has a new quarterback. Typically there would be application of a comment on just how tough it is to win in Eugene. Not the case this time around. WSU played solid football in front of 90,000-plus fans last week who would never be described as typical Angelenos...laid-back and easy going.

If you’re like many thinking this won’t be much of a game, may I quote ESPN’s Lee Corso? “Not so fast my friend.”

PICK: Washington State Cougars

Here's a look at the current Pac-10 standings:

One thing remains certain, which is as close as I’ll get to an accurate prediction.

It’s going to be a great weekend of Pac-10 football.

DISCLAIMER: College football is all about the spectacle and event. Wagering on games taints the experience. Have some fun and enjoy family and friends this weekend.

Originally published in Lew Wright's column on Examiner.com.

WSU Football | Is It 'Tuel Time' For WSU?

Lew Wright — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:27:46 -0400

As Coach Paul Wulff and his staff engineer a resurgence of Washington State Cougar football, there are a number of bright lights at the end of the tunnel. Though the Cougs came out on the short end of the score last Saturday night against No. 7 USC, several young players displayed their potential as top notch college football players.

Cougar Nation enjoyed their first look at highly touted true freshman Jeff Tuel at quarterback late in the first half against the Trojans. Coach Wulff planned to red shirt Tuel this year to give him time to mature physically. One thing that wasn’t planned for was rapid progress made by the young man from Clovis West HS in Fresno, CA. Tuel earned the attention of coaches and teammates from the moment he set foot on Rogers Field to warm up for the initial fall camp practice.

It’s the talent and potential of Jeff Tuel that has him penciled into the starting lineup against Oregon this weekend down in Eugene. True freshmen starting at quarterback for any Pac-10 team is unique. Such an occasion is extremely rare at Washington State.

How rare?

Tuel will be just the second true freshman to start a football game at quarterback for WSU in school history. That’s pretty rare.

The only other player to start at quarterback for the Cougs as a true freshman is legendary Drew Bledsoe. Nineteen years ago, Bledsoe earned the start against Oregon State in the seventh game of the season. Tuel’s start this coming Saturday against the Ducks is the fifth game on the 2009 schedule.

The passing numbers Tuel put up in two and half quarters against the outstanding defense of USC were respectable. He completed 14 of 22, or 63.6% of his pass attempts for 130 yards with one interception.

Tuel’s mobility significantly contributed to his performance against the Trojans. To say the Cougs offensive line unit has been challenged this year would be like casually mentioning that IHOP may have pancakes on the menu. Coach Harold Etheridge has worked overtime to maintain and improve the performance of the OL in the face of injuries that have shelved three starters. A scrambling quarterback can help an inexperience OL unit improve on-the-job.

Family and friends of Tuel were on hand in the front row of the LA Coliseum to witness Jeff’s debut as a Coug. Not only did they support him enthusiastically, their faces were beaming as the beginning of a new rallying cry went up from the Cougar fans at the game.

“Tuel Time!”

When it comes to the ability to get a job done, Jeff Tuel won’t draw any comparisons to the inept star of the vintage sitcom “Home Improvement” beyond the obvious. Tim Allen’s character was the star of a do-it-yourself television program called “Tool Time”.

It remains to be seen if Jeff will repair a misfiring WSU offense, but my bet is there will be “Tuel Time!” cries sent up by Cougar Nation for years to come.

During post game interviews late last Saturday night, an obvious question to Tuel was, “What did you think when you heard some of the crowd roaring their approval with each first down, ‘It’s Tuel Time!’?”

“I’ve heard it a few times. I’ve honestly been called that in high school. I’ve heard it all, so whatever is fine with me. That actually started (when) my high school baseball coach sophomore year called me that. Then it kind of dropped off a little bit, but it’s back again. I don’t mind at all. I like it.”

Washington State football fans would certainly like to strain their voices in the coming games with a new mantra for a new era.

“Tuel Time!” “Tuel Time!”

Originally published in Lew's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | Lessons Learned in Los Angeles

Lew Wright — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:26:17 -0400

The work continues for Coach Paul Wulff and Cougar football players. Back in Pullman preparations for the game with Oregon this coming Saturday were well underway.

Coach Wulff and his staff spent time reviewing video from the USC game to evaluate and assess just where this team is at after four games. After practice Sunday, Wulff took time to talk about the USC game and moving forward.

