APPLE CUP 2011: The Last Stand For Paul Wulff?

Let's get something out of the way right off the bat: None of us knows what Bill Moos is thinking with regards to Paul Wulff's job status as head coach of WSU.

However, it's impossible not to wonder if the outcome of the 2011 Apple Cup will impact that decision.

In a lot of ways, it seems like the Paul Wulff era has been one big long exercise in Murphy's Law: Whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong over the past four years. Players flunking out, scholarship reductions, injuries -- you know the story well. Heck, just when it was "show me" time for the program, he lost the franchise quarterback to a broken collarbone ... after he didn't start the game because he had diarrhea so bad he needed intravenous fluids ... then lost him to acute compartment syndrome in his leg after the quarterback returned.

This, after losing various quarterbacks over the past four years to a broken neck, broken back and blown out knee. You seriously can't make this stuff up.

But Wulff's detractors would argue that much of the depths the program reached were because of Wulff himself, that he hired an inexperienced staff that generally wasn't equipped to meet the challenge of coaching at an FBS program. Wulff's supporters would counter and say that the improvement the past two years is plain, and that's what matters most.

And that's what makes this dilemma so darn difficult. Both sides have excellent points, making Moos' decision a difficult one.

Should today matter? I'm of the opinion that today really should be largely irrelevant, barring some sort of epic embarrassment -- and I really don't see that coming. It also doesn't seem like Moos is the kind of guy to let one game sway him emotionally, and if I were forced to speculate with a gun to my head, I would guess that he's already made his decision.

What do you think? Should today's Apple Cup have any impact on the ultimate decision of whether Paul Wulff stays or is fired?