Oh Mediocrity, How I Miss You So.
by Craig Powers on Jul 16, 2009 3:46 PM PDT
Email
PrintHistorically, Cougar Football can be characterized as having peaks and valleys. In the last 15 years, we've seen them go to Rose Bowls, and we've seen 2008. Prior to 2008, even those lean years saw competitive football and upset wins. There may have been bottom of the league finishes, but coming to Pullman was never an easy out. Then came 66-3, 69-14, and 69-0. I still look at those scores and can't believe they really happened. It's tough to win that easily on an EA Sports video game.
It's easy to say that those were just losses and they count the same as 44-41. It is quite clear that they do not. Games that bad were tough to endure. 44-41 has ups and downs. 44-41 has hope. 44-41 keeps people in their seats. Last year, every game was over by halftime. Gameday Martin Stadium resembled Spring Football Martin Stadium. The saddest thing is that it really was not all that long ago that these Cougs had the talent to take advantage of another team's weaknesses and pull out big victories and keep the fans in Pullman entertained. This is evidenced by the picture below, taken just a season and a half ago on October 27th, 2007.
Remember this game? I sure do. Outside of Apple Cups, I don't think I've ever wanted the Cougs to win a Pac 10 game more in my life. I was enduring my student teaching at the time and my Master Teacher, Mr. Duarte, was a UCLA alum. Not only was he a UCLA alum, he let me know everyday how great UCLA is at everything.
The Cougs came into this game riding a four-game losing streak. The streak included blowout losses to USC, UA, and Oregon on the road. However, I had hope! The only home game in that stretch was a last-second loss to a very good ASU team.
The Cougs dominated UCLA. Dwight Tardy rushed for 214 yards and a small contingent of fans (including myself) decided the victory was field-rushing worthy. I had all the ammo I needed to get through the last 5 weeks of student teaching. Wazzu went on to defeat Stanford a few weeks later, and I'm sure if the Cougar faithful knew what the 2008 season held, they all would have been down on the Martin Stadium turf.
Needless to say, expectations have changed. In Grady's recent Q&A with So-Cal Sports Hub, his optimistic outlook was a 4-8 record for 2009. I agree with that completely. Every Pac 10 game this year the Cougs will be heavy underdogs. This is the first time in a long time that I'm not constantly looking over the schedule to figure out which 6 or 7 games the team can win to make it to a bowl game. Winning a conference game would mean the WSU football team would probably have made a 7-9 touchdown improvement over the previous season's result. 7 to 9 touchdowns!! That is really unlike anything any of us has ever seen. Don't be surprised if more than one pre-game analysis this season includes phrases such as, "Pray for Divine Intervention."
Don't worry, I'm not a total pessimist. I do believe that this will be turned around and it won't be long before the Cougs are once again making Martin Stadium a tough place to visit. I'm just lamenting the fact that it probably won't happen this season. I suppose the best we can do is remember the good 'ol days of 5-7 and the annual tradition of just barely missing a bowl game.
Sigh.
39 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
How can you not be excited?
How could you not be? Its the Cougars, win or lose, good or bad, you have to be excited for the new season. Even me, the biggest Paul Wulff hater out there, I am gitty like a school boy for the new season. Here is wishing for 6-7 wins and a bowl game…..but even I know that’s not possible, but it will be very exciting to see how we do in Year 2 of Wulff.
GO COUGS!!!
PS – If we win 5 game I will never say another bad thing about Wulff again (heck if we win 4 I will be nice to him)
PSS – you need to move that countdown clock to the top of the page!!!
I'm excited because it's Cougar Football and I miss college sports.
But I’m not excited for more blowout losses.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 16, 2009 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions
This is the only time I've voted WCTHSS
Because, truly, I feel that I don’t really care that much about this season in terms of wins and losses, and the Huskies still suck! Obviously I’ll watch the games (if they’re even on!) and root for us but this year is looking to be just as hard as last year, and Wulff is still trying to turn things around. I don’t expect much from this year, but I’ll be sorely disappointed if the Huskies are respectable.
by johnnycougar on Jul 16, 2009 9:53 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Yeah I thought WCTHSS was perfect for this poll.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 16, 2009 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm looking forward to it
…but I wouldn’t say ‘excited’. The odds of this team being as historically bad as last year’s is pretty slim. On the other hand, this team has just as good a chance at finishing last in the Pac-10. Never a good thing.
