SB Nation - Jared Karstetter

Oregon State 42, Washington State 10

Grady. — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:08:54 -0000

about 1 month ago: Washington State defensive backs Aire Justin, left, and Easton Johnson (81) tackle Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers (1) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Beavers vs Cougars Recap

I'm trying a little something different with game recaps, which is linking to the SBN recap (above) for those of you that missed the game and may want to know all the ins-and-outs that got us to the final score.

Yet again, there's not much for me to add, except this: for whatever its worth, this game restored my faith in Paul Wulff a little bit. Pay no attention to the final score - this game was close throughout most of the first half and was 21-10 late in the third quarter. Sure, the Cougars never led, but this wasn't the roll-over-and-die type performance we've seen every week since the USC game. In fact, this game was pretty reminiscent of the game against the Trojans, with the obvious differences today being a lack of Jeff Tuel and the lopsided final score.

Still, there's a long way to go. Watching Arizona play Oregon at this moment, I remember how Arizona struggled in the early years under Stoops. While he never reached these depths, the Wildcats didn't have a winning season until the fifth year under Stoops. However, they've reeled in solid recruiting classes, built their program up, and now find themselves in the conversation for a Pac-10 championship.

Is it an equivalent example? Not exactly, but I try to look on the bright side after the 1,238 times that we see a Cougar QB pass go to Dwight Tardy in the flat for no gain. Earlier today, I felt like it was only a matter of time for Wulff. Now I feel like maybe there's a glimmer of hope.

What else is good news? We're a year away, at least in my opinion, from knowing the answer to our Wulff question. Either the program starts to show signs of life (which is a win), or Paul Wulff proves he can't get it together and we move on to the next coach (also a win).

Player of the Game: Seniors. Rather than give the award to an individual player, I thought I'd throw it out to the seniors who stuck with this program through good times and bad (mostly bad) over the past four to five years. Hope they got to go to some basketball games!

Unsung Hero: Jared Karstetter. Six catches for 72 yards, and a bright spot in a still struggling Cougar offense.

It was over when... Jacquizz Rodgers spun away from a Cougar defender en route to a 39-yard touchdown with 12:10 left to play in the fourth. It put OSU up 35-10.

Play of the Game: Dwight Tardy's 1-yard dive into the endzone to get the Cougars within 21-10 at halftime.

Stat of the Game: Jacquizz Rodgers finished with 165 rushing yards. WSU, as a team, had 192 total.

Spaulding Roundup: Shakeup At RB Rotation, Prince Is Ready & Other Notes

Nestor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:34:55 -0000

We have some news on the running back front. Looks like the coaches are sending some clear message re. fumble issues we have experienced in recent weeks. Per the LA Times this am, Derrick Coleman is going to get the start against Washington State:

Derrick Coleman, a 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore, will get his first start of the season when the Bruins play at Washington State.

UCLA has struggled with its running game in recent weeks, and the number of fumbles has become a concern.

That has brought the focus to Coleman, who had seven carries in five games before he gained 49 yards in 13 carries against Washington on Saturday.

"We need to see more yards after contact and we obviously need to see more security with the ball," running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "We just need some tough, hard-nosed, old-fashioned football."

Of Coleman, Moses said, "We want to see what he has got this week and we'll assess things from there."

The Bruins have run for only 200 yards the last three games combined.

I like this move for few reasons. First, I think it sends a clear message to the entire team that the coaches will held players accountable for their on field mistakes. Christian Ramirez had fumble issues against Arizona and he lost his spot in the rotation. Jet Ski has shown a lot of promise this season and he certainly seems to have the speed and athleticism to emerge as one of the better Bruin RB we have seen in recent years. However, he has to hold on to the ball and cannot afford to cost his team by loss of focus. So, this move will get his attention and it sounds like he is dealing with it in a very positive way:

"You have to have the discipline to hold onto the ball," Franklin said. "For my part, when I get in traffic, running down the field, I got to cover the tip and tuck that ball away."

I also like the move because I also enjoy watching Coleman's style of power running. He still needs to do a better job of picking up blitzes and he also needs to learn to fall forward when he gets hit. If you notice Coleman's running you will see he usually tends to fall backwards as soon as he gets hit (check the goal line plays in the Oregon game). I think those are issues he will address and get better at over the years. Going into Washington State game this weekend if he can gets us 4-5 yards per carry whenever he is called on, it will be a huge help for our offense. If we serve a steady dose of Coleman and mix in with JetSki, Knox and Thigpen, the running game will be fun to watch. More after the jump.

While Coleman is getting to set start, his back field team-mate Prince has been cleared for Saturday:

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince was cleared for Washington State after suffering a concussion in the second quarter of last Saturday's victory.

