WSU FOOTBALL: Reflecting On The First Half Of The Season

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 20, 2011 10:24 PM PDT in 2011 WSU Football News

Before we move on to the second half of the season, I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the first half a little bit. I'm not going to be handing out grades, because as I've discovered both in my day job and here, they mean different things to different people and don't clearly communicate ... well, anything.

So, I'm going to change it up a bit. This has been a season of ups and downs so far - which, truth be told, is a welcome development after the past three years - and I want to take a look at some of the awesome and not so awesome of the first six games.

Awesome: Marquess Wilson. After a freshman campaign in which he caught 55 passes for 1,006 yards, Wilson has 36 catches for 688 yards after just six games. His production has predictably tailed off a bit as competition has increased and teams have started paying extra attention to him, and he's dropping a few passes again, but he's still demonstrating a diverse skill set that makes him much more than just a deep threat. He's on pace for 72 catches and 1,376 yards, which would send him soaring past Brandon Gibson's single-season record for yards and would tie him with Nakoa McElrath for receptions. Imagine if his drop percentage wasn't hovering around 10 percent?

Not So Awesome: Jeff Tuel's broken collarbone. Nothing else really needs to be said, does it?

Awesome: Marshall Lobbestael. The backup QB exceeded every reasonable expectation in starting the first five games of the season while Tuel recovered - 1,634 passing yards, 15 TDs, and just four interceptions. Was he perfect? Of course not. But he was better than anyone had a right to expect, and for that, he deserves some major applause.

Not So Awesome: Fourth quarter losses. Man, oh man ... what could have been. Two games that seemed there for the taking - one in which the Cougars had a lead late in the fourth quarter - slipped away late, and what could have been at least a 4-2 start is now 3-3. Then again, it could also be 2-4 if not for Colorado having the worst secondary in the conference, so I guess maybe we should feel happy about 3-3.

Awesome: Alex Hoffman-Ellis. The senior has clearly put in the work to become a difference maker on the defense. I questioned his football instincts repeatedly last year, but his brain has finally caught up with his body. He leads the team in tackles with 42.

Not So Awesome: Safeties in coverage. Deone Bucannon and Tyree Toomer have had their struggles, especially with big, athletic tight ends.

Awesome: Rickey Galvin is the real deal. The diminutive running back is explosive - he's averaging 6.65 yards per carry and is leading the team in rushing with 319 yards.

Not So Awesome: Galvin can't seem to stay on the field. Call it injury prone (seems a little early for that, though), call it bad luck ... call it whatever you want, the fact is that he's played in seven games and left three of them with injuries. I know he wants to run tough - I'm guessing his size has been a knock on him for a long time - but there's something to be said for protecting your body, especially when concussions are now in play. He'd be wise to get down occasionally.

Awesome: The offensive line has allowed just 18 sacks. For a line that has averaged more than 50 sacks a year under Paul Wulff, it's a welcome change. They've also put together an adequate rushing attack.

Not So Awesome: The defensive line. The Cougars have just six sacks from defensive linemen and just five sacks against FBS competition. And while the yards per carry on the season looks pretty decent - under 4.0 - that's skewed by the first two games of the year. The defense has given up nearly five yards per carry in WSU's losses. It's an improvement, but not good enough yet.

Awesome: The Cougars are playing interesting football in October.

That seems like a good place to stop to me. What would you add to the list?

Tweet Comment 16 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Awesome: The schedule hasn't killed our team or our hopes

So far there have been some shoulda, coulda, wouldas but overall the team is the healthiest it’s been in years at this point and the Pac 12 as a whole looks down. There’s plenty of good opportunity left on the schedule for wins especially with the return of Tuel.

Not So Awesome: Only 5 true home games this year. It’s a minor complaint and thanks to the late start I can actually make the Seattle game despite having to work in Pullman until 3 Saturday. Still, in future years we hopefully have 6 in Pullman and the Seattle game to top it off.

by cougdude50 on Oct 20, 2011 10:37 PM PDT reply actions

In theory I love your post

But in reality we have a hard enough time getting attendance for 5 games, not sure how feasible 6 is unless they are front loaded in Sept and Oct.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 21, 2011 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions

It really just has to do with the 9 game conference schedule.

Next year we should have 5 home, four away.

CougCenter In Reid We Trust, Twitter!

by Craig Powers on Oct 21, 2011 9:10 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions

And only 1 OOC home game

For a total of 6 games (5 Pullman, 1 Seattle)

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 21, 2011 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions

That's due to financial considerations, I'm sure.

Hopefully the refurbished/expanded Martin Stadium will make seven home games a viable option in some years.

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 21, 2011 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Maybe

We have a return date at UNLV and start a series with BYU at Provo. More coincidence than anything else I think.

My point was that WSU should shy away from 7 home games because we won’t draw enough fans, especially if the games are in November.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 21, 2011 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm wondering if an upgraded Martin Stadium won't change that.

I was reading Leaf’s book last night, and had forgotten how poor attendance was most of that 1997 season. Maybe it’s just always going to be that way.

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 21, 2011 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions

I think there are some things that could change that

Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**

by Neil Vincent Roberts on Oct 21, 2011 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions

I think you might get a new stadium effect at first

But really when it comes down to it, Pullman is still Pullman and it is still 300 miles from Seattle with expensive and lousy hotels. Mix in mediocre football and bad weather in November and its a recipe for low attendance.

Our only hope is drastically increasing attendance from Spokane and Tri Cities, something Moos has mentioned on several occasions, including the function I was at last night.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Oct 21, 2011 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions

it isn't always that way

The 97 season attendance was decent (average 33,280) considering the team was picked to finish last in the conference and wasn’t coming off of good prior seasons… only 26k at the opener against UCLA.

One of the infuriating things of losing the 01-03 momentum: even though the 04-06 seasons were mediocre, we still had 7 sellouts and 3 others of over 34k. Now, nowhere close to it.

“If” we can get the program back to respectability with a decent run of success (a few top 10-20 finishes) with an improved stadium, I think we will see a pretty good kick in attendance to the 35-40k range. But 7 Pullman home games may be too much to maintain an average like that.

by Blackie1829 on Oct 21, 2011 12:06 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Awesome: We know we have at least got back to a pt where we are way better than FCS and lower tiered Div I teams. Remember MSU last year!!!
Not so awesome: Our first 5 games were cream puffs, and we came out of it 3-2.

by ptowncoug3012 on Oct 21, 2011 8:33 AM PDT reply actions

How can you call SDSU and UCLA cream puffs?

UNLV, ISU, sure. But SDSU, Colorado, and UCLA were not cream puffs. SDSU is actually a solid team, and while UCLA and CU are bottom of the Pac 12, um, where do you think we are?

twitter | CougCenter

by Kyle Rancourt on Oct 21, 2011 1:20 PM PDT up reply actions