Arizona takes its turn at whipping WSU's defense

Good morning, Coug fans. Hopefully those of you back in Washington still have power following the wind storm last night. If you do have power, I think we all know that it is probably best to avoid the Pac-12 Network today unless you want to revisit yet another embarrassing performance by WSU. More redshirts were burned, more drives were wasted and once again, more opponents were racing to the endzone after receiving a kick or punt.

I could write about the continued ineptitude of the special teams, the seemingly wanton burning of redshirts in the secondary (So Coach Breske, Tracy Clark was your number one guy leaving camp, but now you're cool with throwing in Kevin Griffin and Pat Porter for the hell of it?), an experienced quarterback and his offense chronically underperforming at the start of the game, or myriad other problems with this WSU team.

You folks are already well-versed in those areas. So I'll be honest, I didn't see one snap after it was 31-0. My son's friend had a birthday party yesterday, at a rollerskating rink, that was scheduled to end an hour before the WSU game started. As an aside, there was an on-duty cop inside the roller rink at 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. At first I wondered why, but then I remembered that I live in Florida. After the party, we were invited over for dinner at the birthday girl's house.

I decided to pass on the dinner portion in order to watch the WSU game. This meant that for one of the few times since I had kids, I had the house all to myself for roughly four hours of uninterrupted college football. These opportunities are precious few. When the score reached 31-0, I left to join my family, finally deciding that this team isn't worth my time. I chose a house with four kids under the age of nine over watching football in silence. That is that state of WSU football.

As for the game, Jacob Thorpe summed it up quite well in his final thoughts, so I'll let him take it from here. There is a silver lining, though. Just imagine how bad the final score would have been if WSU talked about its injuries.

Washington State's secondary depth is such that with just a couple guys out they no longer have guys who are ready to play in a Pac-12 football. I'm sure Kevin Griffin will be a fine player and Beau Glover's effort is unassailable but neither player is honestly ready to go up against Cayleb Jones or Austin Hill and win that matchup.

This game seemed to be a confluence of a lack of depth and players being out. Kalafitoni Pole played but he didn't start and his absence causes ripples along the offensive line. I don't know that not having Riley Sorenson at center killed the Cougars, but I'm sure it didn’t help. Sulaiman Hameed also played but not very much and ideally you already wouldn't be relying on a true freshman at safety.

The defense was put in a bad position this game but the offense wasn't and to me that's the most concerning thing. Arizona came into the game allowing 8.1 yards per passing attempt but WSU's explosive passing offense managed just 6.2. The Cougars went scoreless on the first five possessions of the first half and its first three of the second. Besides Sorenson the Cougars weren't missing anyone offensively they usually have so the trouble scoring against a bad passing defense is especially concerning.

Football

Arizona overwhelms Cougars - Spokesman.com - Oct. 25, 2014
For anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if one of college football’s best offenses matched up against the backups of a banged-up defense Saturday’s game must have been an enlightening experience.

UA-WSU notes: Five Cougars make collegiate debuts as ‘youth movement’ hits another level - Spokesman.com - Oct. 26, 2014
The Cougars have been young on defense all season, typically starting three freshmen and a sophomore in the secondary. But against Arizona the Cougars’ youth movement was taken to another level.

John Blanchette: Blowout loss to Arizona just the latest debacle for Wazzu football - Spokesman.com - Oct. 26, 2014
Not only should Washington State burn the tape from Saturday’s 59-37 debacle at the hands of Arizona, the Cougars might want to toss the practice and game plans, transcripts of any motivational speeches, coaches’ pay stubs and menus from the players’ cafeteria on the pyre, as well.

Cougars arrive late, and fans exit early | Bud Withers | The Seattle Times
Most of the year, the Cougars have spent digging out of holes. In the opener against Rutgers, they trailed 22 seconds into the game, 7-0, and threw an interception on their first possession. Trailed at Nevada, 14-0. Fell behind Utah, 21-0, in a mere 10 minutes. Gave up 10 points at Stanford in the first six minutes.

Final thoughts from the Arizona game - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Oct. 25, 2014
If it feels like that was Washington State's worst loss of the season, well, that's pretty perceptive.

What we learned in the Pac-12: Week 9 - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Pac-12 reveals a bottom: Colorado and Washington State both fell to 2-6, which means both need to win out to become bowl eligible. So big longshot.

Non-Revenue

Cougar Varsity Eights Earn Sweep in Spokane - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State University women’s rowing team faced neighboring Gonzaga in dual action Saturday morning at the Head of the Spokane in cloudy but good weather on the Spokane River. The Cougars raced three varsity eights, and three novice eight boats.

Cougars Sink Sun Devils - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
For the first time in program history, the Washington State swimming team defeated Arizona State. The Cougars knocked off the Sun Devils at Gibb Pool Friday evening, 155.5-106.5.

Beer

The U.S. Craft Beer Market Is Way Overcrowded - Bon Appétit
I’m onboard with America abandoning middle-of-the-road beer and exploring flavorful new directions. The highway, however, is getting mighty crowded. Hundreds of different beers debut weekly, creating a scrum of session IPAs, spiced witbiers, and barrel-aged stouts scuffling for shelf space.

Non-Sports

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Brad Pitt
We could all use a laugh today. This should give you quite a few.

How One Boy With Autism Became BFF With Apple’s Siri - NYTimes.com
That Siri. She doesn’t let my communications-impaired son get away with anything. Indeed, many of us wanted an imaginary friend, and now we have one. Only she’s not entirely imaginary.