SB Nation - Nico Grasu

Spaulding Roundup: In A Washington State Of Mind

Nestor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:49:43 -0000

Remember what he did to Dewayne Walker's defense in 2007?

Not sure how I can follow up the excitement around Mr. Smith's decision to come to Howlandwood this morning. I will give it a try. The timing of his announcement was a perfect convergence during the game week sandwiched between two Washington schools. Not only are we feeling good about what transpired last weekend at the Rose Bowl, now all on a sudden we have additional adrenaline shot (even though this wasn't a total surprise) heading into the second exhibition Ben Ball game tonight (and oh BTW Concordia apparently beat UCI last night in their second exhibition game). Let's hope we can keep the good vibes going around BN thanks to the state of Washington all the way into next weekend.

Washington State's football team are hurting again this season. They are streaking in the wrong direction. Here is the "inside slant" from Sportsline.com which accounts what transpired for the Cougars in their last game at Arizona, which somewhat encapsulated their season to date:

Washington State won the toss but decided to defer its decision, and the Wildcats returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, beginning an onslaught that saw Arizona take a 21-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

From there, it was the same old story, which has become exceedingly redundant for Washington State fans, as the Cougars never got back in the game. Their lone score came midway through the fourth quarter after Arizona led 48-0 and had emptied its bench.

Washington State is now 1-8 overall, 0-6 in Pac-10 play, and has lost every conference game by at least 13 points, and all but one by at least 21.

"They opened with that kickoff, and it's hard to open the game when you are down seven," linebacker Andy Mattingly told The Spokesman-Review.

Not that it likely would have mattered much in the long run, as the Cougars were again completely dominated despite Arizona going conservative pretty early on.

Arizona outgained Washington State 471-185, including a 294-59 edge in rushing.

Cougars are also banged up. They lost their starting QB Jeff Tuel (who is a freshman BTW) in their last game and his status is up in air during this game week. Here was the update from the Spokeman-Review yesterday:

"He’s sore today, but (there was) very little swelling, which is a real positive," coach Paul Wulff said Sunday. "He had to get an MRI today to see if there was anything going on more than they anticipated."

Tuel, who is still on crutches, was injured in the second quarter of the Cougars’ 48-7 loss to Arizona on Saturday, a defeat that dropped WSU’s record to 1-8, 0-6 in the Pac-10.

The freshman was trying to scramble when linebacker Xavier Kelley caught him from behind. As Tuel went down, he slightly dislocated his kneecap, suffering what is known as a subluxation, in which the kneecap is pulled laterally from its usual path.

"It’s just wait and see," said Wulff, who expects to know the MRI exam results today. "We’ll see what happens tomorrow and on Tuesday."

Tuel has done ok since he took over at the QB spot this season, completing 71 of 121 passes (58.7 percent completion rate), 6 TDs and 5 ints. If he cant go this weekend, sophomore Marshall Lobbestale will take his spot who has completed 56 of his 116 attempts, throwing for 3 TDs and 5 picks.

Tuel is not the only injury concern for the Cougars:

[Q]uarterback isn’t the only area of injury concern for Wulff this week. The Cougars lost two safeties Saturday and played the second half with Myron Beck, who has played mostly linebacker this season, filling in deep.

Wulff is hoping usual starting strong safety Chima Nwachukwu will be able to return from his sprained ankle.[...]

Kicker Nico Grasu (quadriceps pull) and left tackle Tyson Pencer (ankle sprain) will probably miss this week, replaced by Kevin Rooney and Steven Ayers, respectively.

So they are not in great shape. However, I wouldn't get overly confident if I were UCLA. As mentioned yesterday they are going to look at this game as their last chance of getting a victory at home. That place has been the venue of one Bruin nightmare after another in recent years (except for the miracle in 2005). Bruins have injury issues of their own and concerns around their defensive unit which will require total focus and concentration of the entire team heading into Saturday.

Looking though Washington's stats for this season it instantly becomes clear the kind of struggle they have experienced the entire season. However, there is something we all have to be mindful as UCLA fans. Our run defense right now is atrocious. It's embarrassing really. UCLA's rushing "defense" is crrently ranked 78th in the nation and 8th in the conference. We are giving up almost 157 yards on the ground per game and have gotten gashed repeatedly in recent weeks (still cannot figure out why Sark didn't stick with the ground attack against UCLA).

Our LBs are struggling. Reggie Carter is playing hurt and hasn't been the same. Akeem Ayers is still having problem with overpursuit. Bosworth is playing his heart out but he can only do so much. So I can see a scenario in which WSU will attempt to turn this into a ball control game with RB Dwight Tardy. Does any one remeber what Dwight Tardy did to UCLA last time we went up to Pullman? Here is a reminder:

Cougar running game huge in UCLA win (via KXLY)

Yeah, he tore up that legendary Dewayne Walker defense for 214 yards on 37 carries. It was ugly and pathetic. Tardy is having a so so season this year gaining 321 yards in 69 carries. Those are still respectable numbers as he is averaging more than 4 yards per carry. To put it in perspective. Tardy while gaining 214 yards against Walker's defense in 2007, had about 462 yards in his previous 7 games (poor kid suffered an ACL injury in 51 yard TD run in the final mintue of our game).

