HOT COUGAR ACTION: WSU Vs. Colorado Morning Links

Kickoff is just a few hours away and with more than a dozen links after the jump, we might have enough to keep you busy reading right until the start of the game.

As usual, it was a busy week at CougCenter and there is a good chance you missed something so we'll run through the links of the week before jumping to today's crop from around the web.

If you're looking to read up on Colorado, there is no better place to start than Craig Powers' offense and defense previews. While plenty of eyes will be on the quarterback, whoever it is, Michael Preston says the penalty flag will be this week's most important "person". Speaking of the quarterback position, Brian Anderson took a closer look at the knee injury that could keep Jeff Tuel from playing.

Jeff Nusser got some insight from the Colorado perspective with this Q&A with Ralphie Report. Jeff also detailed three things he'd like to see from the Cougars. Despite plenty of angst over the first three weeks, Cougar fans are confident heading into the game with 92 percent of you picking WSU in our weekly community prediction. It's unknown whether you all factored in the poor air quality into your pick.

Will WSU's offense breakout today? They might if they put together a few more drives like this. Jeff Collier has the details of anything else you could possibly want to know about this game. Finally if you are looking for gambling odds and betting advice on this game and others in the Pac-12, Kyle Sherwood has you covered. He's giving it away for free, so it must be good.

Football

WSU athletic director Moos moves ahead with plans - Spokesman.com - Sept. 22, 2012
PULLMAN – DirecTV isn’t on board with the Pac-12 Networks yet. And while Washington State athletic director Bill Moos doesn’t understand why, he knows the lack of an agreement with the self-anointed leader in sports won’t prevent the school from moving forward with the next phase of its facilities upgrades.

Pac-12 pick 'em, week 4 - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Sept. 21, 2012
Meant to get this posted much earlier, so sorry for the delay. As usual, I need a straight-up winner for each game, as well as an against-the-spread prediction.

Cougars seek breakout game against Colorado - Spokesman.com - Sept. 21, 2012
PULLMAN – It might have been easy to forget, considering the various frustrations that resulted from Washington State’s first three football games of the 2012 season.

2 Minute Drill - Spokesman.com - Sept. 22, 2012
1No more explosives. That’s been a popular buzzword for WSU coaches this season, especially in reference to the Cougars’ defense. They allowed too many big plays last week and had trouble closing out UNLV because of it. To prevent a weak Colorado team from hanging around, The Cougars need to keep plays in front of them, communicate properly in the secondary and eliminate the mental errors that have led to long scoring plays thus far.

Will changes on offense help winless Colorado? - The Denver Post
After a victory, football coaches love to point out how players contributed on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, that also can apply to losses.

SPOKANE, Wash.: Colorado seeks 1st win at WSU | WSU Cougars | The Bellingham Herald
Washington State has been winning ugly the past two games, while Colorado has been just plain ugly.

Washington State Football vs. Colorado: The Cougars Fight to Stay Out of the Pac-12 Cellar - Pacific Takes
When Washington State and Colorado fans look at the rest of their schedules, I'm sure they both draw the same exact conclusion about Saturday's game in Pullman, "We must win this game Saturday, because it is far and away the most winnable game left on the schedule."

Football: CU Buffs hope Pac-12 season offers fresh start - Boulder Daily Camera
Jon Embree says he believes in his plan for rebuilding Colorado football. He says he believes in his players and he trusts his assistant coaches. He has spent a week defending all three.

WSU vs. Colorado game at a glance | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
What to expect: Colorado will try to ease pressure on quarterback Jordan Webb and Connor Wood by running true freshman Christian Powell, who has 199 yards rushing. CU is giving up 68 percent passing by opponents, so the Cougars will try to punish Buffs through the air early and often. Connor Halliday appears the likely starter at QB, as he has taken the majority of practice snaps with the first unit as Jeff Tuel continues his recovery from a knee injury.

Even at 2-1 Washington State Not Satisfied - KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho |
Washington State begins the Pac-12 portion of their schedule Saturday with probably the best team they could possibly face, given the situation: Colorado.

Cougars big favorites against reeling Colorado " Kitsap Sun
PULLMAN — The Colorado Buffaloes suffered narrow defeats in their first two football games after blowing halftime leads, and coach Jon Embree was quick to identify part of the problem.

Prolific Washington State Wideout Marquess Wilson an Intriguing Possibility in ’13 | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2013 NFL Draft
One intriguing prospect in the 2013 NFL Draft is Washington State Cougars split end Marquess Wilson.

Colorado Buffaloes Vs. Washington State Cougars: Enemy Intel - The Ralphie Report
To get a Washington State point of view on Saturday's match-up in Pullman we sat down with Jeff Nusser of Coug Center for a quick three question Q&A on the the Cougars. Take a look.

WSU Athletics

Cougar Soccer Faces Second Straight Ranked Foe - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Fresh off a tie with No. 2 UCLA at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, Washington State women's soccer concludes its nonconference play against No. 23 Santa Clara in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday at 1 p.m.

Volleyball Drops Match at Arizona State - The Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State volleyball team (10-4, 0-2) struggled in its eighth consecutive road match Friday night and Arizona State (12-3, 1-1) took a 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23 win at Wells Fargo Arena.