One challenge the Cougs will have to address coming out of the game Saturday night is how to patch the offensive line back together.

Starting left guard Steven Ayers is the latest player on the OL to go down to injury bringing the total to three starting offensive linemen lost in the last three weeks.

When the depth chart comes out Monday afternoon, there will be shuffling up front on the OL once again.

Coach Wulff has three players on the roster expected to step up and fill the latest void. He anticipates more playing time for fifth-year senior Reed Lesuma. True freshman Alex Reitnouer has been working at both guard and tackle. He's in the mix. Also, walk-on Michael Pfeiff who red shirted last year showed some good things in fall camp and might get an opportunity to play some guard.

The issue of starting quarterback is still up in the air as well.

Offensively, the Cougs sputtered with Marshall Lobbestael taking snaps against the Trojans. Wulff was clear in his assessment of Lobbestael's play:

“I thought that early on our protection was not good. Marshall took some unnecessary hits that shouldn’t have happened. That was kind of a disadvantage for him early. ...and he misfired on a few throws.”

The offense began to move against an outstanding Trojan defense when freshman Jeff Tuel came on in relief:

“Jeff did some good things obviously running the ball. He threw the ball pretty well and he didn’t force too many things. He obviously had the interception that he did force. I think we had a little spark when Jeff was in there.”

Coach Wulff isn't ready to name the starter for this coming Saturday. That may come as a surprise to many who watched the game on television Saturday night. But before putting a spin on the deliberate steps Wulff is taking, consider the process:

"We need to make sure we’re doing it right. Make sure we feel comfortable with (naming the starting quarterback). Sometimes you need to sit on things to make sure you feel good about it before we make any decision one way or the other.(Lobbestael and Tuel) are two different type of players. Both have their strengths. They’re both young quarterbacks. That’s what everyone needs to realize. We’ve got a freshman and a sophomore. They’ve got a lot of football in front of them. Neither one of them are nearly the player they are going to be. We need to have both of those guys grow as players…"

Fortunately choices like starting quarterback are easier to make this season. With an improved level of talent on the roster, young players are making quite an impact on the field. Given a chance to play, the potential of first and second year student/athletes have the future of Cougar football looking bright.

There are good things happening right now as well.

For the second week in a row, true freshman Travis Long was named defensive player of the game. Long is a young man with a big-time motor who plays aggressively until officials blow their whistles.

Another true freshman, Gino Simone, was offensive player of the game based on his eight catches against the best defense in the Pac-10. His play was even more remarkable considering he couldn't play last week because of a concussion from a helmet-to-helmet hit in the Hawaii game.

Holding a team on fourth and goal once in a game is great. Doing it twice is something special. When both those stops are made against USC on their home field, well, that's significant improvement. Of course Coach Wulff offered praise:

"They both (fourth and goal stops) were a good job. We kind of out maneuvered them and found a way to get it done. I think that’s our fifth goal line stand that we either got a turnover or stopped people on fourth down this year in four games. I think that’s very impressive. I think that says a lot."

"We do know that to play in the Pac-10 we’ve got to be physical, it’s a huge priority for us. When we first got here we developed some size and strength in our defensive front line and linebackers. I think we’ve come a remarkable long way in one year to improve in that area. It’s not where we want to be but we’ve made some huge strides."

Yes, a review of video confirmed many lessons have been learned.

There's still work to be done for the Cougs to learn more.

Such is the lot of a student/athlete at Washington State.

Originally published in Lew's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football | USC Defends Home Field with 27-6 Win over Cougs

Lew Wright — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:18:17 -0400

The foregone conclusion became reality.

Coach Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans played host to Coach Paul Wulff and the Washington State Cougars Saturday evening at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

USC produced a workman-like 27-6 victory, a far cry from the 69-0 whopping they put on the Cougs in Pullman last fall.

The game was decided in the first quarter when once again WSU gave up too many points in the first quarter. Saturday night, the total surrendered reached 20. That essentially put the game out of reach with three quarters of football left to play.

In a game showcasing true freshmen playing Pac-10 football, Coach Carroll clearly has found a solid starting quarterback. Matt Barkley played a fine football game completing 13 of 22 pass attempts for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Despite those passing numbers, perhaps his best stat was avoiding turnovers.