Given our history in Pullman our defense better be ready for Tardy an co. Tardy has been coming on somewhat strong (at least per game stats). He rushed for 45 yards in 4 carries against Arizona, which followed a 73 yard rushing effort (in 8 carries) against the Irish. I know what you are thinking. It's the Irish. However, we don't have standing to make fun of the Irish defense, given how ours have performed in recent weeks.

So are going to need our guys to come out and get in rhythm offensively to take control of this game. The reports from Spauling are encouraging re. Prince:

Prince, who suffered a concussion against Washington, went through an exertion test Monday morning and then was cleared by a team doctor to lift weights and practice. Barring a setback, he will start Saturday against Washington State.

"I rode the bike for 30 minutes and did some up-downs," Prince said. "The training staff asked how I was feeling and I said I felt normal. There will be various tests through Thursday."

If Prince is 100 percent and ready to go on Saturday, having him in there will hopefully allow our offense to stay in its rhythm:

"Offensively, we did a lot of good things, especially in the throwing game," Neuheisel said."We're kind of finding some rhythm. The receivers played a pretty darn good game. Kids are starting to come of age, and that's huge. If you look at the first two series of the game, almost everyone got to touch the ball. We're starting to spread it around."

Hopefully Prince is ready to go. It was a lot of run to see spray the ball around all over the field on Saturday. He was simply on fire and it certainly appeared that Chow had taken the leash off our offense. I hope if Prince is healthy Chow comes out with an aggressive game plan for an all out attack on Saturday. If the Bruins can take control of the game early on and maintain an aggressive posture for the entire game, it will do wonders for their confidence not just for the entire season but for the future of this program.

GO BRUINS.

Arizona 48, Washington State 7

Grady. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:02:10 -0000

More photos » by John Miller - AP

Can't read his, can't read his, no you can't read Wulff's poker face

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In the interest of time, I have decided to make a template for all Cougar football recaps going forward. Just fill in the blanks with the appropriate information:

[Opponent] throttled the Cougars at [Martin Stadium/Opponent's Stadium] Saturday, by a final score of [Opponent 40 or more points] to WSU [14 or less points].

The Cougars got off to a horrific start with [opposing player's name] scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes. The Cougar offense went three-and-out on their first several drives, and couldn't slow down [Opponent] on defense. The result was a score at the end of the first quarter of [Opponent 20 or more points], WSU 0.

WSU suffered even more with [one of our few good player's names] suffering a freak injury in the second quarter. That was added insult to the Cougars who had already lost [key Cougar player 1], [key Cougar player 2] and [key Cougar player 3] prior to the game.

[Opponent's player] had a career [rushing/passing] day, with [250 yards rushing/400 yards passing] and six touchdowns. This was a huge boost to [opponent], who earlier in the season suffered an embarrassing loss to [mediocre Pac-10 team].

By the end of the first half, the game was well in hand for [opponent], leading [30 or more] to [7 or less].

Resting most of their starters after the break, the second half was low scoring, with [opponent] earning two more touchdowns to WSU's one.

WSU had one bright spot - a long passing touchdown reception by [Karstetter/Forzani] late in the second half. Nico Grasu missed the PAT.

The Cougars drop to 1 and [x] overall, and remain winless in conference play.

Next week WSU will play [next opponent]. Vegas has set the early line, with the Cougars as 35 point underdogs.

---

Yep, this is what WSU football has become. Games like this make it very hard to remain a staunch defender of Paul Wulff returning in 2010.

Player of the Game: Marshall Lobbestael. Never thought I'd say that again, but Rock Lobster did a good job filling in for the injured Jeff Tuel: 7 for 11, 103 yards, 9.4 yards per attempt, 1 touchdown and no interceptions.

Unsung Hero: Dwight Tardy. Four carries for 44 yards, an 11 yard/carry average, although 37 of those yards came on one play. He also averaged 19.5 yards per kick return. I still think he deserves more carries.

It was over when... Travis Cobb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. I'm not sugar coating it this week. This game was over in thirteen seconds. A new record.

Play of the Game: A pretty obvious selection, the 64-yard touchdown pass from Lobbestael to Karstetter with 6:23 to play. Did you know Arizona's within a half game of the Pac-10 conference lead? Yep, doesn't make me feel any better either.

Stat of the Game: 54. As in Arizona's 54 rushing attempts, resulting in 294 yards and a dominating 41:19 time of posession.

