The day before the day

It feels like it's been a month since WSU played a game in Martin Stadium, but the wait is almost over. In roughly 36 hours, the Cougars will be back on the field for a game which may wind up as one of the so-called turning point moments of the season.

Fittingly enough, the Cougars are playing Oregon State. There weren't a lot of moments recently when people thought WSU was about to turn the corner, but they seemingly all came against OSU. In 2011, the Cougars were 3-3 and playing OSU in Seattle. There was a thought WSU could win that game and still make a run at a bowl. They lost 44-21 in what may have been one of the final breaking points of the Paul Wulff era.

WSU was 2-3 heading into the Oregon State game last season, but coming off a "moral victory" against Oregon. If WSU could play Oregon step-for-step, it could surely hang with the Beavers. The Cougars lost 19-6 in what was probably the worst game of Connor Halliday's career.

And now here we are. The Cougars are 4-2 and fresh off their second Pac-12 road win. Unlike the last two years, WSU will play the Beavers in Martin Stadium. When most people project the schedule going forward, tomorrow's game is often circled as a needed win if WSU is going to go bowling this year.

Will the Cougars continue to play well and take another step forward? Or will Oregon State once again provide the reality smack in the face it has the last two seasons? We'll find out soon enough.

Football:

Bud Withers has a nice profile on Vince Mayle. It includes some background including the prospect of an extra season.

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Mayle catches on quickly in first season for Cougars | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
In the moments after Washington State dispatched California last week, Vince Mayle was a target of writers, curious about a lot of things. Like, considering he weighs 229 pounds, had any coach ever envisioned him as a tight end instead of a wide receiver?

BeaverBlitz.com - Ask the Expert: Washington State
As the Oregon State Beavers continue to prepare for their PAC 12 match-up against Washington State, we caught up with Britton Ransford from WazzuWatch.com who gives us insight on the Washington State.

Bill Moos talks Jack Thompson, Dad's Weekend - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
In his latest podcast, Director of Athletics Bill Moos discusses a busy Dad’s Weekend of Cougar Athletics competition on campus with soccer and volleyball in action as well as football against Oregon State, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at sold-out Martin Stadium. In addition, Moos gives a football operations building update, and shares his thoughts on Jack Thompson’s selection to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

OSU football: Cutting through crowd noise with silent count : Football
Mannion has been to the stadium on a recruiting trip, but he saw enough to know that when the Beavers play in Pullman on Saturday, the game is going to be loud. "My impression of it was that it’s not the biggest stadium but it’s probably a place that will fill up and get pretty rowdy," Mannion said. "So we’re preparing for silent count and all that stuff."

OSU defensive backfield expects test | MailTribune.com
There will be a lot of work for the Oregon State defensive backs on Saturday.

Thursday Night Lights - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Oct. 10, 2013
It was a forgettable day for WSU's young quarterbacks during their weekly scrimmage. The full-contact event is a chance young players to showcase their stuff, and after a very good showing last week, freshman QB Tyler Bruggman and co. were less than their best today.

Oregon State football: Beavers will lean heavily on nickel, dime packages vs. Washington State | OregonLive.com
CORVALLIS -- Sean Martin noticed something peculiar recently when he examined the Oregon State football schedule.

Five questions with Howie Stalwick, who covers the WSU Cougars for a variety of publications and websites | OregonLive.com
Freelance writer Howie Stalwick, who covers Washington State football program on a daily basis for a number of newspapers and websites, answered five questions about the Cougars, who play host to Oregon State Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. Pac-12 game.

Poll: Will ‘College GameDay’ WSU flag cause ruckus in Montlake? - Seattle PI Sports Blog

Since Oct. 18, 2003, there has been at least one Washington State Cougars flag at every "College GameDay" broadcast. This Saturday, when "GameDay" makes its inaugural appearance in Seattle, the flag will fly for the 139th consecutive time.

Expect Oregon State Beavers, Washington State Cougars to air it out - ESPN

If you are a fan of the passing game, you should re-route to Pullman, Wash., this weekend. It's reasonable to expect Oregon State and homestanding Washington State to combine to throw more than 100 passes for nearly 800 yards against each other on Saturday, at least if their season averages hold true.