well on closer examination it does look like there wasn’t a lot Justin could do. I still think going up one handed would have allowed him to make a better play on the ball.

Another issue I don’t think anyone has brought up: why didn’t Hicks just hit Tate early? He should have been able to see Justin wasn’t in a good position to defend the pass and just knock Tate over. 15 yards closer due to the penalty is still Hail Mary distance, and maybe we’ll be in better position this time around.

that play basically summed up our entire season. I’m not even sure I was mad, I was just disappointed. My girlfriend, however, was yelling at the TV and said “I bet they’ll call a penalty on us too”.

tear Ahh they grow up so fast, don’t they?

would have made a difference. But it seems clear to me he was going for the INT, which means he probably wasn’t talked to about knocking it down. Re: Hicks, I agree he should have hit him rather than going for it from behind, but that’s less an issue for me than not going for a knock down.

I have lots of issues with some of the scheming. I don’t give him “great feedback.” I just don’t hold things that he can’t be held responsible for — like him not being able to make 19 and 20 year olds play like 22 and 23 year olds or make 4.7-40 guys run like 4.4-40 guys — against him.

The team played a decent 1st quarter. They were eventually blown out by far better players. That’s what you’d expect.

After Chima got caught from behind, I was sitting there thinking about how a DB/Safety gets caught from behind by a TE. I wish I could see a video with a better view of the whole field because we don’t know the angle the ND TE took. In football taking the right angle can make a big difference. The TE could have started running (out of camera view) while Chima was busy scooping up the ball (Chima was not at full speed at that point). Chima has to run at least a 4.6-7 and there is no way a TE runs a sub 4.5.

I think Aire could have timed the jump a little better. Watch the video, Tate leaves the ground after Aire. Tate does jump higher and that is true of most receivers compared to DB’s that is why they are receivers. Aire may have had a chance if he timed his jump right. Jay Matthews #28 actually had the best chance, he basically was standing under the ball like a punt returner…he never jumped or looked at where the offensive player was coming from. If he was aggressive and went after the ball, we wouldn’t be talking about this.

I do like Tuel, but it seems like his arm was a little weak on some throws. Especially, the one when he rolled to his left and bounce passed it to Solomon (would have been a 1st down). Another one was when he missed Johnny Fast on the deep route. Different story if those two throws are made. No one would have caught #80 the Canadian Rocket. I have to say Forzani has impressed for only playing 2 years of football. He should redshirt (if he can) next year, so his senior year he has more experience and the team is more talented.

I am giving this coaching staff some time. Eastern Washington University is not a easy place to create a winning program and this staff did that. It can translate over to D-1A, but there might be some recruiting and some tweaking to be done (coming from a formerly Division 1AA conference) and now to the Pac10. I love Doba, but he left the cupboard empty of talent. We are so depleted with talent it is not even funny. Imagine starting a program from scratch and trying to work with D-2 and D-3 talent, especially in the Pac10. Georgia State is starting a new program, but not in the Pac10 or ACC and see how long it takes them to relevant. When a player at WSU gets hurt it is devastating because we don’t have the talent to keep going without anyone noticing. If USC loses a player they just plug in a 4 or 5 star recruit and keep going. It is going to take years to build depth. I think 2011 is when we will notice a change.

We are in a impatient era of sports. There are many good coaches from the past who if they started their coaching careers in this ear would not make it. It seems like people loved Price but 7 out of the 14 years he was at WSU he had a losing record. At WSU we don’t have the luxury to go out get the Chip Kelly or Pete Carrol. We are not LA and we are not owned by Nike. Rich Rodriguez has Michigan talent and he is finally getting the program going after 2 seasons, because he is getting his type of players in his system. Who would have thought that Michigan people would have been that patient? And WSU fans can’t be that patient? Hmmmm. Yes, after Wulff gets some depth and the system well established then we can evaluate and possibly look for another coach. I am thinking after 2011. (At least the next coach will not have to deal with the depleted talent like Wulff did) One thing we do know is Wulff loves WSU and bleeds crimson and grey. You won’t be able to say that about many coaches. I thought Bennett did, but then he broke my heart. Although, I am pumped for the Bone-era….sorry I got distracted, that was a side note.

I can be tough to evaluate what the problem is. Are the players tough enough? Do they get it? Do the coaches explain things properly? Do they have the talent? Is their talent good enough to execute the plays laid out? Are they practicing too hard and getting injured? Is the strength and conditioning coach making them stronger and tougher? Does the system need to be watered down so they get it? Do they forget fundamentals when they get into games?

