WSU-Stanford Recap: Cougs Hang Tough Again
by Brian Floyd on Oct 23, 2010 6:21 PM PDT
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PrintThe ridiculous stretch of games against top-25 teams is finally over for the Cougars and we all survived it. Against a physical Stanford team, Washington State started slow, but ended with a bang, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter before falling 38-28.
The first half was filled with mistakes. Logwone Mitz had a costly fumble, James Montgomery put the ball on the turf twice and Jeff Tuel forced a ball into coverage for an interception. The defense, as expected, couldn't stop the power running attack of the Cardinal, getting torched up the middle behind Stanford's unbalanced offensive line.
The only bright spot* came from an eight play, 58 yard scoring drive capped by a Jared Karstetter fade route. With the game in reach, Stanford scored two touchdowns to end the half and leave us all wondering what happened.
*Kevin Kooyman started the drive, making what I hear was a ridiculous interception with Stanford deep in WSU territory.
Jeff Tuel and the offense came alive in the second half and made it a game late, something that was completely unexpected after three quarters of near-total domination. Tuel passed for 198 yards and three scores after the half, hitting Marcus Richmond, Jared Karstetter again and Marquess Wilson -- on a bomb, of course -- for fourth quarter touchdowns.
Wilson was over the 100 yard mark for fifth time this year and Karstetter had a team-high nine grabs for Tuel. The Cougar running backs, on the other hand, were again slow on the ground, gaining only 90 yards on 23 carries. While the total was low, the backs averaged 3.9 yards per carry, a significant improvement over the first seven games of the year. Carl Winston -- the only sure handed tailback today -- led the Cougs with 31 yards on 6 carries. Marcus Richmond was a factor today, catching three balls for 39 yards and a nifty score.
The defense simply couldn't stop the run again this week. When he had to throw, Andrew Luck was efficient, passing for 190 yards and three scores. The Cardinal running backs rushed for 249 yards on the ground, paced by Stepfan Taylor's 142 yards and two scores. Deone Bucannon was again a steady presence, recording a ridiculous 11 tackles in the first half. I don't know what he ended up with, but he was all over the place again. The kid just makes plays.
Another week, another moral victory, but that isn't a bad thing. Washington State not only survived the last three games, but they improved in each of them. John Fullington held his own at left tackle and Jeff Tuel made it out alive. With the tough part behind them, the Cougs move-on to four winnable games to close the season. What happens in those will show us what this team is made of.
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The magic of Cougcenter acoustics!
by tclaus on Oct 23, 2010 9:10 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
You can feel the breakthrough coming.
It’s so close. The only disappointing part of the ballgame is according to Bob on the radio is we came out flat today. Hopefully we can taste victory in Tempe!
Go Cougs!
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
"So close, it's not even funny."
You just get the feeling that this team is realizing that they can hang with any team out there, and one day soon they are going to put all the pieces together at the same time. I wouldn’t want to be their opponent when they do.
by displacedcoug on Oct 23, 2010 9:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Loved the late scoring
I’m just wondering why we have to be losing in the 4th quarter before we start airing it out. Wilson and Karrstetter are awesome, we need to go to them more early instead of that stupid draw play we did on first down every time.
by spencer peaty on Oct 23, 2010 8:14 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Predictability
The Cougs have an excellent long distance passing game, but if it’s obvious that they’re going deep to Karstetter or Wilson every play, it’ll be well covered. They have to mix up the play calls for anything to be effective.
There is a sense of break through coming.
But is the wear and tear going to play a factor in preventing that? We saw the cougs pretty worn down today, and the extended bye week still a few weeks away.
This was the most physical team they'll face this year.
Surviving this game, and playing like they did, was huge for WSU.
Okay,
the team stepped up in the game. Check out Washington.
by well you win some and lose others on Oct 23, 2010 9:30 PM PDT reply actions
Why don't we run the read option?
I know its not as easy as Oregon makes it look, but sometimes I just wish Tuel kept the ball.
Makes sense
Tuel needs to stay on his feet for the next 4 games.
Yep.
Every time Sturdy has been asked, the answers been the same. They just don’t want to expose him.
As an offshoot of that
I wouldn’t trust our O Line at this point. A read option works if the line can hold blocks so that the QB’s read is good. If the D line gets off their blocks right away, it doesn’t matter as much who has the ball and just would open up Tuel to getting smashed a few times a game.
Our o-line is terrible at the point of attack in zone.
Zone plays are pretty ineffective when the back has to make moves in the backfield and our o-line is awful at getting second level blocks. If you can’t get anything going in straight zone the defense won’t respect the option either.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
I loved the fight we showed in the 4th quarter
But the clock management at the end of the half drove me crazy.
Stanford had the ball on the one and if we would have called a TO when they would have pounded it in we would have had 1.30 left. Instead we let them run the playclock down to 1 and called a TO of their own, punched it in, we get the ball, one run and go into half time without putting any passes…I dont get it sometimes…
I cant wait untill next year when we actually have defensive tackles to stop the run every once in a while….its going to be sick.
I think most fans are pretty angry we didn't go for it at the end of the 2nd quarter
I’m pretty sure the coaches are mad at themselves for that one, too.