Once again, Coach Wulff's team showed they don't quit. Washington State played toe-to-toe with USC after staking them to a 20-point lead. Not a good situation for a very young football team.

Marshall Lobbestael got the start for WSU again this week. He struggled on the first four possessions while the Cougar defense began playing good football.

With Kevin Lopina out with a leg injury, true freshman Jeff Tuel suddenly found himself moving up to number two on the depth chart. Coach Wulff was hoping to redshirt the promising quarterback.

More importantly, Coach Wulff wants to get the best players on the field to win football games.

With 8:35 left in the first half, Tuel's red shirt came off as he entered the lineup to compete and lead the offense. About two and a half minutes later, he completed the first pass attempt of his college career.

Washington State held the football the rest of the half using 19 plays to cover 58 yards. The drive ended in a missed 34-yard field goal try.

Sometimes the best defense can be a good offense. The drive led by Tuel didn't produce points, but it sent the Cougs to the locker room on a positive finish to the first half.

The final drive of the first half also established Washington State's ability to run against the third-best rushing defense in the nation. USC was yielding just 51 yards per game to their opponents. Though the Cougs netted just 85 yards for the game, their rushing gains were reduced by USC tallying eight sacks for 42 yards.

After the game Coach Wulff had plenty to say about the game.

"It is a loss and you can’t hide that. We just have to take our victories within the game and keep building. Our defense did some really, really good things. We had some goal line stands. Once we started running the ball we kind of slowed down their pass rush. Running the ball was critical. I thought we ran the ball quite well, better than most people had all year (against USC). We’ve lost three offensive linemen in the last three weeks with Steve Ayers going down today. We’re playing a freshman in at left guard and at left tackle. They got better. They’re going to grow up. We’ve got one senior in our two-deep and they’re going to keep getting better and better. (Physically) we’re getting better. We're redshirting a lot of good young players. This is a rebuilding project, but it’s all behind us, a lot of it, and we just keep moving forward."

True freshman Jeff Tuel finished the game completing 14 of 22 pass attempts for 130 yards.

True freshman Gino Simone led the Coug receiving corps with eight catches for 83 yards.

True freshman Travis Long had five tackles, a sack and forced a fumble.

Red shirt sophomore transfer Alex Hoffman-Ellis led the team in tackles with ten.

As Coach Wulff said, the game was a win for the Trojans.

Washington State football is moving in a direction destined to deliver wins.

Originally published in Lew's column on Examiner.com

WSU Football:Coach Paul Wulff Will Start Two True Freshmen

Lew Wright — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:17:09 -0400

Washington State football Coach Paul Wulff continues a youth movement designed to revitalize Cougar football.

Late Monday afternoon the depth chart for WSU's season opener with Stanford this coming Saturday held a few surprises. It appears that Coach Wulff will begin the year by making Cougar football history with his projected starters.

True freshmen rarely start at Washington State.

Specifically, there have only been 11 players starting opening day since freshman became eligible to play.

There has only been one instance of two true freshman starting a season opener for the Cougs. In 2004, Loren Langley opened the season as the place kicker and Ropati Pitoitua lined up at defensive tackle for the first game on the schedule.

Coach Wulff has two true freshman atop the depth chart and it's possible a third might start the game.

No surprise that Gino Simone will start at one receiver slot.

Simone has looked outstanding throughout fall camp. The top high school player in the state of Washington has more than lived up to his advance billing. He looked extremely sharp during a scrimmage last Friday.

The other true freshman listed No. 1 on the depth chart is Travis Long at defensive left end.

Long has surprised with quick, aggressive play. The young man from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane appears ready to accept the challenge of improving WSU's run defense. He'll be taking on the second best rushing attack in the Pac-10 last season in his first taste of Division I college football. Coupled with Kevin Kooyman at the other end, WSU will have speed coming from the outside. Will they have the strength to stop the outstanding running game of Stanford?

Though listed second on the depth chart at middle linebacker, Darren Markle has been taking a lot of snaps with the number 1's. Markle came into camp with an opportunity to earn playing time. As the top high school prospect coming out of Idaho, he has steadily improved with every practice. He may not start, but you can forget using a red shirt year for this talented student/athlete.

Yesterday Coach Wulff caught the media off guard by giving advance notice of his plans to rotate Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael at quarterback. Three true freshman listed high on the depth chart is a little unexpected for a coach who likes to see players benefit from a red shirt season coming out of high school.