Plus the Apple Cup is in Seattle, and with evenly matched teams the edge goes to UW at home. So that’s depressing.
Funny thing is, last season to me hurt about as much as some of the close losses under Doba. The game I associate the Doba era with the most is another UCLA game: The MJD game, as I now call it. To summarize: it was Maurice (Jones) Drew almost singlehandedly bringing UCLA back from a 21-0 and later 28-7 deficit as the Cougs crumbled in overtime. Sometimes it’s better on the stomach to lose big than lose close.
Either way, let’s please just win some home games this year. Please.
You probably recognized the score I chose then, I hate UCLA!
I agree those close losses hurt just as much (if not more). I just think those blowout losses really take all the fun of anticipation out of the equation. Even last year at the Apple Cup, I was not so much looking forward to the game as I was dreading losing to an 0-10 team.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 16, 2009 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I voted for the second option as far as the cougs,
but if we are talking about overall football, I am as excited as ever. Besides the normal NFL and college football goodness, the Hawks should be good this year, we get to root against the Broncos (for their 1st rounder pick). I also get to root against the Lions because of a certain Vegas bet. And there’s also fantasy football to boot. I love the fall.
Way to support you team everyone....
I can’t believe what I’m reading. And this is supposed to be a Cougar site that promotes Cougar athletics? I could hardly tell.
Well,
I don’t know how you could turn a blind eye to the season but at the same time Its hard to get jacked up for a 2-3 win season. I am hoping for the best and I will still follow and cheer as much as ever, but lets not let our expectations run wild….
I can certainly understand....
All the pessimism and skepticism. I’m trying to forget last season and focus on the good stuff that’s going to happen this season.
It’s going to be a great season. I can’t wait for the Stanford game. I guess it’s just the Jim Walden gene in me.
I commend you for the optimism.
I know that is your style, you always try and keep a positive light, even when the baseball team is down 8 runs in the top of the 8th in an elimination game!
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 17, 2009 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions
Unless I'm missing something
The one and only piece of great Cougar football news was landing some good recruits. That’s for the future. I’m glad that our QB’s are getting healthy but there will be only two people to pass to who have much experience, and even that is laughable to say considering how rarely we threw the ball last year. Everything else has been bad (injuries, dismissals, budget cuts) and we were already bad last year.
That said, the Cougs have been bad before, and I (and many many others) still go to the games. Supporting the Cougars obviously means rooting for them through thick and thin. I just don’t have high expectations this year. In my opinion there is very little to be excited about this year. I am looking forward to seeing more of Wulff’s strategy and some of the upcoming players.
I would consider the season a success if we win 3 games and hang tough with a lot of teams. How great would it be if we beat the Huskies in Seattle when they are supposedly returning straight to the top of the Pac 10?
by johnnycougar on Jul 17, 2009 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions
Well, now that I think about it
I guess our running game should be better, as long as everyone stays healthy. It will be nice to be able to actually keep the ball a little even if we don’t march down the field every time.
by johnnycougar on Jul 17, 2009 9:33 AM PDT up reply actions
We are not a website that "promotes" Cougar athletics.
If you want that, go to the official Cougar athletics website. We write about Cougar athletics and we try to do it with an unbias and honest perspective. I’m not going to write something I don’t believe simply because it is a “rah rah” for the team.
If you look at the talent on this roster, the problems surrounding it, the absolute beatdowns they suffered last year, then you have to believe a 4 or 5 win season (as spokanecougar said above) would be an absolutely job well done by Paul Wulff.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 17, 2009 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thank you for restating the purpose of this blog
I totally agree with you.
Optimism is one thing, but let’s look at the reality of this situation; this team is awful. I cannot tell you how unhappy I am about this program right now and what has happened. That isn’t to say that I wont follow the team, but don’t ask me to get excited about a team that is coming off a year where they only beat a I-AA team and the worst team in Pac-10 history. I was there for the collapse after the ‘98 Rose Bowl and I wasn’t happy about it then either. DF made a great point in this post of saying that the team wasn’t even competative last season as it was in the forgetable Alex Brink years. As an alumn, and former employee of the athletic department I find it unacceptable, and I feel that the program has failed me.