When it comes to the Heisman, one man stands above the rest

Dancing Football — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:18:17 -0000

A few days ago, my fellow author Nuss wrote this cute little post proclaiming Reid Forrest to be "better than your punter." Now we all know that Nuss writes eleventy billion posts a day in hopes that one will stick, and the problem is some of those posts show a lack of research and analysis that you, the readers, expect from CougCenter.

But I digress. The reason I'm taking Nuss to task on this is not because he was wrong. It is true, Reid Forrest is better than your punter. Seriously though, is that really an amazing revelation? That is similar to saying "water is wet."

I want to take it a little further. Reid Forrest is not only the best punter in the land, he is the best PLAYER in the land.

What's that you say? What about Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, or even that receiver from Notre Dame that sounds like he is out of a fairy tale? Sure, those players are great. They are just not even close to the level of great that Reid Forrest possesses. For instance, check out this chart:

Now if Reid Forrest's perfect score of 100 in the "awesomeness" category does not impress you, then there is something wrong with you. If there is something wrong with you, I will offer up this next table of statistics, which will show you exactly how much better Reid is than the rest of those no-talent clowns. The statistic is something I like to call "Rated Effectiveness of Individual Duty" or REID. The statistic measures how many yards from scrimmage the player gains on average when they are involved in the play. Basically the average of their runs, throws, and receptions. Here is the data:

Player	REID
Reid Forrest	15.0
Tim Tebow	6.42
Colt McCoy	6.10
Golden Tate	14.04

Reid is the clear winner in REID, with Golden Tate coming in a close second. I know what you are thinking, but I'm trying not to be a homer here. In fact, I set out to write this post to convince Coug Nation that Reid Forrest is not a viable Heisman candidate. After looking at the information available, I realized it would be impossible to argue that point.

Some may scoff at Forrest's REID number. "SMALL SAMPLE SIZE," they will shout. It's no use arguing with these people. They are so backwards in their thinking that debating with them will only drive them further from reality. The statistics I have tabulated above are flawless. That fact isn't made any less true because some guy left his caps lock on while typing.

Even with all this concrete evidence backing up Reid Forrest's Heisman resume, we must realize that the voters are not convinced on statistics alone. Each winner needs that special game-changing moment. Eric Crouch stumbling on a long touchdown run, Reggie Bush with an unbelievable move against Fresno State, and Ron Dayne eating 42 hot dogs in one sitting. These moments are the stuff of legend.

Reid Forrest has that moment. In WSU's lone victory, this play was so vital to the outcome, it can easily be argued that without Reid's help, victory would have been impossible. I am talking about his expert work as the holder on Nico Grasu's game winner in OT versus SMU. Without the precise spot, the laces out, the complete disregard for that natural instinct to flinch, that play would have never happened and Coug fans would be suffering through a horrific 0-fer season.

In some years, there is much debate over who should win the Heisman trophy. This is not one of those years. Washington State Punter/Holder/Running Back, Reid Forrest, has blown away all competition. His numbers are perfect and his awesomeness is outmatched. He is without peer among College Football players.

Reid Forrest for Heisman.

Poll

Who do you think should win the Heisman Trophy?

Reid Forrest.

86 votes

I'm an idiot, have no common sense, and am inclined to believe someone else should win.

33 votes

119 votes | Poll has closed

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Special Teams

Dancing Football — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

SUPERSTAR!

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Grade: C-

First Quarter Grade: C

Stats:

Punting	No.	Yards	Avg.	Long	TB	FC	I20	50+	Blkd
Reid Forrest	25	1072	42.88	65	0	5	5	2	0

Placekicking	FG M/A	Long	XP M/A
Nico Grasu	0/1	N/A	2/4

Kickoffs	No.	Yards	Avg.	TB	OB
Nico Grasu	7	371	53.0	0	0

Kick Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
Marcus Richmond	6	99	16.5	0	25
Carl Winston	5	68	13.6	0	24
Daniel Simmons	3	75	25.0	0	33
Chris Prummer	1	8	8.0	0	8

Punt Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
Gino Simone	3	27	9.0	0	19
Jeffrey Solomon	2	3	1.5	0	3

Comments: Reid Forrest is our shining star. He was Grady's first half MVP, he is the best punter in the Pac 10 and one of the top in the country. He does it all, from booming 50+ punts to change field position, to pinning opponents deep in their own territory with precision, to leading the team in rushing for a single game. If the grade was only up to him he would get an A++++++.

Too bad there are other special teams units too. Kickoffs coverage has done alright. Grasu's kickoff average is brought down by an onside kick against USC. Kickoff returns have been atrocious. Averaging less than twenty yards per return is not going to cut it. The Cougar offense struggles to move down the field and it doesn't help when they to consistently start deep in their own territory.

Apparently the kickoff duties have worn Grasu out when it comes to putting the ball through the uprights. Nico made just 2 out of 4 extra point attempts in the second quarter and missed his only field goal attempt. These are small sample sizes, but extra points should rarely be missed. If someone has the leg to get it there, there is huge margin for error. These missed kicks have been extremely disheartening. Most notably against USC, where Jeff Tuel led the Cougs on clock-eating drive late in the first half only to have Nico shank the field goal try. If the Cougs are going to upset someone in the second half of the season, Nico needs to make good on every opportunity he gets.