Coach Wulff continues to do things his way.

The Washington State head man has implemented a plan to turn the Cougar football program around. He's doing things the situation calls for, not necessarily what matches his preferences.

Going with so many young, talented, inexperienced players is a far cry from what Coach Wulff would like to do. But to be competitive on the football field this season, he can't let his preferences dictate the decisions necessary to be competitive.

Starting the season against Stanford requires the Cougars hit the ground running.

When it comes to preferences, running might be the only one Coach Wulff will enjoy.

Tomorrow we'll hear the inside scoop from my colleague, who covers Stanford Cardinal football, Dave Fowkes. You'll definitely want to read what Dave has to say about what to expect from Stanford Saturday afternoon.

Check back here at Examiner.com for the complete Washington State depth chart for the Stanford game.

We're just days away from Cougar football.

Originally published on Examiner.com

WSU Football: Coach Paul Wulff Names His Starting Quarterback

Lew Wright — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:13:14 -0400

Washington State football Coach Paul Wulff made his choice as the starting quarterback for the season opener this Saturday against Stanford.

Or did he?

It seems that during fall camp neither Kevin Lopina nor Marshall Lobbestael made the sort of impression that would separate themselves as a starter and No. 2.

Sounds as though Coach Wulff will go with a two quarterback system for at least one game.

For the moment, Lopina will start the game this coming Saturday afternoon and run the first couple of offensive series. The plan is to bring in Lobbestael for the next series and see who can move the chains better.

This move by Coach Wulff isn't without precedent. Remember when Clete Casper and Ricky Turner shared the quarterback duties? The highlight of that combination was a trip to the 1981 Holiday Bowl. It wasn't a magic combination. The Cougs lost to BYU, led by Jim McMahon 38-36.

Thinking about the use of two quarterbacks, the Holiday Bowl comes to mind once again. Texas Coach Mack Brown played both Chance Mock and Vince Young under center against WSU when the two teams met at Qualcomm Stadium back in 2003. Again, it wasn't a magic combination. The Longhorns lost to WSU 28-20.

If you were to ask either Lopina or Lobbestael what they think about both getting playing time, each will tell you they're OK with it. Sure, both players want nothing more than to win football games this season, but let's get serious. Both players would prefer if they were "the man".

Coach Wulff has gone with a two quarterback rotation back in his days at Eastern. Though that experience didn't yield outstanding results in terms of wins and losses, the experience should prove valuable in making the most of trying the same rotation in Pac-10 play.

We expected to see the no huddle offense employed this season. We didn't expect to see a "no No. 1 quarterback" system.

Will it work?

Playing both Lopina and Lobbestael can work if managed carefully. There's even a chance the rotation scheme is dropped straight away. Should Lopina lead the Cougs to scoring drives on their first two possessions, its not likely he'll have to wait very long on the sidelines for another chance to lead the offense.

In a sense, suggesting a rotation at the quarterback position won't add any pressure on Lopina. If he sputtered on the first few offensive possessions, a change would be expected because the competition for the starting job has been close throughout fall camp.

Should Lobbestael get his chance on cue, it won't add pressure on him either. Knowing there will be a rotation as part of the game plan, he won't get caught by surprise or shocked by staying on the sidelines after a couple of series.

Perhaps rotating quarterbacks will become a non-story given the development of the offensive line and a full compliment of excellent running backs. In other words, it could be the primary duty of either player is simply to hand the ball over to Dwight Tardy, James Montgomery, or Logwone Mitz.

That's right.

Perhaps the biggest change for Cougar football this coming season is the strength on offense. Imagine this. WSU may very well be a team that runs to set up the passing game.

When was the last time Washington State football did that?

Originally published on Examiner.com

Five Reasons Washington State Football Will Improve in 2009

Lew Wright — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:06:57 -0400

Washington State Cougar football will be competitive once again in 2009. Not talking about next year or a couple of years down the road.

Starting at 3 p.m. on Sept. 5, anyone taking the opportunity to watch will see a much better WSU football team take the field at Martin Stadium.

Once again, you will see players proudly wearing crimson and gray. There's a big difference between making the roster of a Division I school and playing Cougar football.

There are literally thousands of Division I football players. Now that classes have begun for students attending Washington State University, there are only 105 student-athletes who have the chance to be a Coug.