I will never turn my back on the Cougs, but how can I be expected to be excited about a program that hasn’t shown any sign of revival? Until Coach Wulff shows me something … no, I’m not excited about watching my football team make a disgrace of our institution.
I love sports...
But if you think that the football team’s lack of recent success is making a disgrace of Washington State University, I don’t know what to tell ya. Take a deep breath and realize that the University isn’t made up entirely of the football program.
And one more thing…you don’t know that “this team is awful” until it actually happens.
Geez.
by '03CouveCoug on Jul 17, 2009 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Fair enough
I’ve said the same thing about the other athletic programs when they were was obviously rolling over and turtling up. Hell, I had to tell it to our own women’s soccer team a few times when I worked there.
I’ll say the same thing about my academic department for attempting to shut down the program.
I’ve looked my fraternity brothers in the eye’s and told them the same thing when we were a disgrace to the University.
But dig this; the next time 25,000 people show up for a Vet school seminar, or they put the Murrow symposium on regional television then I’ll hold them more accountable for the image of our school. When I walk down the street in crimson people don’t say “hey Wazzu … great Com school” (though it might me true). No, they say “man your football team was shitty last year.” So I look them right back in the eye and say “yeah, they were.” I don’t like that.
I’ll give you that we don’t know how good/terrible this team is until it actually happens, but there has been nothing between last Nevember and right now that shows me that they will be any better than last season.
I don't like our FB team losing any more than you do, but...
I suppose that I choose to dismiss the folks that make comments like "your football team was shitty," that use the performance of the Football team to judge the University as a whole as myopic, uninformed and most likely Huskies or Ducks just trying to get their shot below the belt in. I know that WSU is a world class university, that I got a great education there and that I had a wonderful experience for 4 years. Thousands of others know those very same things. That’s good enough for me. I don’t have to prove anything to people like them.
But that’s just me.
by '03CouveCoug on Jul 17, 2009 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Jo-Jo, if you are calling '99 a collapse then last year
must have been a catastrophe! Honestly, I look back to those days fondly when we were complaing about 6 INTs from Mencke, but guess what we were still in that game! Now the 2000 AC was really bad, but nothing compared to last yr’s USC game. I wish I never sat through that game live. It is scorched into my memory and I will never forget and sadly I will probably never forgive CPW for that showing of no effort. I would have appreciated him announcing a forfeiture, which would have really been awesome because we would have made headlines across the nation.
Gosh I just can’t let that SC game go. I need to get a life.
by ptowncoug3012 on Jul 17, 2009 10:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Last year was a catastophe ...
I just don’t understand the optimism. People can think of me what they will but it’s not like we went out there and crushed UW. Think about it … it took a last second field goal to beat the worst team in Pac-10 history and get our only conference win of the season. Yeah, that’s gives me so much hope, especially with all the best players graduating and the only thing that’s been a positive is recruiting.
And about the recruiting; okay so CPW’s done a nice job, but it is going to be a couple years before this class pays real dividends. So, am I excited about next year? No. Am I excited about three years from now, sure. I wasn’t bleeding with optimism for Kyle Weavers freshman year either. I was more intrigued about Dick Bennett being in town. I’m less excited about Wulff than I was about Bennett, and I’m less excited about this incoming freshman football class than I was about Bennett’s first class. Why, because football is a different beast. Anyone expecting any of these freshman to make an impact this fall is wearing crimson colored glasses. And if some of these freshman make an impact it’s going to be because the upperclassmen are so god-awful that there is no other choice.
Yes, that USC game is exactly what I’m talking about. It was shameful and stupid and it makes it hard for me to respect Coach Wulff. I think what people need to remember is that this team was one dying-duck-hail-Marry (with the QB’s eyes closed) away from going 0-for-conference last season. Seriously, if this team wins four games this fall, we should all run through the streets of Pullman naked.
See, there is passion for Coug athletics....
If you think I’m just a “rah rah” fan that’s just not true. I pay really close attention to details and what’s been going on in the offseason. I could give you a bunch of really solid reasons why I’m looking forward to 2009 so much. Coug fans are in for some really pleasant surprises.
DF – I’m aware of all the hits our program has taken lately. All I have to do is come on here to be reminded. There’s a brand new post for every single one of them.