What can be improved: Make field goals and extra points. Make more plays in the return game.

Reid Forrest for Heisman.

Poll

Judge them.

A

3 votes

B

6 votes

C

6 votes

D

9 votes

F

2 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Q+A with CougCenter

TwistNHook — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:45:17 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Reid Forrest is Washington State's Nick Harris. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Washington State fans are very lucky. I know given a lot of the rough seasons they've had the last few years, that might be a shocking statement. But while other fanbases have blogs that deal with failure the same way chickens deal with losing their head, WSU fans have CougCenter. Over at CougCenter, Nuss, Grady, and Dancing Football are the team that manage all the WSU information over there. And they have a cool head, analyzing all the painful losses here reasonably and with extreme intelligence.

After the jump, check out an interview we did with CougCenter. They did a great job there and even if you are overlooking this game for ASU, we aren't. Let's take a further look at the Washington State Cougars. Go Bears!

1. How much is Wazzu going to win by?

Let's go with negative-25.

It'll be closer than last year, mostly because we're a lot better on the defensive line -- it looked like a college team blocking a high school team at times last year up front. The Cougs have done a much better job this year of limiting big plays, and it obviously will continue to be an enormous point of emphasis this week. Additionally, we have three starters on the offensive line who missed the past month who all should be back in some capacity. We've run the ball with those guys in the lineup, so there's a chance the offense hangs onto the ball just enough to limit Cal's possessions.

But then again, there's a chance you do to us what Oregon did and we win by negative-46.

via www.spokesmanreview.com

2. How's James Montgomery doing? What exactly happened to him?

If anyone knew exactly what happened to him, he might not be in the situation he is right now.

Here's the best anyone can piece together: He was kicked in the calf at some point against SMU (even he doesn't remember when); he started experiencing some discomfort in the leg that evening and let the trainers know; they told him to call if it got worse; he went to sleep; it got worse -- A LOT worse; he called the trainers in the middle of the night; they told him to go immediately to the hospital; the team's orthopedic surgeon showed up, saw what was happening, and performed immediate surgery for a condition called acute compartment syndrome; Montgomery is done for the season and possibly his career.

Never heard of acute compartment syndrome? Neither had we, or anyone else we'd talked to, which led us to initially dismiss its severity. Turns out, if left untreated, it can result in loss of limb ... or even death. I am not making that up.*

* It seems that if you want your football career ended by freaky injuries, come to Washington State! Our guys don't just get hurt in the normal way; they get things like acute compartment syndrome, paralyzation in a car accident, a broken neck ...

When the surgery was performed, they had to remove part of the calf muscle where the pressure had built up. That's obviously not good for an athlete, and has led to speculation that Montgomery's football career might be over. However, it seems far too early for such a conclusion, and it sounds like Montgomery is the kind of guy who, if it's possible to come back, he'll make it back. He's reportedly in good spirits, but whether he'll travel to Berkeley this weekend is up in the air.

Here is another story on James Montgomery.

via media.spokesman.com

3. Please tell us about your most dangerous offensive threat, and your best defensive player.

I suppose the word "most" suggests relativity, so keep that in mind when looking at these guys, neither of whom approach the standard of "dangerous" as set by many of your players.

Offense: Let's go with Dwight Tardy. He's an experienced running back who has shown an ability at times to put up big numbers. The only problem is that the opportunities to put up big numbers haven't been there the past couple of years, since there haven't been any holes to run through. He has the ability to break one, although he's not going to remind you guys of Best or Vereen.

Defense: There aren't a lot of standouts on this unit -- just a lot of average guys. It's probably the reason why this defense has been better, but not great, as it lacks any serious playmakers. That said, I'll go with Louis Bland. As the team's fourth linebacker, Bland might not even start -- depends on whether middle linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis is fully recovered from his staph infection -- but when he's on the field, good things happen. He's got a pair of interceptions already this year and just has a nose for the ball.

4. Can you guys give us a brief history of how you tumbled so fast? What did Bill Doba do to you guys???

Bill Doba left the cupboard bare. Pretty much that simple. After the Holiday Bowl in '03 -- and the team's third consecutive 10-win season -- they thought they would be on the lists of four- and five-star recruits. And they were. But they weren't high enough on their lists to actually land any of them, and coaches were left scrambling. All you need to know is that in Wulff's second season, most of the best players are his recruits who are freshmen and sophomores.

via www.wfaa.com

5. Give us your best upset scenario. Don't skimp on the gory details; the Cal fans who are left after the debacles vs. Oregon and USC absolutely revel in that kind of stuff.

Well, we did force six turnovers against ASU ... and still lost by two touchdowns. So that ought to tell you something about whether this team is even able to entertain the notion of an upset.

