It's finally here.
Saturday.
College football.
Seahawks Stadium Qwest Field.
It's explosive offense versus explosive offense. It's shaky defense versus shakier defense. It's "man" versus Wulff. It's the Cowboys against the Cougars, only on FSN! Score! High five!
Please win.
Kickoff: 12:30 pm PT
Location: Qwest Field, Seattle
TV: Fox Sports Northwest
The line: Oklahoma State (-7)
Why the Cowboys Might Win: The O-line. It's huge, it's talented, and returns four starters from a 2007 squad that allowed 11 sacks during the entire season. That's so crazy I had to italicize it. The effect of OK State's big men up front may be further amplified by a Cougar defense suffering from a lack of depth at all positions, including defensive line.
Why the Cougars Might Win: Oklahoma State coach Jeff Gundy says he has "no idea" what WSU is going to throw at them. He may have some tape of EWU, but WSU will have all new personnel running a Paul Wulff offense for the first time in their careers. Defensively the Cougars are undergoing their first major coaching change this century. In this case, what Gundy doesn't know can definitely hurt him.
X-Factor: Gary Rogers. We could see five touchdowns from Rogers in this game. We could also see five interceptions. How Gary plays in his first start at QB will be a huge factor in the outcome of the game. Let's hope he takes advantage of a porous OSU pass defense.
Grady's Prediction: Too much firepower comes through for the Cowboys in this one. The Cougs hang in there, but ultimately fall victim to dual threat QB Zac Robinson and their own tired defense. Oklahoma State 35, Washington State 24