I guess I don’t know if you are making fun of me or not with the 8 runs down comment. It makes me feel like I don’t understand the game and just blindly support the program, which I don’t think is valid.
I wasn't making fun of you
I’m sorry if it came off that way.
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 17, 2009 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions
I think that's what sets us apart from sites like Cougfan.com
We’re here to talk intelligently about everything surrounding our teams that we love. It’s tough not to spend a significant amount of time talking about guys getting arrested and kicked off the team when they’re expected to be important players. It would be nice if our team could just play good football and keep its collective nose clean — like our basketball team the past few years. It really doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult.
I think the season hinges on the first 3 games
With 3 home games, versus Stanford, Hawaii, and SMU, we have to notch a couple wins. After that, we pretty much only have 2 legitimately winable games the rest of the way. If we go 1-2 in that early stretch, then I would guess we are faced with a 1 or 2 win season. If we can beat Hawaii or Stanford on top of SMU, I would be much more optimistic.
I think, if we can get good O-line play, the running game will be quite good. I would have said that without the addition of Montgomery Jr., but now….
Our running back situation is a bright spot.
We will need to run the ball early and often. Tardy, Mitz, and Montgomery are all talented guys. As you said though, it is all up to the O-Line.
We “only” lost to Hawaii by 18 last year at their place. So hopefully we can take that one. It would be nice to have a winning record at some point in the season!
I never really liked the old tagline.
CougCenter
by Craig Powers on Jul 17, 2009 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions
Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout....
I want to put 2008 to rest but I need to make a comment about it first, then that’s pretty much the last of looking back for me. We tanked last season on purpose. Maybe not the first couple of games but the rest of the season for sure until the AC. We competed in that one and so did the mutts. After all the turmoil, ass-whoopings and beat-downs, at least we showed some character at the end.
Can you imagine how absolutely horrible this off-season would have been had we not prevailed against all those odds at the end? Can you not say that didn’t leave a wonderful tasted in your mouth? Now put yourself in the shoes of our players. It was a huge win and it was the springboard for them to get to work. You could tell at the end that some of our players were finally buying into the new philosophy and finally ‘getting it.’
I am not going to predict wins for the upcoming campaign. I will predict that we will see a very exciting football team and the fans will start believing in these kids once again. There is a major infusion of talent and we have some solid leadership from returning players.
Maybe we’re not quite ready to match up with the better programs athletically, but that’s usually the case with us anyway. Every facet of the game has an effect on another and what I mean by that is if the offense can move the chains, the defense is on the field less and maybe the other guys start their drives inside their 40 instead of ours.
The strength of any team is in the trenches BUT you have to supplement those guys with good skill players too. Our receiving and running back corp will be light years better than last years. Load the box against us and you will pay. Whoever wins the job under center has tons of weapons and won’t be running for their very life every time the ball is snapped.
Mark my words, we will put up some points and move the chains. I’m more worried about how well the kids can learn the no huddle than anything else on offense. The backbone of that system is the running game. I will be shocked if we can’t average about 150 yards or better. That is the type of improvement I’m looking for. Also, reduce the penalties and turnovers. Those are musts.
On defense, our linebackers can fly and that helps our defensive backs. The new kids in the trenches on both sides of the ball, along with those that are returning, give us a very serviceable group of players. What this team lacks more than anything is depth.
Maybe I’m just seeing things thru Crimson colored glasses but so be it. I see a completely revamped team that’s stronger across the board. We lack depth and need to avoid injuries. I’m hoping the off-season conditioning and nutrition programs will help us in that area. We couldn’t even hold a decent practice last season but with the new 2009 recruits coming in CPW should be able to coach these kids up so they get better as the season progresses.
He doesn’t run one of those programs where no contact is allowed during the season. It’s more along the lines of what USC does, opening up the competition for PT every week of the season to force kids to improve their games, not just earn a starting spot out of camp and then it’s their’s to lose no matter what. You can only do that if the kids are ready to be physical, which they clearly weren’t last year.
So there you have it, as the years go on the progress will be noticeable, the expectations will be clear and smash-mouth football, Cougar style, will be the theme of every fall Saturday. Nobody’s going to be looking forward to playing us. We are going to be the ones dishing out all the punishment. I can’t wait to see PSU on the schedule again. Glanville better have about three extra QB’s in the wings.