Prince was injured while scrambling for an 8-yard gain as he dived head-first toward the ground and collided helmets with Washington linebacker Donald Butler. Against Tennessee in Week 2, Prince broke his jaw on another hit while going to the turf helmet first.

UCLA now is expected to reintroduce the Slip 'n Slide at practice today, a tactic Prince utilized in preseason camp.

"Hopefully, they bring out the Slip 'n Slide, that'll be fun for everybody," he said. "I'm sure coach will want me to practice it. I'll pretty much tell you right now I'll be sliding on Saturday."

Sure hope so Kevin. The entire BN is going to get anxious every time he takes off for a run. He clearly has the mobility to pick up extra yards but there is just need to go all Cade McNown and slam right into opposing LBs. Running out of bounce or sliding will be just fine (for now).

From the Washington State side there is a good story on Jared Karstetter, a sophomore wide receiver who is having a great individual season despite his team going through an extremely tough rebuilding season:

[C]urrently, WSU ranks ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference with 195.3 yards passing per game (Oregon is 10th at 184.2), and the Cougars have thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (10).

All of which makes Jared Karstetter’s season that much more remarkable. Karstetter, a sophomore wide receiver from Spokane’s Ferris High School, is tied with Oregon State star James Rodgers for the Pac-10 lead with six touchdown catches.

Half of Karstetter’s touchdown grabs accounted for all three Cougar touchdowns the past two games. In the waning minutes of Saturday’s 48-7 loss at Arizona, the Cougars avoided their first shutout of the year when Karstetter got half a step on cornerback Mike Turner at midfield, plucked a long Marshall Lobberstael pass with his right hand, tucked it away and zoomed off for a 64-yard touchdown.

"Great catch," WSU coach Paul Wulff said. "A really great catch. He’s doing a good job."

Karstetter leads the Cougars (1-8, 0-6 Pac-10) with 420 receiving yards. True freshman Gino Simone is the team leader in receptions with 30, but Karstetter is second with 27.

"He’s definitely a playmaker," Lobbestael said.

I am assuming ATV, Price, Moore and co. have been preparing for Karstetter and Simone. Hopefully they are not going to give him 7-8 yard cushion so that they can get carved up by the second worst passing offense in the conference.

That brings to my closing note for this am. Yesterday we talked about how our offense can't afford to make any mistakes on the road. Glad the coaches are addressing the fumble issue by sending a clear message to our RBs. Now we will also need the defense to set the tone. Seems like we have been writing that line every game week over last two months only to lament how the defense waited for a while to adjust and react to the opposing team. Bullough is not going to get a better opportunity to get his defense back in to swing of things and get back in the groove it found itself in against Tennessee. Let's hope he can take advantage of that opportunity this Saturday setting up for a solid end to 09-10 season.

GO BRUINS.

Two reasons why people who blame the coaches for this entire mess are at the very least misguided

Nuss — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:19:48 -0000

The coaches have taken a lot of heat for the past almost two years now for what has transpired on the football field. That refrain reared its head again Saturday, after one play in particular.

Now, anyone who watches Chris Berman and Tom Jackson on Sunday afternoons knows that you do one thing, and one thing only, on a Hail Mary pass. Go ahead, say it with me ... "YOU KNOCK IT DOWN!" The wonderment, of course, spread from the notion that if we all know that, how in the world did Aire Justin and ~~Xavier Hicks~~ Jay Matthews not know it?

If only it were that simple.

Consider the following screen shot, captured at the moment when Golden Tate caught the ball (about 1:50 on the video), which I have so deftly illustrated to make my point.

The probability that Justin and ~~Hicks~~ Matthews could have knocked that ball down is minute -- or even nonexistent. Yes, it appears Justin is going for the catch. But I supremely doubt the outcome would have been any different had Justin or ~~Hicks~~ Matthews done their darndest to just get one hand up there and knock it down. This simply looks to me like a case of one team having an exceptional athlete and another team having two guys who simply don't possess the raw physical tools to make this play.

Seriously -- look at how high Tate is off the ground. We have one athlete on our active roster who could have gotten that high and made that play. And he plays on offense. Now, if you want to criticize the coaching staff for not putting him in on that defensive play, then fine.* But that's a different conversation.

* I'm not sure I buy that you could have put Jared Karstetter in, anyway. The Irish were a medium range pass away from getting into field goal position, as they still had a timeout left. The defense had to at least entertain that notion, and have a defense in that could account for that. Besides, when you start doing things like that, you often increase the likelihood of a breakdown.

Now, let me direct you to another play before bringing this back around to my overall point.

