Even in our darkest hour, we are still better than the 2008 Huskies

by Grady Clapp on Sep 19, 2009 6:16 PM PDT

Grasu for the win. Again.

Make no mistake - this win is huge.

Futility is avoided. At worst, 1-11 awaits the Cougs. We are not the worst team in the nation. It's sad that that's something to be excited about, but I don't care. It's sad that our best quarterback today was Bo Levi Mitchell (threw two Cougar TDs to Lobbestael's one), but I don't care.

That was an inspired second half performance by the Cougar defense. We won. A football game!

Coming all the way back from a 17-0 deficit and winning in exciting fashion helps too.

Oh, but just to be clear students: I will have to publish some guidelines later, but please, those of you that did, don't ever rush the field against an unranked non-Husky opponent again. I know it's fun. But it has a time and a place, and that wasn't today.

And how about Wulff's gutsy decision to stick with Marshall Lobbestael paying off? He executed the best drive of his career to tie the game, and Jeff Tuel's redshirt is incredibly still intact.

I'll have more later, but for now, enjoy this. For 45 minutes, this game was a nightmare. The final 15? Vindication.

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Comments

now the question...

Do we burn the redshirt or not?

by Brian Floyd on Sep 19, 2009 6:22 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

And it's a good one

Because Lobster was far from impressive until the final 1:10

by Grady Clapp on Sep 19, 2009 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Ill add to this

I watched this very closely. Tuel was in the huddle pumping guys up, high fiving the d coming off, and looking like an all around leader. I see why they want to play him. Where was Lopina? Nowhere to be found. Seemed disinterested….

by Brian Floyd on Sep 19, 2009 6:26 PM PDT up reply actions

Well

Tuel was in those huddles once we got back into the game. for the first three quarters, he was hanging out in back with the rest of the freshmen.

Witches of Eastman

by BigWood! on Sep 19, 2009 7:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Not true.

He is always up there along side Wagner and Lobster/Lopina calling in signals.

by Cougar999 on Sep 19, 2009 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions

not today he wasn't

maybe i was just noticing on defense. but he was definitely hanging back with the rest of the kids that aren’t playing.l

Witches of Eastman

by BigWood! on Sep 19, 2009 7:53 PM PDT up reply actions

OK

Can’t say I was really paying attention to him on D. I just know that he’s always there with the other backups calling in plays.

by Cougar999 on Sep 19, 2009 8:39 PM PDT up reply actions

He was always in the huddle from what I saw

He was always up waiting, and in the huddle with the offense as the D was coming off. QBs don’t typically sit on the sideline next to the field as the D is on. They’re either back on the bench talking about the last series or getting loose which it looked like he was doing.

by Brian Floyd on Sep 19, 2009 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm sorry

at 3:25 pm PDT, I quit on the Cougars. I’m sorry.

I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh

by HitKing69 on Sep 19, 2009 7:18 PM PDT reply actions

As the great Glenn Johnson said at the end of the game today...

“True Cougs stay through the whole game.” I have to admit though, I gave up at 17-0. Watching this team run the same screen play over and over again gets on my nerves, especially when it doesn’t work after a while. I’m glad I stayed though, only my second Martin Stadium experience and it was fantastic.

by GoCougs on Sep 19, 2009 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions

A couple things after watching the game

1. It is clear after a disappointing loss we have not taken on a losing attitude. It would have been very easy for us to pack it in and call it a day.

2. I think our defense has learned they can be playmakers. They didn’t just intercept passes, but they took them to the house and looked to score. Jones’ INT was a great play. A diving grab (finally on one of those stupid out routes they kept running).

3. Lobster is not fully healthy. It was pretty clear there are still lingering effects of the knee problem he had. I also think he learned to trust it more as well. This gets me to my fourth point.

4. We SHOULD redshirt Tuel. Lets be honest. The reason for Tuel to play was because we needed to get a win and he is the type of QB that Wulff likes running his system. With the Pac-10 lineup coming in full force, there is no reason to throw him to the wolves. Lets get through the rest of the season with his shirt in tact and look for him to take over next year.

It was pretty apparent that our team speed is not where it needs to be. Our linebackers and safeties could not rally fast enough to the flats to limit their YAC. Our O-line still needs more depth. It was rough getting enough time for Lobster with two starters out. Also, it seems Blackledge has Harvey syndrome (missing easy catches but catching touchdowns).

Hopefully this tells us that we aren’t the worst team in the nation and we can play a little bit. Maybe this propels us to the point where we hang with people and give them a scare going forward. My biggest wish is this tells Wulff to get through this season with Tuel’s redshirt in tact and gear up for 2010.

