Well, that clearly didn't go as planned.
I'm really not sure what to say after this. I know we're all incredibly disappointed. I, for one, thought the days of giving up 60 points were behind us. So in that respect, today was a bit jarring.
However, unlike a lot of you, I'm willing to continue to reserve judgment. The first game of the year can be a weird thing and can sometimes be a little misleading. I hesitate to illustrate the point by reminding you that Oregon scored eight points in its season opener against Boise State last year, because I don't want to give the impression that I think a similar explosion is on the horizon. It's not.
But things do change. This team features an amazing amount of young players. If they don't get better from now until the end of the season, fine. But let's give these guys a chance to mature. One third of today's roster had never played a down of FBS football. One third!We might all be best served to wait until the first quarter of the season is over before making sweeping judgments.
Here's one thing we are not going to do after this: Play the blame game. We are not going to have long-winded arguments in the comments about how it was all Paul Wulff's fault because he didn't prepare his team, or how it wasn't Paul Wulff's fault because Jeff Tuel's mechanics have suddenly gone to hell and none of his linebackers can tackle. It's old, tired, and unproductive -- it's not like anyone is going to bring any kind of new insight to the table. If you want to vent, head over to Cougfan. We're not even going to go there, and if you do, you'll be banned faster than you can blink.
However, there are clearly changes and adjustments that need to be made. If you'd like to suggest and discuss those, that would be highly encouraged. I'd start with making C.J. Mizell a starter immediately.
I will leave you with one final thought. This is a quote out of Vince Grippi's game story:
"We were in the game and then they made a big play, then they made another big play and then we kind of, I don’t want to say give up, but it’s like a snowball effect," senior defensive end Kevin Kooyman said. "It’s frustrating to see all the hard work we had put in, all the confidence we had, and it got stripped away from us real fast."
I'm officially worried about this team's mental state. I'm starting to think they're a lot more fragile than I realized. Boy, am I glad Montana State is up next. I'm wishing we could have started the season with that one.
If you want to torture yourself and read some more about the game, here are the various stories and notes out there:
Oklahoma State drubs WSU - Spokesman.com - Sept. 4, 2010
The Cougars opened the 2010 season the same way they ended 11 games in 2009 and 11 more in 2008, falling behind early, giving up yards in huge chunks and ultimately losing, this one 65-17 before 48,962 at Boone Pickens Stadium and a nationwide cable television audience.
Cougars | Cougars suffer thrashing | Seattle Times Newspaper
It's now past the point where words matter. Only actions will persuade the college football world that this WSU season isn't going where the past two did, after the Cougars were clotheslined 65-17 by Oklahoma State here on the prairie Saturday night. By pretty much anybody's standards, even Wulff's backers, this was awful. He seemed to be saying it was a different kind of awful than the past two years, coming with a young team that doesn't fully know how to compete, and perhaps carrying the deer-in-the-headlights baggage of 2008-09 with it.
Thrown into fire - Spokesman.com - Sept. 5, 2010
Washington State played seven true freshmen, including one, Rickey Galvin, who had four plays and one carry before breaking his right arm. He’ll be lost for the season. The rest had varying degrees of success.
Cougars | Freshman receiver is rare bright spot | Seattle Times Newspaper
Not a lot of bright spots blared forth for Washington State here Saturday night in a 65-17 loss to Oklahoma State, but one was obvious: Freshman receiver Marquess Wilson.
Cougars | 2Minute Drill | Seattle Times Newspaper
Player of the game Kendall Hunter, the Oklahoma State back coming off an injury-plagued 2009 season, ran wild for 257 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries, despite playing only the first half and one series of the second.