Remember that whole blocked PAT, with Chima Nwachukwu scooping up the ball and trying to run it back the other way for two? (I tried to find video, but alas, no luck.) Our 5-foot-11, 201-pound starting safety -- who started running with the ball while no one else was paying attention, and ostensibly had anywhere between a five- and 15-yard head start on the other team -- got tracked down by this guy:

Mike Ragone

#83 / Tight End / Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Height: 6-5

Weight: 251

Year: junior

And if he hadn't caught him, he was about to get caught by this guy:

Kyle Rudolph

#9 / Tight End / Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Height: 6-6

Weight: 260

Year: sophomore

This sort of thing happened over and over again throughout the game. The defensive line getting shoved around by opponents that outweighed them across the board. The offensive line flailing away at blitzers. Alex Hoffman-Ellis and Mike Ledgerwood squaring up to tackle Robert Hughes, only to meet him at the point of attack and get driven back three yards.

Which brings me to my point. Before you start pointing the finger at the coaches -- and goodness knows, I've done it enough -- please take into consideration what they're working with. I posted this numerous times on the game thread on Saturday, but it's worth repeating if you weren't there: MEN > BOYS.

There will come a day where we're once again able to compete with Notre Dame (and USC, and Oregon, and Arizona State, and ...). But as these two plays showed, we're not even in the same ballpark with these guys yet. Yeah, we can complain about scheme, and some of those points are certainly valid. However, that the coaches have been able to squeeze as much improvement out of these guys as they have this year -- facing such overwhelming physical odds -- says something.

We're heading in the right direction. It might not be as fast as you want, and you can argue that it might be a bit faster with another coaching staff. But there isn't a coach on earth that would have beat Notre Dame -- or most of the other teams on our schedule -- with what our coaching staff has to work with.

Notre Dame 40, Washington State 14

Grady. — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:32:29 -0000

More photos » by BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI - AP

Awwwwwwwww snap, yo! The Cougars got SERVED, 40-14, by Notre Dame in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

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OK, this team is getting a little too predictable.

Last week, I selfishly touted my correct pregame prediction of the Cougars' game against California. The final score was 49-17, which I had accurately predicted on the podcast the Tuesday prior to the game.

This week, I failed. By one point. My prediction was Notre Dame 41, Washington State 14. The final score saw the Irish top the Cougs in San Antonio 40-14.

There's a point here, one that has to do with more than my own gloating. Although, admittedly, the gloating is a lot of fun.

That point is that, for better or worse, we have this Cougar team figured out. We know when they're getting blown out, we know about how much they'll be getting blown out by, and we don't feel the least bit nervous about that projection.

There was a transfer of power in the Pac-10 tonight. Oregon secured the outright conference lead from USC, and has the inside track at the Rose Bowl, or perhaps another BCS game. It's easy to forget as recently as 2002 we were in the same position. Now, instead of having a packed stadium hanging on the emotional ups and downs of every play, we have predictability. A team that is not competitive now and probably won't be competitive until at least next fall. Possibly longer. We start slow, recover slowly, score a touchdown or two along the way and head home trying to find the positives among the multitude of negatives.

The decent Cougar fanbase showing in the 'neutral' Alamodome, and the national broadcast by NBC, still weren't enough to help the Cougars get started off on the right foot. In the first quarter, though, WSU hung tough with the Irish, surrendering only a field goal and touchdown. In fact the PAT on the touchdown was blocked and nearly returned by Chima Nwachukwu for two, making it deep into Notre Dame territory before being caught by a Notre Dame tight end. 9-0 ND after the first.

The second quarter saw momentum swing decidedly in favor of the Irish. Rushing TDs by Golden Tate and Robert Hughes put Notre Dame up 23-0 midway through the period. From there, the Cougars pieced together their best drive of the half, culminating in Jeff Tuel finding Jared Karstetter for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Even that lone bright spot was wiped out, however, on the final play of the half. On a Hail Mary from the fifty yard line, Jimmy Clausen found Golden Tate, who was able to outjump Aire Justin and come down with a spectacular catch, albeit it sharing the ball with the three defenders trying to pry it away. Still, tie goes to the receiver, and Notre Dame went to the intermission up 30-7.

Fewer fireworks were seen in the second half, with an Irish field goal being the only score in the third. Jimmy Clausen appeared to re-aggravate his turf toe, and replacement Dayne Crist struggled before hitting John Goodman (no, not that one) for a 64 yard TD. Crist would suffer a leg injury later in the game getting tangled up with Toby Turpin, but the outcome was decided and Clausen would sit out the remainder of the contest as a precaution. Tuel, who was picked off twice on the evening, did find Karstetter one more time to bring the Cougs to the final score.

Player of the Game: Karstetter. Our #1 receiver only caught two balls, but made the most of them with two touchdowns. He only had 19 receving yards, but that wasn't abnormal for an anemic WSU offense whose longest play from scrimmage was a 20-yard run by Dwight Tardy.