However, if the unlikeliest of scenarios is to happen, I think this is how it goes down: Best gets hurt, Vereen gets hurt, whoever your third running back is can't run the ball, Riley throws multiple interceptions -- at least three of which must be returned for touchdowns -- and the Cougar offense has two touchdown plays of 75-plus yards. A field goal by Nico Grasu makes it 38-35 Cougs.

6. How much should Cal fans fear Dwight Tardy?

Not much. The offensive line is banged up, although healthier than it has been in weeks. Still, Tardy's just not really a gamebreaker. If the offensive line truly is better, he could have something like a 22 carry, 110-yard day against a Cal defense that can be porous against the run. (Like I have to tell you that.)

7. Please enlighten us with some cougar jokes.

A gorgeous younger guy ends up with a beautiful older woman at a wild club. As the evening progresses with drinking and sexy dancing, she asks the young hunk if he’s ever had a "sportsman’s double?" He says what’s that? She explains that it’s a mother and daughter threesome. The guy thinks, if the mother is this hot then the daughter must be even better, so he agrees! He thinks this is his lucky night! He goes home with her, and as they get in the house, the fabulous cougar shouts upstairs ...

"Mom you still awake?"

AUDIO: Paul Wulff's weekly press conference

Nuss — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:29:41 -0000

Loads of audio out there today. We'll start with Paul Wulff's weekly Tuesday teleconference, and pass along some of the other stuff that was on the radio today later tonight. Wulff talks about ...

The injuries (lots of guys out, including offensive linemen Steven Ayers, Zack Williams and B.J. Guerra, defensive lineman Josh Luapo, tight end Zach Tatman, and more).
How tough the rebuild job has been.
Why the decision to move to Jeff Tuel, and the trend of true freshman quarterbacks.
More Tuel. (They liked a lot of the plays he made -- especially some of the throws.)
More Tuel. (Unlike Marshall Lobbestael, Tuel is unfazed by a strong pass rush.)
The need to get more out of the offense early.
Nico Grasu and his mental state.

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Special Teams

Dancing Football — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:07:40 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

We would prefer to see less of these poses from Nico for the rest of the year. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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GRADE: C

STATS:

Punting	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long	TB	FC	I20	50+	Blkd
Reid Forrest	17	773	45.5	64	2	4	6	5	0

Placekicking	FG M/A	Long	XP M/A
Nico Grasu	5-7	44	6/6

Kickoffs	Total	Yards	Avg,	TB	OB
Patrick Rooney	9	534	59.3	0	1
Nico Grasu	5	344	68.8	3	0

Kick Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
James Montgomery	7	168	24.0	O	38
Marcus Richmond	3	67	22.3	0	31
Aire Justin	2	32	16.0	0	19
Brandon Jones	2	28	14	0	19
Total	14	295	21.1	0	38
Opponents	10	301	30.1	1	85

Punt Returns	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
Jeffrey Solomon	1	21	21.0	0	21
Brandon Jones	1	3	3.0	0	3
Total	2	24	12.0	0	21
Opponent	7	73	10.4	0	59

COMMENTS: Aside from the stellar play from Reid Forrest at punter (who would be that kid in the group doing all the work while the other kids slack off), special teams has been somewhat schizophrenic this year. This is due in part to some personnel shifts and in part to some sloppy play. Placekicking, the return game, and kickoffs have been horrific at times, but at other times they have shown flashes of competence.

Nico Grasu turned in what will be one of the plays of the year when he split the uprights from 39 yards out to lift the Cougs over SMU last Saturday. Of course, that final kick would not have been necessary had there not been a botched snap on an earlier extra point try, or if Grasu could have hit a field goal from the same distance earlier in the game. While Grasu is the best placekicker the Cougs have had since Drew Dunning, he still has his lapses, like the 22 yard miss against Stanford.

Success in the return game has boiled down to who has been bringing the ball back. Corners Brandon Jones and Aire Justin struggled mightily in that position, making poor decisions and failing to show that ability to make the first guy miss. Running backs James Montgomery and Marcus Richmond have faired much better. With Montgomery out for the season, lets hope Richmond takes over the kick returning duties.

Kickoffs got off to a very poor start in the first few games. Kickoff "specialist" Patrick Rooney struggled to get the ball beyond the ten yard line, let alone in the endzone. The coverage has also left something to desire, as the opposition is averaging over thirty yards per return. Nico Grasu provided some hope against SMU, as he was able to knock three kicks into the endzone. If he continues that, it could mask some of the depth issues the Cougs have shown on special teams.

HOW THIS GRADE CAN BE IMPROVED: I fully expect improvement out of the special teams going forward. Wulff seems to have realized that his cornerbacks are not effective kick returners, and hopefully we will see guys that are used to having the ball in there hands back there. Nico Grasu provides instant improvement in the kickoff game. Reid Forrest should keep being awesome. Many special teams mistakes can be improved if the Cougs avoid mental lapses, like missing assignments. This unit has real potential to earn an "A" in the second quarter of the season.