And I also can’t wait until we take the fight to the mutts and show them once again who still dominates the state of Washington. Anybody out there ready for our first three game winning streak in Apple Cup history? It’s about time, don’t you think?
Go Cougs!!!
It's easy to see in our posts that we're at opposite ends of the spectrum....
Thanks for the nice comment, it’s very much appreciated. I don’t agree with your take but I respect your right to say it.
I loved that
But I am not sure I agree with all you said. Maybe I am mistaken. I think the only areas where we should be better are at QB and at RB. Our offensive line is a big question mark – hopefully they’re all a year stronger and more experienced but they were so bad last year, who knows if we’ll notice an improvement? WR is depleted of talent (though we have some speed) unless this Simone kid is an instant star, and I dearly hope he is. Our TE’s are also big unknowns – can they block or catch or please both?
On the other side of the ball, our CBs look bad on paper – it’s likely to be a bunch of sophomores / frosh out there. Our LBs could be a bright spot as we have two guys who played a lot last year and then a bunch of young’uns. Safety is the only position I feel solid about, as long as Hicks stays out of trouble and Chima watches a lot of tape. DT is questionable, although our DE’s should be okay. Like you pointed out, we have no depth, so if Kooyman or Mattingly gets hurt we are in for tough times.
Reid Forrest is back as punter, and I don’t see how he could have gotten worse, so we’re okay there I guess. We still have a couple kickers to platoon – when the first guy misses a PAT, send on the other one! I hope all they did for the last seven months was wake up, kick field goals, eat breakfast, kick field goals, eat lunch…. etc.
Where I have the most hope for the team actually is with the coaching, both for tactics and for skill improvement. I will not yet blame Wulff for last year as I still believe he was in damage-control mode all season. Everyone is raving about the strength and conditioning, so that’s great to hear, and hopefully with increased “measurables” the team will give Wulff more options.
by johnnycougar on Jul 17, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't agree that there's been an infusion of talent
That suggests that the newcomers will be helping the team immediately. They won’t. You might see a handful play, but to expect anything significant out of any of them I think is unreasonable.
The one thing we can hope for is health. That was a massive problem last year, and if we can avoid it this year, I think we stand a fighting chance to be a lot better. The only problem is, a lot better might mean losing 34-24 instead of 66-0.
That's the key
Offensive line will be huge. You can point to our two lines last year as the root of every problem. If we can get dramatically improved play from them, I like our chances to be a lot better than people think. After all, our running backs can only be awesome if they have holes to run through …
And they won't have holes to run through ...
if there is no threat of an effective passing game. Which there really wasn’t last season, and I don’t see any reason to think there will be this season either.
Even though Chris Berman is incredibly irritating...
He’s right when he says “That’s why they play the games!” You never know what a season may hold for not only our guys, but other Pac-10 teams as well. Personally, I’m excited to see how much our team has improved…and I say "how much" instead of "if" because the team can’t possibly be worse than last season.
Plus, we don’t know what may happen around the rest of the Pac-10. What if UCLA’s QB play is as awful as last year? What if Sark falls flat on his face and/or Locker gets hurt again? What if Arizona takes a major step backwards with the loss of Tuitama at QB? What if ASU comes out flat (Pullman is a place they never seem to play well) against us on Homecoming?
That’s why I’m excited about the season, as always. July and August is when we can ignore being realistic for a short period of time and simply be hopeful.
We will go 12-1 and finished ranked in the top 10!!!
Well at least thats what WSU did on my new NCAA Football 2010 game. Man it took a lot of playing to get to that record also. My favorite game of the year was when I beat UW 77-0 in the Apple Cup!!!
Ahhh……if only that could happen.
They say that “the bad times make you appreciate the good times more”.
They don’t really know college football, where no true fan needs ANYTHING to appreciate the highs of the good times and the lows of the bad times.
It is bizarre though how quickly teams rise and fall. We went to high school with Michael Bumpus and remember well when the Cougars were a real offensive threat.
In many of our lifetimes we will see USC fall back to mediocrity and WSU return to prominence. So goes the ebb and flow of the game.
In the meantime, here’s to rooting for positive strides in the right direction in 2009!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
