HOT COUGAR ACTION: WSU Continues Preparation For the Sterk Bowl

by Mark Sandritter on Sep 14, 2011 6:01 AM PDT in 2011 WSU Football News

So this doesn't have anything to do with WSU, but I can't stop watching it. There's a cat in the house. Cat in the house? Yeah I said there's a cat in the house.

Coastal Carolina Coach Bennett Act more like dogs (via TaylorGang4Evr)

First Nuss jinxed Tuel, now Brian jinxes Pole. Craig will never write about Reid Forrest again just as a precaution.

Summarizing WSU's Tuesday - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Sept. 13, 2011
Early reports have Pole, hit on the side of the knee in a pileup, suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament, which will sideline him at least for tomorrow. Could it keep him out of Saturday's game? Maybe, but it's not certain.

More WSU football links

New Pac-12 teams approach rivalry week - Spokesman.com - Sept. 13, 2011
PULLMAN – It’s rivalry week in the Pac-12. At least for two schools. The two newest schools. Although Utah and Colorado joined the conference together this season, and are paired in a lot of ways, including scheduling in some sports, they aren’t natural rivals. Neighbors, maybe, but not rivals.

Cougars notebook: Schedule gets tougher for WSU " Kitsap Sun
PULLMAN — The Washington State Cougars are delighted to be 2-0 for the first time since 2005, but players and coaches acknowledge that WSU's early schedule has been soft as cotton.

Cougars | Cougars welcome 2-0, but things get tougher | Seattle Times Newspaper
PULLMAN — To borrow shamelessly from YouTube's Greatest Coaching Rants, they are who we thought they were. Oh, not Washington State. The Cougars' first two opponents.

Paul Wulff Coaches Show Recap - Week 3 of 2011
With that, let's get started on the Week 3 of 2011 coaches show recap! We'll touch on the top 10 things to take from this week's show, so, here we go:

Cougars eye corner-turn at San Diego State - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN
It would be easy to wildly extrapolate program transformation at Washington State based on a 2-0 start. Sure, the competition was terrible, but the Cougars asserted complete dominance on both sides of the ball.

Washington State is no longer a bottom-feeder - NCAA Football - Sporting News
Rising Washington State. That’s right, the Cougars. The team that has spent the last three seasons at the bottom of the conference is 2-0 for the first time since 2005. So FCS Idaho State and UNLV barely show more resistance than a light breeze. When you’ve won five games the previous three seasons, who cares how you get victories? Wazzu is four games from qualifying for a bowl, and if you’ve seen the state of the Pac-12, that may not be too difficult.

Expansion talk

Pac-14 football: Splitting into seven-team divisions (if it comes to that) | College Hotline
Because I’ve been asked about it many times in the past few weeks … and because it’s within the realm of possibility … let’s say the league adds only the Oklahoma schools for 2012 and exists as a 14-team conference. How would the divisions be split?

Pac-12 Confidential | Realignment: Thoughts, guesses, ruminations | Seattle Times Newspaper
As I figure it, the future of the Pac-12 depends on which path the league presidents choose: (1) The old, conservative, we're-above-that-sort-of-thing approach; or (2) the new, hip, cutting-edge, not-your-father's-conference-anymore route.

WSU baseball lands a verbal commitment. Kyle will be along with the breakdown shortly.

Southridge star to play baseball at WSU - Sports: Baseball | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news
KENNEWICK -- Southridge three-sport star Matt Mendenhall made a verbal commitment to play baseball at Washington State University, ending speculation that he might join his brother, Andrew, a baseball player at the University of Oregon.

An Aron Baynes sighting.

Aron Baynes called into Boomers' basketball squad - Cairns Sports News | cairns.com.au
MAREEBA'S Aron Baynes has been included in a 12-man Boomers squad for the Olympic qualifying tournament against arch rivals New Zealand, starting in Melbourne tonight.

Two more interesting reads

What If Everything Worked Like The BCS: The Spelling Bee - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Bill Hancock believes in the BCS because he thinks the BCS is a fair system that works. So if that's the case, you have to wonder...What If Everything Worked Like The BCS?

Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction - NYTimes.com

Soon, this website's authors will be replaced by a computer program.

-----

Want more? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Follow @MarkSandritter Follow @CougCenter

Tweet Comment 31 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I want what that guy is drinking...