Haven't those guys ever played video games?
You always burn your timeouts when the other team has the ball with goal to go at the end of a half. Duh!
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 23, 2010 11:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Video Game or reality
Letting 40 seconds run off of the clock is crazy unless your really backed up…what did we have to lose?
In all seriousness
Sometimes coaches just want to get into the locker room to regroup. I don’t really agree with it, since I think it’s foolhardy to waste a possession, but it’s not uncommon.
This team is making strides.
I am not happy with the record, but it is a completely different team out there. Everyone is starting the notice (even the announcers) that Wulff is turning this thing around. Since the toughest part of our season is out of the way, lets go undefeated the rest of the season huh?
"The rent is too damn high!" Jimmy McMillan
Haven't heard much of Richmond this year.
Glad the senior could make an impact. I take it he was moved from Fullback to halfback recently? Seems to have been a good move.
SIDE NOTE: If Damante Horton can’t come back this year, is he eligible for a medical redshirt? Or is Gonzales? I am not sure.
Medical Redshirt
I think the player cannot have played in more than 20% of the team’s games to qualify for a medical redshirt.
Then I'm not sure.
Why James Rodgers of Oregon State might be eligible for another year if he played half of the teams games??
Sort of off topic question
Hypothetical: Stanford/Arizona and Oregon win out and Oregon goes to the NC game.
I know that the highest ranked non-AQ team, as of now its BSU, gets the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl slot if the Pac-10 champ is in the NC game. Would Stanford/Arizona still get passed over if BSU (the highest ranked non-AQ team) is in the NC game and TCU is ranked higher in the BCS standings? Or does the rule only apply to the highest ranked non-AQ team?
Not Quite Accurate
There would be more losses in your scenario. Arizona and Stanford haven’t played each other, so there’s one more loss for someone. If Oregon’s undefeated, then Arizona’s lost an additional game as well, as they haven’t played yet. So Stanford could be a one loss team with Oregon undefeated and in the NCG, but Arizona can’t fit in that scenario.
Yeah, good question. I’m not sure, but I think the RB is required to take a top 12 BCS non-AQ. Don’t hold me to that.
I'm pretty sure it is too.
Does that requirement disappear if say Boise State is in the NC?
Most likely it will be TCU or Utah
Whichever one of those two if either can stay undefeated they will pass Boise. TCU almost overtook Boise this week. That strength of schedule will continue to hurt them. I am rooting on Utah our future Pac 12 brother! Remember that even if a Non AQ goes to the NC, the Rose Bowl will do what it wants, all you have to do is go back to 2003 when USC went to the NC and we ended up in the Holiday Bowl. Even though that is one of my favorite games of all time!! The options are endless and it will come down to TV $$
You guys can beat Washington. Do it.
"(Kelly's) got a veteran team that is the favorite to win the Pac-10. His choice of Thomas reflects only one belief: He’s our best QB today."-Ted Miller
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 24, 2010 2:49 PM PDT reply actions
Yup, but you guys can win the Apple Cup.
"(Kelly's) got a veteran team that is the favorite to win the Pac-10. His choice of Thomas reflects only one belief: He’s our best QB today."-Ted Miller
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 24, 2010 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm so sorry.
The Washington State University Cougars football team can win the Apple Cup. That better?
"(Kelly's) got a veteran team that is the favorite to win the Pac-10. His choice of Thomas reflects only one belief: He’s our best QB today."-Ted Miller
by TennesseeQuackAttack8 on Oct 24, 2010 7:39 PM PDT up reply actions
I didn't mean to come off as a jerk
I want nothing more than for the team to win the Apple Cup. But that is a long way away. We’d rather win one before that.
that's what i was thinking, too
We’re at the point where the Apple Cup is not our entire season. It’s also six weeks from now. We have two or three winnable games before Washington.
I'd have to say ASU and UW are your best shots at winning this season
… but I also expect someone to upset those Ducks and I’m not sure that it can’t happen twice.
The Ducks have had a remarkably easy schedule sans Stanford to date. Where will the traps be? Arizona and USC? OSU? There are some good games left to play.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I did not see the game...
…so can someone tell me if our late scoring surge was a legitimate comeback? Or was it us scoring against their second/third teamers while they were in prevent and they weren’t trying to pass?
Hard to say...
… all red jerseys and pants everywhere. I don’t know Stanford’s defense, so I trust other people to figure that half out. But Luck was out somewhere in the 4th quarter, so Stanford’s second team QB, at least, put up some 3 and outs in there. So that probably influenced the time of possession and number of chances WSU had in the 4th quarter to score.
That said ...
… good job to the Cougs for stopping Stanford in the 4th quarter. I’m going to retire to the internets and learn something about football before posting again.
WSU FB Blog has the highlights up.
There were horses and a man on fire and I killed a guy with a trident -- Brick Tamland
by Coug999 on Oct 24, 2010 4:28 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Just was checking out some stats on ESPN
Wilson is 6th in the nation in receiving yards. 6th!!! And the 5 guys in front of him have at least 10 more receptions than he does. He’s also 10th in ypc (19.4) and 9th in longest reception (83). If he’s this good now, he gonna be scary in 3 years.
