I'm trying a little something different with game recaps, which is linking to the SBN recap (above) for those of you that missed the game and may want to know all the ins-and-outs that got us to the final score.
Yet again, there's not much for me to add, except this: for whatever its worth, this game restored my faith in Paul Wulff a little bit. Pay no attention to the final score - this game was close throughout most of the first half and was 21-10 late in the third quarter. Sure, the Cougars never led, but this wasn't the roll-over-and-die type performance we've seen every week since the USC game. In fact, this game was pretty reminiscent of the game against the Trojans, with the obvious differences today being a lack of Jeff Tuel and the lopsided final score.
Still, there's a long way to go. Watching Arizona play Oregon at this moment, I remember how Arizona struggled in the early years under Stoops. While he never reached these depths, the Wildcats didn't have a winning season until the fifth year under Stoops. However, they've reeled in solid recruiting classes, built their program up, and now find themselves in the conversation for a Pac-10 championship.
Is it an equivalent example? Not exactly, but I try to look on the bright side after the 1,238 times that we see a Cougar QB pass go to Dwight Tardy in the flat for no gain. Earlier today, I felt like it was only a matter of time for Wulff. Now I feel like maybe there's a glimmer of hope.
What else is good news? We're a year away, at least in my opinion, from knowing the answer to our Wulff question. Either the program starts to show signs of life (which is a win), or Paul Wulff proves he can't get it together and we move on to the next coach (also a win).
Player of the Game: Seniors. Rather than give the award to an individual player, I thought I'd throw it out to the seniors who stuck with this program through good times and bad (mostly bad) over the past four to five years. Hope they got to go to some basketball games!
Unsung Hero: Jared Karstetter. Six catches for 72 yards, and a bright spot in a still struggling Cougar offense.
It was over when... Jacquizz Rodgers spun away from a Cougar defender en route to a 39-yard touchdown with 12:10 left to play in the fourth. It put OSU up 35-10.
Play of the Game: Dwight Tardy's 1-yard dive into the endzone to get the Cougars within 21-10 at halftime.
Stat of the Game: Jacquizz Rodgers finished with 165 rushing yards. WSU, as a team, had 192 total.