OK, you're patiently waiting for me to get to the point. Thanks for hanging in there. In fact, there is a Reader's Digest version summarizing each reason if you are really in a rush.

There are so many reasons Cougar football will be improved this year, it would be an overwhelming list to cite.

Let's make the point with a manageable list of five.

Reason One: Players are buying into Coach Wulff's program

Coach Paul Wulff and his staff made the most of a full season coaching players who remain on the current roster from a year ago.

It's important to distinguish and drive home the point through repetition. The players on the current roster have been coached by Wulff and his staff for a complete season. A few underclassmen who finished last year on the Cougar football roster are no longer on the current roster.

Look elsewhere for the sordid details surrounding their departure from the team and WSU. The detail emphasized here is simply this: Those who left the WSU football program were not Cougs. They were Division I football talent lacking the heart and soul of a Coug.

Coach Wulff is selling a football program the university and community can be proud of. For those not buying what Coach Wulff is selling...no problem. Washington State University isn't for everyone.

Reason Two: Players are bigger (yet leaner), stronger, and have increased stamina

Returning players participated in a tremendous strength and conditioning program during the off season. They did so because there was a clear understanding that to play Cougar football in the Pac-10, physical maturity is mandatory.

The typical WSU player's body won't mature without a rigorous weight training program augmented by proper nutrition. Basic programs aren't good enough. Coach Wulff has implemented a program that goes well beyond basic. If you have doubt, simply ask any Coug on the roster and they will tell you just how different Coach Wulff's program is.

Reason Three: There is more talent on the 2009 roster than last year

There has been serious competition for nearly every position on this Cougar football team during fall camp. At the risk of sounding flip, last year fall camp saw players rising up the depth chart through attrition rather than competition.

A prime example of the point here would be at the quarterback position. Competition for starting quarterback is so intense, a sophomore player transferred to another school. Incoming freshmen aren't moving up the depth charts through a series of injuries, they have come to Pullman with a combination of attitude and talent.

These few exceptional student-athletes have come to WSU with a burning desire to wear crimson and earn the right to be called a Coug.

Reason Four: Cougar Pride is back in the WSU football program

Cougar Pride. It's coming back into the culture of the WSU football team. Just this week, Coach Wulff's assistant head man, Coach Chris Ball, spoke of the significant change in attitude among players.

The fact overlooked by most folks last season was the competitive nature of the players and coaching staff. They all had a burning desire to win. They simply weren't prepared to play as a team committed to play competitive Pac-10 football.

Going into last season, there was optimism the Cougs would improve on a 5-7 record from the previous year. Going 2-11 is the opposite direction.

Result?

None of the returning players want to go through that again.

None of the coaches want to go through a season like that again.

Coach Wulff is the first to point out that his program still has a way to go before it's where he believes it should be. One look in the eyes of Coach Wulff and you will see a combination of confidence and passion. It's not wishful thinking that Coach Wulff will get the job done. He's done it before at Eastern Washington. He's working to get it done at his alma mater, WSU. Did I mention Coach Wulff is a Coug?

Reason Five: Coach Wulff is teaching his players what it takes to be winners and simply has no truck with anyone willing to settle for less

Coach Wulff is teaching his players how to win on the football field and be winners in the classroom. Sure, we all know that Pullman is a great place to go to college. Young people register to attend college at Washington State are attracted by all the university has to offer.

Once a student gets to Pullman, it's up to them to take full advantage of what the university has to offer. Nothing will be given to students on a silver platter. Nothing is being given to Cougar football players on a silver platter, either.

Coach Wulff knows that successful college football players are special. Not because of what they do on Saturday afternoons in the fall, but special because they can attend a world-class university and play Pac-10 football.

To accomplish such a challenge takes organization, opportunity, a regimen and a passion. To be a winner requires commitment to those components stronger and more seriously than the other guy.

The 2009 season will be an exciting one for Cougar football fans.

Originally published on Examiner.com.

Washington State Cougar Offense Looks Promising for 2009: Part Four

Lew Wright — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:41:28 -0400

The Washington State Cougar football team had the day off today for the beginning of classes and another semester.

With the break in fall camp activities we'll conclude our series on the WSU offense for 2009 and take a look at the position with the highest profile on any football team—the quarterback.