OK. One last thing. My seats are right next to the section where the redshirts/recruits are. They could not have been more into the game. It was nice to see. I couldn’t tell who were recruits, but it looked to be a positive atmosphere over there.

by diehardcoug on Sep 19, 2009 9:26 PM PDT reply actions

Agree wholeheartedly on Tuel

My biggest fear as the game was going forward, and we were trailing, was that Tuel would come in. If he had, what was the next step? Start him against USC? Barring injury to both Lobster and Lopina, there is no reason to play Tuel if we can redshirt him. We now likely have the one win we will enter the Apple Cup with. Let’s work on getting to a place we can give Pac 10 teams a run for their money, and then see what a redshirt freshman Tuel can do next year.

by 02Coug on Sep 19, 2009 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Isn't that a problem?

We all assume we have one win going into the apple cup. It was the exact same last year. I’m sorry but I cannot accept that even under “rebuilding” circumstances. We need to be better than a 1-2 win team.

I will wait to see how the rest of the year unfolds but it is not looking good for Wulff. Although credit his team for not giving up in today’s game.

Formerly Peaty411s

by spencer peaty on Sep 19, 2009 11:59 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm not at all saying I'm happy with the prospect

But trying to be realistic, and I’m not sure I see another W on our schedule. I think if we keep improving, maybe we can sneak a win against a team that is looking past us.

But the real point is that in these circumstances, throwing Tuel out there doesn’t help. I don’t see him making us better this year even if he is better long term. We don’t have the line to protect him, and a true freshman QB with little time is likely to make more mistakes then our slightly more seasoned players.

by 02Coug on Sep 20, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions

You can have 2008.

http://www.spartyandfriends.com/

by thecassino on Sep 19, 2009 9:57 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

That doesn't even make sense

I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh

by HitKing69 on Sep 19, 2009 10:02 PM PDT up reply actions

OK so Ill spell it out then

Yes, UW went 0-12 in 2008. But that’s the past. Lord it over us all you want, but it doesn’t matter going forward. It hasn’t hurt our record or our recruiting in 2009. I’m fine with Cougcenter bringing up 2008 and making awful predictions (such as: how do you not take LSU to cover? and UW allowed 23 to Idaho. Idaho. So it’s a cinch that USC beats them something like 41-14,) as long as we keep playing neck and neck with some of the best programs in the nation, and beating them. So you can have 2008. We’ll take the future.

http://www.spartyandfriends.com/

by thecassino on Sep 19, 2009 10:57 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

UW had more talent in 2008..

than our 2008 squad had..yet we managed to beat you due to UW’s poor coaching and lack of a winning attitude…UW has more talent than us, we know…the point is not that you have more talent and stay in more games, cause this year UW is for real…the point is you can sugarcoat last year all you want..the big O’s still there…the goose egg remains..we emerged out of that looming shell and managed to pick up a win…our coaching, talent etc. is all just comparisons that we fall short of when comparing with U-dub, however we picked up a win….although an ugly win, that is better than your 2008 team did…..irrefutable…

by Wazzucrazed on Sep 19, 2009 11:25 PM PDT up reply actions

See, it’s this kind of stuff that paints you guys as the “little brother”. Yep, you’re right – we sucked in 2008. We got the ugly goose egg, and your Cougs beat us even though you were clearly the worse program.

Guess what? The reason for that goose egg and the horrible 4 year stretch we endured is now gone. There was a lot more talent there than people realized, and now that we have a real coaching staff again, that talent is being exploited.

So congrats on your win against SMU, and enjoy bragging about how you won’t go winless this season like the Huskies did last year.

I’ll take our present and future over yours any day.

by kirkd on Sep 20, 2009 12:02 AM PDT up reply actions

Its a fine line between

never forgetting your 0-12 and dwelling on it. Right now I think it is out the window if you can play like UW has the last 3 games. I am very interested to see how they do the rest of the season. Will they keep up the play and get 8 wins or flounder after some early season performances and get 5 wins? I don’t know, but I do know Sark knows how to prepare his team, and that’s more than I can say for our coach.

It is painful for me to say that but we have been “rebuilding” for 16 games and I am excited at a home SMU win. You guys were “rebuilding” for about 2 games.

Formerly Peaty411s

by spencer peaty on Sep 20, 2009 12:08 AM PDT up reply actions

It is painful for me to say that but we have been "rebuilding" for 16 games and I am excited at a home SMU win. You guys were "rebuilding" for about 2 games.

I know all too well how painful it is to suffer through a coaching staff that clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing. I’m not sure that’s the case with Wulff at this point – it may well be that the pains you guys are suffering now (and last year) are necessary steps in a longer-term plan to get WSU back. But I can imagine how hard it must be to sit through.