“Don’t need no ‘meows’

by kaddy on Sep 14, 2011 10:34 AM PDT reply actions

That would be high quality PCP

by B Money on Sep 14, 2011 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Pac 12 expansion article

In the comments some people were talking about a pod system instead of an East/West if we go to 16 teams. Sounds pretty interesting actually, im not sure if it has been talked about here…

Pod 1: ORE, OSU, UW, WSU
Pod 2: USC, UCLA, CAL, STA
Pod 3: ARI, ASU, COL, UTAH
Pod 4:OK, OKST, TX, T TCH

However the pods end up being split you would play your the other three in your pod and two from each pod every year, then the other two the next year. Everyone would get exposure in each pods region that way, and 9 confrence games a year.

I kind of like this idea…

by bliznair64@gmail.com on Sep 14, 2011 11:37 AM PDT reply actions

This idea has been floated in the past

The pod idea has some merit when used only as a scheduling tool. It is important to note there would not be 4 separate divisions, only two. While the pod system does alleviate some of the problems with two eight team divisions, it has its own flaws.

In a given year, you only play five of seven opponents within your division. Could you imagine for example Oregon not playing Stanford or USC this year? That would not make for a very representative division champion.

by spencer peaty on Sep 14, 2011 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Just say no to the Pac 16

There is no reason to get into bed with Texas, and a 16 team league is just too big.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions

If everyone else goes to 16, the Pac-12 will again be the redheaded stepchild when this current TV deal expires.

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 14, 2011 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions

1) You cannot possibly know that

2) There is no guarantee everyone is going to 16

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions

To go along with this

Why stop at 16? Why not absorb the whole remaining Big 12 and go to the Pac 23? Add another school in there to the Pac 24?

What we are looking at is nothing more than a bubble. And like all bubbles, they eventually pop.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions

BTW, my math sucks

I can’t keep track of how many teams are in the Big 12 anymore. 9?

So Pac 21, add three more to get 24, the point remains the same.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions

I like money

by B Money on Sep 14, 2011 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs

And you just got a ton of it

Bringing in 4 more schools is no guarantee that anymore will be made.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions

You're missing the point

We can disagree about whether it will make more money for the 12 schools already here in the short term — and people do disagree about that. But its inarguable that if three other conferences go to 16 but the Pac-12 remains stating, the Pac-12 will be at a long-term disadvantage. One it will have a really hard time rectifying.

I don’t think I necessarily want 16 either. But I think it’s necessary, especially if a football brand such as Oklahoma is available. That might never happen again.

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 14, 2011 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions

sorry, "static"

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 14, 2011 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Its just as likely

that by the time our next TV contract negotiations come around, the 16 team conferences will have imploded.

I get your point, I just don’t think its a valid one.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions

One problem is the Pac-12's geography

Other than Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech, there aren’t really any other FBS schools who we would want to try to add to make a superconference and who would make geographic sense, should 16-team superconferences become the norm. (There may be a few decent options, like the Kansas schools, but none like Texas or Oklahoma.) As a result, even if Scott doesn’t want to get in front of the superconference trend (which may or may not happen, despite many people saying it’s a near-certainty), he will face a lot of pressure to do so.

by Fractal on Sep 14, 2011 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Also, I think you undervalue being able to offer more quality match ups

A 16 team league is going to produce a lot of clunker games that no one will want to watch or broadcast.

I miss *REAL* Four Loko

by B-Lot tailgater on Sep 14, 2011 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions

How will it produce more than now?

CougCenter | Cougar Sports Weekly | @NussCoug

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 14, 2011 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions

I hate to admit it now

after talking so much about Texas, but if Oklahoma and Okie State come to the Pac12 we have to get Texas here. I do not want to see them go to the Big10. That is the new rumor. I know I said I didn’t want Texas and blah, blah, blah, but if OU and OSU are coming it vital that UT ant TT come, because there is no other good viable options to go 16. If we go to 16 who else are we going to add? Fresno St-NO, Baylor-NO, BYU-NO, Boise St-NO, KU-NO, KSU-NO…I can see the Big10 making a push for Missouri, Texas, TT, KU and KSU. With the other conferences going 16 we can’t afford to lose the Texas market. Stupid Longhorn network is messing everything up. Thanks, ESPN.

"Left hand, right hand, it doesn’t matter. I’m amphibious." – Charles Shackleford

by SoCalCoug on Sep 14, 2011 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions