Washington State Football: Season Preview for the Cougars

Once upon a time the Cougars of Wazzu, or Washington State, had the second-best record in the Pac-10. The time frame? 2001 to 2003; they went 30-8!

They also once had stud signal callers such as Ryan Leaf, Jack Thompson, Drew Bledsoe and Jason Gesser. Gesser was the all-time leader in wins for WSU.

The Cougars just want to see more victories so they can relive those moments that were so exciting in the early 2000s. 

Those days are long gone and the basement of the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) has had the Cougars over for many parties in recent memory.

The only problem is that the party has involved no one but those Cougars; WSU has gone 5-32 over the past three seasons! That is the worst record of any BCS team in the last three years and nothing will change that if this team cannot improve defensively.

WAZZU Woes

Last year there were only two games that were decided by single digits in which WSU lost. They went 2-10 defeating Montana State and Oregon State. They had Washington beat in the Apple Cup—until they gave up the game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds left on the clock.

Paul Wulff does not have much hair left to pull out of his scalp, but having 15 starters return (the third most in the Pac-12) is only going to help this team.

While I cannot state how bad this Cougars program has been in the Wulff era (once again, they are the worst of any BCS team), things can only get better.

They have their quarterback to run the spread offense with Jeff Tuel, who has been only the second quarterback to start as a freshman since Bledsoe! Tuel is now a junior and coming off a rather solid year; he threw for 18 TDs and only 12 INTs last season.

Better Talent Offensively

The Cougars clearly need sophomore sensation Marquess Wilson to avoid the sophomore slump; he was named to First Team Freshmen All-American. 

Wilson is underrated because of his long reach at 6’3". His 18.3 yards-per-carry average was the best on the team last year. His six TDs were second to Jared Karstetter, who is another big wideout at 6’4". The receiving corps is not weak, but it could get better depth wise.

The receiving corps is not the problem. The passing offense ranked 42nd in the nation, averaging 239 yards per game just one season ago.

Like I stated earlier, Tuel can thread the needle and is one of the better quarterbacks in Pullman. Remember, this passing offense was ranked 100th and 106th over the previous two seasons, so improvement is only being made under offensive coordinator Toddy Sturdy. 

Cougars Need More Bulk

The line returns three starters, but is one of the worst among BCS and Pac-12 teams because they have two guys under 280 pounds and only two over 300 pounds! Most premiere lines have their beef at an average of 310-plus pounds.

The backfield is a mess with Rickey Galvin and Logwone Mitz. They will both share the carries, but neither are game-breakers. Though Mitz is the pounder at 230 pounds, he lacks any type of elite speed.

Galvin is just 5’8", 162 pounds, but he usually goes down on first contact. The rushing offense ranked 118th in 2009 and last year they just ranked 117th! Maybe it is a slight improvement, but without a running game the Cougars will never be able to move the ball. 

Help Needed

The defense returns eight starters and will be led up front by defensive end Travis Long. Long led the team with five sacks and 5.5 tackles for losses last year. Brandon Rankin is the other starter that has returned on the line, but the two together are not enough to put relentless pressure on the opposition.

The run defense has been atrocious, ranking 117th (last in BCS) and 115th (second last in BCS) in the last two seasons. When you get gashed against the run, it completely makes you throw your game plan out the window because you have to start from scratch by loading up the box. The top linebacker they have is Alex Hoffman-Ellis (leading tackler-81).  

The Cougars were minus-134 in Pac-10 play as far as total points; they were just 1-8 for the second time in three years (the last time they went 0-9 was in 2009).

The pass defense was 115th in ’09 and just 104th last year, allowing 246 yards per game. The Cougars are led by Deone Bucannon who put together a nice freshmen sensation, leading the team with 84 tackles. 

Drama's Forecast

The rest of the secondary has everybody back, but they are very thin and do not have the athleticism or the height to avoid getting picked apart.

The Pac-12 is only getting better now that the passing offenses/spreads are taking flight. This schedule is not the toughest in the conference, but they should be dogs in all of their games—well, except for Idaho State and UNLV.

I have them knocking off Colorado for their lone conference win, but I think they will stay in some games against UCLA and Cal. While they are drastically improving, the wins will not exceed four because they still lack that punch (no RB) they need to have to be successful in a BCS conference.  

Predicted Finish: 3-9, 1-8

Predicted Bowl: None 

Predicted order of finish in Pac-12: Sixth in North, 11th in Pac 12