Paul Wulff: The hero or the villain?

Grady. — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:00:19 -0000

We won a game!

Well, mostly. Lost in the jubilation over the Cougars' 30-27 victory over SMU is the fact we were basically handed the game on four bad balls from Bo Levi Mitchell - two of which were returned for touchdowns. The Mustangs blew a 17-0 lead, and, despite racking up a 504 to 276 total yards advantage, gave the game away.

Or did they? Was it inspired play by the Cougar defense that ruined Mitchell's day and drove the Cougars to victory?

That's the thing with Wulff. All of a sudden, I can't get a read on whether I love him or I hate him. Whether he'll be the savior of the program or the catalyst to drag us down to depths we've never reached.

For three quarters Saturday, honestly, I wanted him fired. SMU, a program not much stronger than the weakened Hawaii program we had faced a week earlier, had jumped out to a 17-0 lead. Despite his decree to use Jeff Tuel and Marshall Lobbestael, Wulff stuck with Lobster despite two harmful interceptions and a completion percentage under fifty percent. I could see the program circling the drain - from three ten win seasons and the Rose Bowl, to the mediocrity of the Doba era, to 0-12 and the laughingstock of the conference. The moment I found out Steve Sarkisian's revitalized UW program had upset mighty USC, I started formulating my list of new head coaching candidates: Robb Akey, Nick Holt, Turner Gill. Heck, we probably don't even have a shot at a Kyle Whittingham or Chris Petersen, even though we would have seven years ago.

But then: the comeback. AH-E gets a pick six. Myron Beck and his flowing mane of hair does the same on an even bigger return. Then, Lobbestael, after a terrible attempt at a game tying drive his previous time out, guides the Cougars on an eighty yard march to the promised land. Silences his critics in the crowd. Gives the Cougars all the momentum in the world heading into OT.

The defensive backfield, our achilles' heel so far this year, was phenomenal. Brandon Jones makes a diving INT to keep SMU from going up ten in the fourth. Chima Nwachukwu picks off the first pass of overtime to give the Cougars an easy path to victory. And the special teams issues? Resolved. Nico Grasu comes back from a missed FG and muffed PAT attempt to hit the game winner. Grasu's kickoffs found the endzone and beyond, and his one squib kick was a beauty down the middle, deep into SMU territory. His game winner came on another clutch performance - shades of the Apple Cup winner last fall. Even through the same goalposts at the East end.

And the stadium was rocking. The best moment? The WSU student section shifting over into empty seats near the East end zone as the Cougars took the field defensively to start OT. Of course, before they could get settled in, Nwachukwu had caught the key INT to set up the Cougar win.

Still - we needed all that magic to beat SMU. A program that struggled two games earlier with Steven F. Austin. Death Penalty U; still far removed from its former glory. We were lucky in some ways: outgained, outplayed for the majority of this game - we either stole this game or it was given to us.

One can't help but question the coaching decisions that put us in a 17-0, and later a 24-7, hole. Again with the 3-3-5 defense after getting schooled by Hawaii? Only nine touches for the best offensive playmaker, James Montgomery? Pass play after pass play for the struggling Marshall Lobbestael? No Tuel or Lopina after previous promises to find the best guy and stick with him? Of course Wulff's gamble on Lobbestael paid off on this one, but it makes you wonder if we'll be so lucky the next time. It's hard to sugar coat the fact that Marshall struggled for much of the day.

Meanwhile, there were some inspired decisions by Wulff. Using his timeouts wisely near the end of the first half to set up the Cougar touchdown that would bring us within ten. Saving his timeouts in the second half - to allow the Cougars plenty of time and clock stoppages at their disposal for the game tying drive. Firing up the defense in the second half. Utilizing Johnny Forzani, Daniel Blackledge and Jared Karstetter in ways that made us forget we even had wide receiver depth problems in the first place. Making the right call to keep Lobbestael on the field, instead of the emotional one that might have pulled him off it. Having faith in Grasu after another early miss.

And remember all the penalties under Doba? Yet again, the Cougs played clean ball in Pullman. Four penalties for forty-five yards. One of the personal fouls was a mental lapse by Bernard Wolfgramm, the other undeserved on a terrible call. This was the kind of blemish-free play I'd been praying for years earlier. Not to mention the roster cleaning up its actions off the field. Players are now accountable. Commit a significant crime? Fail to make it academically? You're gone. Incoming players in particular under Wulff are facing less external discipline than they did under Doba.

Of course, the performance on the field has been inconsistent at best. Sometimes it's worth it to take a chance on a player with questionable character and make the most of the upside (see: every Dennis Erickson team ever). And the disparities in talent have been clear. Even mid-majors like SMU and Hawaii can claim an advantage in speed and size at certain positions. I cringe at how things might play out when we're up against top tier Pac-10 talent. Better than last year, certainly, but nothing to write home about.