There were horses and a man on fire and I killed a guy with a trident -- Brick Tamland
I should also mention
that of the 5 guys in front of him in receiving yards, he leads them in yards per catch by at least 1.5.
There were horses and a man on fire and I killed a guy with a trident -- Brick Tamland
I know
I was referring to two more years. At this rate I doubt he will be around for his senior season.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
Ah, I got it now.
Just read it wrong. Never know what will happen, though. He’s very good now, but I want to see what he can do with some added weight. At 170 pounds on a good day, the kid is just so skinny.
by Brian Floyd on Oct 25, 2010 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions
He's slick
But I’m not sure he possesses the raw athleticism the NFL covets.
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 25, 2010 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Lets not forget
That WSU receivers don’t historically have a lot of success in the NFL.
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Frustrating game to watch
Came out flat, got back in it at 10-7, then were completely out of it.
The late scores were nice, but after going down 17-7 they were never really in the game, when they easily could have been.
Not sure what “this team is so close its not even funny” means, but the team is getting better. Some major kinks to work out on the lines and the play calling is still very questionable.
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 8:55 AM PDT reply actions
Here's what is "so close it's not even funny to me,"
A list of teams who lost on saturday by a wider margin than the Cougs to teams ranked lower than Stanford:
Washington
Indiana
Mississippi
Duke
Minnesota
Rutgers
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Ole Miss
Arizona St
UConn
Georgia Tech
SMU
Kansas
Kentucky
North Carolina
Granted, this is kind of a ham-handed way of looking at performance, but our Cougs were in a closer game against a tougher opponent than all of these teams.
by displacedcoug on Oct 25, 2010 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Sorry
But that literally means nothing.
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Probably a flawed way to chart progress
The whole “transitive property” thing is tough to apply to college football. You could drive yourself crazy connecting the dots from one team’s performance to another’s over similar opponents. Throw in non-similar opponents, base it on AP / Sagarin rank and you’ve probably got a “ham-handed way of looking at performance.” Which is exactly what the post admits.
Though the Cougs are improving, clearly, this probably isn’t the best metric to illustrate that.
Don't you think it's at least sort of relevant
When you consider that people have been using margin of losses to hammer Wulff and his staff for two-plus years? Doesn’t that have to work both ways?
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 25, 2010 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Only in our games
It is not really relevant in games between two other teams.
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions
So, wait a minute
Margin is relevant in one instance but not the other(s)? Don’t you think that sounds sort of silly?
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 25, 2010 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
What?
How is the margin between two other teams not named WSU relevant? The argument against Wulff was the WSU getting blown out, and now we aren’t. That is a relevant argument. The teams listed above and their games have nothing to do with WSU.
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions
If people have wanted to make the argument against Wulff using our previous margins of loss
Then I think it’s absolutely relevant to show that our margins of defeat have come in line with other competitive programs that are considered to be competitive.
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 25, 2010 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Says the guy from the department of redundancy department
Sorry about that.
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 25, 2010 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
so, it is not relevant that UW beat USC...
… but it is relevant that Arizona beat UW by a wider margin than they beat WSU?
Is that the logic you are going for?
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Sark must have all USC plays copied into his book.
Which is totaly bad for USC. Expect them to not win a Washington game where ever they are.
by well you win some and lose others on Oct 25, 2010 7:55 PM PDT up reply actions
No, that's not what I'm saying at all
I’m saying it’s relevant to evaluate WSU based on relative margins of victory. This has nothing to do with UW, or any other team for that matter.
Ok, I get what you are saying
I guess I just never saw a lot of comparisons to other programs while we were getting beat down. (Maybe that is revisionist history, I don’t know)
by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 25, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I guess my reasoning wasn't too clear,
But this is what I was going for. Our losses are more in line with legit programs, and not embarrassing blowouts.
by displacedcoug on Oct 25, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
My only point was that we clearly have a different team this year.
We are competing against solid teams. Last year, we didn’t even look like we were an FBS-quality team, and this year we are putting up respectable games. Have we won? No. However, we are finally looking like we belong, and a win is not too far away.
by displacedcoug on Oct 25, 2010 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Why isn't Moos guaranteeing another year for the coaches ?
Bud Withers brought this up last week. Seems like a no brainer now, since they’ve earned it and it will help lock up the verbal commitments. I never dreamed we’d look so competitive against the likes of Oregon, Arizona and Stanford.
Because we haven't won a game against an FBS opponent yet
To be clear, I’m neither in the fire Wulff or keep him camp at the moment, I just want to watch it all play out. But to say that you are bringing back a coach that has a record of 4-28 as your coach, and hasn’t beaten an FBS team this year, would be a bit premature. You don’t want to set a precedent where simply not getting blown out gets you a guarantee that you will get to come back. And if this trend of better performances stops, or doesn’t result in a win over the last few games, than you have backed yourself into the corner.
Basically, you don’t promise to bring him back for the same reason you don’t fire him after the first three games. We simply don’t have all the information yet and need to let the rest of the season play out.
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