Another thing to remember is where we are financially. What kind of coach are we going to get right now for the money we will pay him? We might not even have enough money for scholarships next year and you want a new coach. Think rationally…Wulff is the best fit right now. Look at it through Sterk’s eyes.

Give is some time…especially if you are a WSU fan. We are not Florida, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma or Ohio State.

No, that is when the other teams 2nd string comes in….duh.

I will take any strides right now. I think this is the most strides I have seen since Wulff has been here. If we fire Wulff who are you going to hire? Peterson from Boise State is not coming here. Pat Hill from Fresno State is not coming here. John Gruden is not coming here. What are we going to lure them with? Phase 3 of the Martin Stadium renovation…I don’t think so. Face it…Wulff is here for at least another year. That is where we are financially. Maybe you should be FireWulff2011.

First of all, please use the Subject Line. It makes it easier to go through the comments.

I just think its funny how someone with the tag ‘FireWulff’ comes in here and blasts everything we do. Really? You just joined SB Nation TODAY. I don’t want to call you a liar or anything, or start immature name calling, but I’m not so sure you were at that game. If you were, fine, then I’m wrong and I apologize. But if you want to be super negative and contradict everything Nuss is trying to say, go over to CougFan. There are plenty of those people over there.

And so what if we do suck? What does being negative about it do? Where does that get you? Fiscally, it makes zero sense to fire Wulff. Think about it, who could we hire with our budget that would do a better job? Half of the damn roster is still teenagers. Think about that. Wulff didn’t have a full recruiting “season” his first year, and his first full year last year, he brings in one of the better classes we’ve had in a while. Sure, he could have gone the Doba route, snatched up a bunch of JuCo guys and maybe won another game or kept it closer in some, but JuCo guys are band-aids. You win by recruiting HS kids and letting them develop together.

Travis Long, Gino Simone, Jeff Tuel…all true freshmen. We get to watch these kids grow into very good football players. For you to take such a ridiculously small sample size from a true freshman QB and say he’s not “Pac 10 caliber” is both erroneous and unfounded.

Look, I’m disappointed to, but if all you do is focus on the negativity, then it’s gonna look pretty damn bleak for a long time.

is the sexiness factor. Tuel & Simone? C’mon. If you look up ‘sexy QB/WR duo’ in the dictionary, there’s a picture of those two guys.

I have been following this website ever since I first heard about during the Tony Bennett debacle. Love the site, and now I feel compelled to add something of value to the conversation.

First off, I would like to say go cougs! I have been a coug my whole life and WSU was the only place I applied and ever would apply and my grades weren’t shabby.
Now, I will go on to defend Paul Wulff.

If you don’t think Paul Wulff is improving this team, you are not using your eyes. This team last year quite during every game except for the UW and Portland State games. There was no fight, and this was with a team much more experienced then this one (and players that were brought in by Doba).

At the very least, Wulff is a good recruiter and motivator. This team has not given up ONE time on us this year. They fight whistle to whistle and until the the final buzzer sounds. This is a reflection of the coach in my opinion. He has been a fighter his whole life. This man had to deal with his dad likely murdering his mom when he was growing up and he has fought through all sorts of diversity in his time since then, including his wife dying. He will NEVER quit fighting and that is something that we used to see from Cougar teams all the time, and he will bring that back to the program.

Over to the recruiting, look at the studs he has brought in! If you don’t think Tuel is a pac 10 quarterback, you are dead wrong sir. He makes better throws and makes better decisions then Jake Locker dead as a redshirt freshmen and he is a true freshmen. Gino Simone is going to be an absolute reception machine, Travis Long is already a beast, and we have even more freshmen that aren’t playing this year. I have been to numerous practices this year, and I can say with a great deal of confidence that our scout team defense is faster then our first team defense at the line backer position and at the safety position. Markle, Barrington, and Kafausi are all going to be monsters! In the secondary, Nolan Washington and Anthony Carpenter do a better job guarding Jared then most opposing corners do. As for his new recruits I can tell you one thing, Connor Halliday is going to be a great quarterback here. A coach in the GSL was recently quoted as to saying that he is the best qb to ever go through the league (and that includes Mark Rypien). He’s doing it the right way as well, with high school guys who are fighters as evidenced by the fight we have seen from this years team.

You think that scores are better this year because teams are letting up in the second half. Why would teams take it easy on us this year and not last year? That just makes no sense to me.

Anyways enough rambling for one post, GO COUGS!!

That was Matthews and not Hicks behind Tate.