Then, there's recruiting. It's looking good. The recruiting services have many of our players ranked nationally. We're locking down the hometown kids: from Spokane, the west side, and the necessary players from California. Excuse me though if I can't help but think our roster is starting to look a lot like Eastern Washington's. Almost exclusively kids from the Evergreen State and California. Our former pipeline to Texas has been cut off, even though you can see the benefit of it on the field in the form of players like Chima Nwachukwu.

At the end of the day I can't decide. I'm thrilled we avoided 0-12. I'm shocked we have to deal with the threat of that futility in the first place. I feel there are times Wulff is in over his head, and that gimmicky no-huddle offense should have been left back with the Eastern Eagles. I also feel there are times that Wulff is resurrecting a program from its lowest depths with exceptional recruiting and decent in-game coaching. He wins close games; something Doba rarely did. But he also gets blown out. A lot. We've had some brilliant moments, but we've also had quite a few embarrassments.

Wulff has only had a little over a year to coach at WSU. Hardly enough time to give a conclusive evaluation. And yet, the Cougs are getting killed out there. USC ran out the clock during the first half last year, in scoring position with a 41-0 lead, out of pity for the crimson and gray team they were slaughtering. If there was a mercy rule, it would've been enacted. And yet we beat a Washington team last year that had much of the talent that beat USC today. We look like a team that could get beat by a FCS team at any moment; yet we blew out the one FCS opponent we've faced under Wulff.

I'm at a loss to decide if Wulff is our savior or our program-killer.

So, now, I turn the question over to you.

Poll

Paul Wulff is WSU's...

Hero

311 votes

Villain

120 votes

431 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State 30, SMU 27

Grady. — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:23:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State kicker Nico Grasu (18) is clutch and clutch is everything. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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For a program that needed a win in the worst way, Nico Grasu delivered.

Again.

Three games removed from his game winner in the 2008 Apple Cup, Grasu hit a 39 yard field goal in overtime to guide Washington State (1-2) over Southern Methodist (2-1), in the first ever meeting between the schools.

WSU had looked dead in the water earlier, with SMU jumping out to a 17-0 lead on touchdowns by Terrance Wilkerson and Zach Line. The Cougars finally showed some signs of life late in the first half, with Daniel Blackledge catching a three yard touchdown reception from Marshall Lobbestael with :30 seconds remaining.

It was the first start of the year for the sophomore Lobbestael, who completed 24 of 52 passes, netting two touchdowns and two interceptions. Despite struggling for three quarters, Lobbestael got a lift from the Cougar defense until he came through on the final possession of regulation.

With the Cougars trailing 27-13 late in the third, Alex Hoffman-Ellis took an interception from Mustang quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell 52 yards back to the end zone. It sparked a Cougar rally capped by teammate Myron Beck's 67 yard interception return for a touchdown.

That set up the final drive of regulation, with Lobbestael taking the Cougars 80 yards for the tying touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. Jared Karstetter caught the ball in the back of the en dzone on a dart from Lobbestael. The Cougar prevent defense held SMU's potent offense in the final thirty seconds, and the game headed to overtime.

Despite a career day by Bo Levi Mitchell - 40 of 57 passing for 424 yards and two touchdowns - it was his fourth and final interception that cost the Mustangs the game. Chima Nwachukwu picked off a touch pass in the end zone on the first play of overtime to give the Cougars the opportunity to win. WSU struggled to advance the ball on their possession, but gained five yards to set up the game game winning field goal by Grasu.

Player of the Game: Jared Karstetter. Fresh off the football retirement of Jeshua Anderson, Karstetter took the weight of the weakened receiver corps on his shoulders and caught five balls for 63 yards and the game tying touchdown. Karstetter dropped a touchdown earlier in the first half - just prior to the Blackledge TD - but we'll forgive him for that. Cougar players don't have much experience in the end zone lately.

Unsung Hero: Marshall Lobbestael: Even in the midst of calls from the fans for Lopina and/or Tuel, the Lobster regrouped and led the game tying drive with under two minutes to play. While he struggled with accuracy and only averaged 4.6 yards per completion, he threw for two touchdowns and called the signals for both the game-tying and the game-winning drives. Even though the performance wasn't stellar, credit Wulff for sticking with a quarterback and allowing him to dig himself out of his own hole. And, honestly, his first interception wasn't his fault as he got hit as he threw.

Key to the Game: Not to self-promote, but I did say the key matchup would be the Cougar pass defense versus SMU signal caller Bo Levi Mitchell. It was. In the first three quarters, Mitchell torched the Cougar D on four scoring drives, including two passing touchdowns en route to a 24-7 lead. In the final 16:16 plus overtime, Mitchell was torched for four interceptions; two for touchdowns, and another by Brandon Jones preventing the Mustangs from taking a two possession lead with 4:48 to play.