Like many teams in the Pac-10 the Cougs have enjoyed a battle for the starting position between a couple of extremely capable players.

Coach Paul Wulff has just under two weeks of fall camp remaining before the season opens against Stanford in Pullman, WA. That timeline is significant because one of the most important decisions for this Cougar football team has yet to be announced.

Who will be the starting quarterback for WSU on September 5th?

Let's look at the options.

Going in to fall camp, senior Kevin Lopina was atop the group of young men listed as quarterbacks.

From an experience standpoint, Lopina has more experience as a starter at this level than the rest. He played in nine games last year, starting eight of them. One of those starts led to a memorable performance in an otherwise forgettable season. He was able to engineer a victory over cross-state rival Washington in THE game of every season, the Apple Cup.

No question that Lopina gained a measure of experience last year, but most of his playing time came after suffering a back injury against Portland State. That injury put him on the shelf for three games.

Unfortunately, much of Lopina's college career description begins with the word "if".

"If" he wasn't injured most of last year he would have been a difference maker for WSU.

"If" he wasn't fighting for playing time when All-Time WSU passing leader Alex Brink was on the team he would have lived up to his billing coming out of De La Salle high school rated as the No. 2 player in the Bay Area.

"If" Coach Bill Snyder had not retired as head man at Kansas State after his redshirt freshman year he might have been a star in the Big 12 by now.

This is the final chance for Kevin Lopina to enjoy playing college football at the Division I level. He has worked as hard as anyone on the team in the offseason. Though not a pure drop back passer in the mold of other Cougar greats, Lopina is accurate under pressure. Getting pressure on a healthy Lopina is a challenge for any defense because the guy can scramble and run.

Number two on the depth chart at quarterback is Marshall Lobbestael. Like Lopina, Lobbestael gained playing time experience last season. He played in five games, starting three. Lobbestael was lost for the season after injuring his knee against Oregon State.

The timing of Lobbestael's season-ending injury coincides with hopes fading for Cougar football last year. Before he went down, it appeared he was just starting to get a good feel for running the offense. The familiar refrain of "...if only" can be heard once again.

It's ironic that the No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks for the Cougs are side-by-side in the media guide. They are side-by-side on the numerical roster listing with Lobbestael wearing No. 8 and Lopina No. 9. When neither is in the lineup, they typically can be found side-by-side on the sidelines.

Heck, considering that Coach Wulff has yet to announce his starting quarterback, these two players find themselves side-by-side once again.

This almost sounds like a Vaudeville act or a Boy Scout Jamboree. Well, it's neither.

Both players will say they just want to see the team win football games, but they each have a burning desire to be "the guy". It's competition for the starting job that will bring out the best in both and benefit the entire team.

How strong are these two players?

They are solid enough that the No. 3 quarterback going into fall camp, J.T. Levenseller, left the team and has transferred up the road to Eastern Washington in search of getting some playing time.

As if there wasn't enough competition between Lobbestael and Lopina, consider who's chasing them for playing time.

Jeff Tuel is a true freshman who has impressed coaches and teammates throughout fall camp.

Tuel came to WSU as a highly touted quarterback from Clovis West high school in Fresno, CA despite just one year as the starter. He didn't start until his senior year for a very good reason. He was playing behind Beau Sweeney who is the quarterback of the future for Coach Jeff Tedford at Cal.

Yet in just one year of starting at quarterback, Tuel had a bevy of college suitors and was an all-everything award winner. Here's the shocker about Tuel so far. This student/athlete is exceeding expectations on the field. He might just have the best arm of the three.

Did I mention that Tuel is another typical Coach Wulff recruit? Not only is he a top performer on the field, he's an outstanding student. Tuel was on the honor roll every semester in high school, carried a 3.6 GPA and was the 2008 Student-Athlete Award winner.

Here's Coach Wulff's take on the quarterback position:

"The nice thing about the quarterback group is we have (two) quarterbacks who have taken snaps in games where those (two) players at this time last year had never taken a snap in college football. The expectations are that will be improved and truly should be able to now lead us down the field and put us in a position to score points and more importantly, take care of the football. Securing the football is the number one goal...those guys should improve in that area and should be an excellent competition between the (two) veteran players."

So the question remains, who will Coach Wulff start at quarterback?

The guy who gives WSU the best chance to win a football game.

Originally published on Examiner.com