I’ll say this – the Cougs didn’t quit against Hawaii, and despite a lot of adversity they beat SMU. That says something about the character of the team, and if that’s the culture that’s being built under Wulff, it will pay dividends when the talent level improves.

I don’t know if Wulff is the right guy for you, but I’m not yet convinced he isn’t.

And yeah, we like Sark :)

by kirkd on Sep 20, 2009 12:33 AM PDT up reply actions

I don't think anything in his post was "sugar coating"

Damn, my eyeball tastes good.

by Gekko Mojo on Sep 20, 2009 8:06 AM PDT up reply actions

North Lot...

thanks for that appropriate and rather illuminating, well thought out response to this discussion…those were some great points you brought to light that alot of fans…were really, quite unaware of….thanks alot! please respond more in the future, since we your posts generate such wide ranges of discussion…

by Wazzucrazed on Sep 19, 2009 10:19 PM PDT reply actions

North Lot might be a husky ... but he doesn't post on the UW site. Sorry about that.

Damn, my eyeball tastes good.

by Gekko Mojo on Sep 20, 2009 8:09 AM PDT up reply actions

North lot represents the worst of both schools fans

Both WSU and UW, and really all other sports teams everywhere, have the fans like this. Luckily both Cougcenter and the Dawg Pound are without these fans most of the time. But Gekko, Cassino, Kirk and John, and others I’m sure I am missing, we appreciate what you guys bring to our discussions. And hope you appreciate what we can bring to yours.

by 02Coug on Sep 20, 2009 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. I guess I’m old enough (40) that I don’t feel compelled to spend a lot of time being petty. What’s the point? I’d rather have intelligent, informed conversation about football.

And yes, we do appreciate what you guys bring to the table as well. Kudos to Grady, Nuss & the rest here for establishing a good, smart Cougar community and to John for encouraging the same for Husky fans.

Here’s something for you guys to chew on though – if I really did think Wulff wasn’t the right guy for your program, can you be sure I’d say so and not continue to encourage you guys to give him more time… ;) (for the record, and in total honesty, I do think it’s too early to render a verdict on Wulff)

by kirkd on Sep 20, 2009 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions

I agree..

A majority of the players on the field at this point are Doba’s recruits….He redshirted all but 2 off his class, looking back on these last few games though. You can still see our team play from behind with heart and not give up…now if we dont win another game this season and next year lose the first couple games, with those redshirts on the field..then the blames a lot more on Wulff..he is utilizing what was left of Doba’s recruits, after thinning and suspending some for infractions…due to an incredibly small 2008 recruiting class, that isnt much…I have to remind myself that alot, esp. after that last hawaii game….

by Wazzucrazed on Sep 20, 2009 6:29 PM PDT up reply actions

I think that the main thing we proved yesterday

was that we are not completely inept at the game of football, and that even though we probably won’t win much more, it someone completely screws up against us, we may have a chance to steal another win.

by Cougar999 on Sep 20, 2009 11:33 AM PDT reply actions

key word completely screws up...

we brought it pretty well against stanford…I blame the offense theis year for a majority of our ineptness…the only time I really saw the D look bad was the first half of the hawaii game…and yet they made some stops in the game and allowed us to be put into position to come up and win that football game towards the end…now hawaii rolled up almost 500 yards of offense through the air against a UNLV team that narrowly missed upsetting OSU by 2 points…just shows that we werent the only team that was having problems with the hawaii passing attack..the reason UNLV won last night by 1 point?? their offense matched them possession by possession..with very little D on both sides of the ball…

Our D or secondary should nto be our biggest concer at this point..If we had issues moving the ball against a Hawaii D returning just 1 starter from last year, and had to rely on the D comign up big yesterday to save an otherwise lackluster and embarrassing performance, then clearly we should be panicking. Where I think our biggest issues moving the ball were the lack of expierence on the O line as soon as BJ went out we had to shift some lineman to play a position they werent accustomed to due to lack of depth…lets hope the O line picks up a lil next week against a very good USC front four…essentially the point I am trying to make is, lets not throw ocho rojo under the bus for a majority of those incompletions, from what I heard he had very lil time to step up make a read and deliver a well timed ball dude to the pressure..and inability to pick up some of the blitzed the ponies were thowing at us…marshal is our man for this year…If unfortunately he gets hurt next week, I should think WUlff would ntot hesitate to burn tuels shirt, and think how scary that would be if the only replacement with expiernce is Lopina…please O line step up big for us next week and give our QB some protection in the pocket, its huge…

by Wazzucrazed on Sep 20, 2009 1:12 PM PDT reply actions