B.S. Call of the Game: Our newest feature - inspired by one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my life. See, what we watched today was a game of "American Football", or "Football" in the slang the kids use. In said game, players run and catch the ball and are "tackled" by defenders. Sometimes, the quarterback floats the ball up in such a way that it hangs their receiver out to dry, with the result being a rather brutal "tackle", by the one (or in this case two) defensive backs that hit him. So, even though the hit by the two Cougar defensive backs was cleaner than the shine left on your dishes from a box of Mr. Sparkle, some "officials" decided to throw a flag for a personal foul. This despite the fact it occurred on a key third and long, on a drive that could have resulted in SMU taking a two possession lead with under five minutes to play. Fortunately, Brandon Jones led the rejuvenated Cougar defense with a diving interception to erase our memory of the earlier penalty.

Play of the Game: The hyphenated pick six by Alex Hoffman-Ellis was a brilliant play, but let's be honest. No one in that stadium believed we had a shot until Myron Beck took the ball two-thirds of the length of the field on an interception return to bring the Cougars within 27-20. Yes, I know Grasu won it, but he wouldn't have had to had he not missed a chip shot earlier in the game.

It was over when... The Clutchiest Kicker in the World, Nico Grasu, hit the 39 yarder to win it.

Stat of the Game: Paul Wulff is 2-0 in games decided by less than 14 points. In all others... 1-13.

Hawai'i 38, Washington State 20

Grady. — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:32:40 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

Hawaii running back Alex Green breaks free whilst destroying any remaining Cougar optimism about this season during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Seattle, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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We're big picture folks here at CougCenter. For weeks, we've been rambling on about how Paul Wulff has this program headed in the right direction. How he's turning things around. It's a lengthy process, for sure, but we knew that coming in. He wasn't exactly handed a program with USC talent, but he's done his best so far to build the foundation. Recruiting is on the upswing even for a team near the bottom of the conference. Hope, if not near, is at least on the horizon. And there's always that overtime thriller in the Apple Cup last year to keep our spirits up.

But then, you watch a game like this.

You see Hawai'i - a team that has never, ever beaten a BCS opponent on the road since that acronym was invented - jump out to a 35-0 lead on us a week after scraping by Central Arkansas. You see mental errors and a lack of execution. A lack of preparation. A lack of any spark or signs of life until the second half. By then, of course, it was too little too late. For much of the first two quarters of play, this game resembled the apocalypse that was last year's USC game. Only this wasn't USC. This was a team returning one lonely defensive starter and a program that is now a far cry from its Sugar Bowl glory of two years ago. And, if you don't remember, they got creamed in that Sugar Bowl.

Sorry, Hawai'i, I don't mean to disrespect you, but you aren't USC. You know that as well as I. The Warriors can take pride in the fact that they came out looking like they desperately needed to win this game. WSU didn't. Forget the fact we ended the game on a 20-3 run. All that did was prevent total embarrassment.

It makes you wonder. Is Wulff the right fit for this program? How much is the buyout anyway? How did we get to this point? Did Doba sink this program with apathy and his recruiting of now-gone athletes with character issues? Or did Wulff take a competitive program and throw it into the blender, with all its creamy goodness left behind to be the laughingstock of the Pac-10?

You'd never know we were in the Rose Bowl seven years ago. That we actually beat USC this century. That we were a team that put Vince Young on the losing end of a ball game; a program that teams used to hate to play on the road. Where'd Wazzu go? The stands are now filled with the most die-hard of die-hard fans, and the student section is loaded with kids who have never seen a season that resulted in a Bowl game.

In the big picture, though, we can't fire Wulff. It's bad for us financially, and it's bad for us in that we'd be making a similar bet on someone else to rebuild a program out of the ashes of its former self. For now, we have to wait. Hope for the best. And, most importantly, forget about this week.

Player of the Game: James Montgomery. 6.9 yards per carry! 117 yards! A thingy where you go in that one zone that scores points! What's that called? I forgot. Anyway, Monty is for real, and he keeps convincing me that we need to put the ball in his hands more often. A bright spot in a sea of gloominess.

Unsung hero: Jeffrey Solomon, Nico Grasu (tie). Solomon came out of nowhere to notch six receptions for 71 yards. Grasu continues to erase the memory of his awful first miss of the season, with two good field goals that I'm pretty sure none of us wanted to see kicked in the first place, given the game situation (down 35-0, 35-3).

Play of the Game: Montgomery's 2 yard TD run in the third quarter that made us believe for a half second we might have a chance to come back.

It was over when... Bill Doba was resign-fired, and Paul Wulff was hired to take over the Cougar program. Or, if I must, when Leon Wright-Jackson from Pasco, Washington scored on a run with 8 seconds left in the first to put the Warriors up 21-nil.

Stat of the Game: 7 TURNOVERS.....ARRRRRHGHTHTHGNHNROHNE I HATE THIS TEAM SOMETIMES