Game coverage from around SBN: Here
Time: 1:30 p.m. PDT
The place: Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, Calif.)
TV: None. Sometimes none means you have to find it on a streaming feed somewhere. In this case, none really means none. Enjoy BobRob and Walden on the radio.
Radio: Find your local station here. You can also listen to it via streaming for a fee at wsucougars.com.
The line: Cal minus-35 (Fun fact! The Cougs have covered in three of their past four games.)
When the Cougs have the ball ...
| WSU | Cal | |||
| Pos. | Name (# = Redshirt) | Pos. | Name | |
| X | Daniel Blackledge (6-0, 175, Jr.) | DE | Tyson Alualu (6-3, 295, Sr.) | |
| F | Gino Simone (5-11, 174, Fr.) | NG | Derrick Hill (6-2, 302, Jr.) | |
| LT | Alex Reitnouer (6-5, 253, Fr.) | DE | Cameron Jordan (6-4, 287, Jr.) | |
| LG | Zack Williams (6-4, 293, #Jr.) | OLB | Eddie Young (6-0, 239, Sr.) | |
| C | Kenny Alfred (6-2, 300, #Sr.) | ILB | Devin Bishop (6-1, 239, Sr.) | |
| RG | Joe Eppele (6-7, 309, #Jr.) | ILB | Mike Mohamed (6-3, 237, Jr.) | |
| RT | Micah Hannam (6-4, 284, #Jr.) | OLB | D.J. Holt (6-1, 250, So.) | |
| TE | Tony Thompson (6-2, 241, #Sr.) | CB | Syd'Quan Thompson (5-9, 191, Sr.) | |
| Z | Jared Karstetter (6-4, 203, So.) | S | Marcus Ezeff (5-11, 219, Sr.) | |
| QB | Jeff Tuel (6-3, 207, Fr.) | S | Brett Johnson (6-1, 194, Sr.) | |
| RB | Dwight Tardy (5-11, 204, #Sr.) | CB | Josh Hill (5-11, 194, RFr.) |
When Cal has the ball ...
| Cal | WSU | |||
| Pos. | Name | Pos. | Name (# = Redshirt) | |
| WR | Marvin Jones (6-2, 190, So.) | LE | Jesse Feagin (6-4, 258, #Sr.) | |
| LT | Mike Tepper (6-7, 319, Sr.) | DT | Bernard Wolfgramm (6-3, 291, #Jr.) | |
| LG | Matt Summers-Gavin (6-4, 291, RFr.) | DT | Dan Spitz (6-6, 268, #Fr.) | |
| C | Chris Guarnero (6-2, 275, Jr.) | RE | Travis Long (6-4, 247, Fr.) | |
| RG | Justin Cheadle (6-2, 299, So.) | SAM | Andy Mattingly (6-4, 255, Sr.) | |
| RT | Mitchell Schwartz (6-6, 317, So.) | MIKE | Alex Hoffman-Ellis (6-1, 233, #So.) | |
| TE | Anthony Miller (6-3, 258, So.) | WILL | Jason Stripling (5-11, 225, #Sr.) | |
| WR | Jeremy Ross (5-11, 216, Jr.) | LCB | Brandon Jones (5-9, 178, #Jr.) | |
| QB | Kevin Riley (6-2, 221, Jr.) | SS | Xavier Hicks, Jr. (6-0, 211, #Sr.) | |
| FB | Brian Holley (5-10, 235, Sr.) | FS | Chima Nwachukwu (5-11, 201, Jr.) | |
| TB | Jahvid Best (5-10, 195, Jr.) | RCB | Terrance Hayward (6-1, 186, #Fr.) |
Special Teams ...
| WSU | Cal | |||
| Pos. | Name (# = Redshirt) | Pos. | Name | |
| K | Nico Grasu (6-0, 221, Jr.) | K | Vince D’Amato (6-1, 195, Fr.) | |
| P | Reid Forrest (6-2, 193, #Jr.) | P | Bryan Anger (6-4, 202, So.) |
Keys to the Game Not Getting Embarrassed
1. Avoid big plays in the running game. This isn't rocket science. After what Cal did to the Cougs last year in Pullman -- at a point when we though WSU might be reasonably average after a somewhat promising opener against Oklahoma State -- this is obviously job No. 1. There's hope that this might happen, given that our defense has been better. But we simply can't let the Bears rip off 10 to 20 yards at a time, and definitely can't allow runs of 50+. Other teams have shown that it's a sound strategy to put the ball in Kevin Riley's hands. Let's try to do that.
2. Don't get in a big hole early. This has been a constant issue all year, with the exception of last game. It ties in with No. 1, but the offense has to do its part. If we can get to halftime feeling reasonably OK about our performance, that's another positive step.
3. Get some first downs -- by whatever means necessary. Will we see any wrinkles coming off the bye week? Trick plays? Wildcat formations? Something? Anything? Somehow, some way, we've got to move the chains occasionally. Drives of 3-6 plays just aren't going to do anything to help anyone out today.
Oh, and let's get out of this without any more big injuries.