Unsung Hero: Dwight Tardy. Speaking of which, maybe he's not done yet. Tardy notched 72 yards on 8 carries, a 9 yard average making him by far the most consistent Cougar on offense this evening. He also averaged an impressive 25.3 yards on his three kick returns. Perhaps he doesn't have to be just a trick-play quarterback going forward.

It was over when... Golden Tate caught the Hail Mary at the end of the first half. I know it was a spectacular catch, but the Cougar defensive backfield still needs to learn to swat the ball down. Going for the interception makes a team a lot more susceptible to giving up the touchdown. Oh, and any sort of pressure whatsoever on Jimmy Clausen on that play would've been nice.

Stat of the Game: The Cougars were 2 for 11 on third down. Hard to keep the defense rested and off the field when the offense keeps getting forced to the sideline. That stat led almost directly to a 2:1 time of possession advantage for the Irish, with ND controlling the ball for 40:54 compared to Wazzu's 19:06.

POSTGAME THREAD: Again, we ask -- success?

Nuss — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:08:32 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

I suppose it's progress that our defender is actually in the picture ...

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Once again, there are reasons to be excited.

Jeff Tuel has his first 300 yard passing game, completing 28 of 41 attempts for 354 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. That's a shiny 68 percent and 8.6 yards per attempt -- easily season highs for any Cougar quarterback. Johnny Forzani was responsible for 116 of those yards, including 68 on another long touchdown catch and run. Jeffrey Solomon had seven catches, and Gino Simone and Jared Karstetter each had six.

And yet, once again, there are reasons to be skeptical.

Coming off a week in which it generated six turnovers, the defense showed what will happen if it only gets one, giving up 49 points -- 35 of them in the first half. Jahvid Best ran all over the place again, gaining 158 yards on the ground. That, sadly, was actually less than half of Cal's rushing total of 322 yards. With the running game going again, Kevin Riley looked like an all-Pac-10 passer -- 11 of 17, 213 yards, three touchdowns (and one pick).

The total damage? Just 557 yards.

Beyond that, special teams had a flashback to week one, giving up a 54-yard return on the opening kickoff and also a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown. There were kickoffs out of bounds, there was a missed field goal. (Reid Forrest, however showed who the best punter in the Pac-10 is -- take that, Brian Anger!)

So, I once again ask you.

Success?

Poll

How would you describe today's game?

Unmitigated success

0 votes

Positive step in the right direction

97 votes

Neutral

59 votes

Negative step in the wrong direction

16 votes

Unmitigated disaster

8 votes

180 votes | Poll has closed

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Receivers

Grady. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:22:23 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State wide receiver Johnny Forzani, left, catches a Jeff Tuel pass while ~~defended~~ getting facemask-punched by Arizona State cornerback Josh Jordan (23) during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Forzani ran the pass in for a 99-yard touchdown, the longest passing play from scrimmage in Washington State history. It was his only catch of the game. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Second Quarter Grade: C+

First Quarter Grade: B-

Stats:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	6	18	251	13.94	3	3.0	41.8
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	6	20	189	9.45	1	3.3	31.5
3	Gino Simone	FR	WR	5	17	157	9.24	0	3.4	31.4
4	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	5	3	149	49.67	1	0.6	29.8
5	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	6	12	130	10.83	0	2.0	21.7
6	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
7	James Montgomery	JR	RB	4	7	62	8.86	0	1.8	15.5
8	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	6	6	53	8.83	0	1.0	8.8
9	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	6	10	44	4.40	0	1.7	7.3
10	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	6	4	26	6.50	0	0.7	4.3
11	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	6	2	19	9.50	0	0.3	3.2
12	Carl Winston	FR	RB	2	1	-3	-3.00	0	0.5	-1.5
	Total			6	104	1143	10.99	5	17.3	190.5

Explanation:

From pleasant surprise of the season in the first quarter, to ho-hum group in the second, the receiving corps has been serviceable if not remarkable. Karstetter is still the clear #1 receiver, but has cooled off with only seven receptions in the last three games. That doesn't bode well for WSU in the second half, since this group is neither experienced nor deep. Nevertheless, there's some serious flashes of talent out of this group. Johnny Forzani for 99 yards anyone? How about Gino Simone, who has caught 13 balls in the last three games? That's more than our supposed top two receivers in Blackledge and Karstetter have over the same period of time. There's a lot of hope here, if you're OK with having some patience.

Outside of Forzani's ridiculous 49.67 yards per reception average, these aren't wideout numbers that are going to blow anyone away. A lot of it isn't the receiving corps' fault, frankly. The offensive line is getting blown up, giving the quarterbacks less time to make reads and find open targets. Then there's the issue of the quarterbacks themselves - the wideouts have had to adjust to three different starters, most recently a freshman just getting his feet wet in NCAA play. That's not a recipe for 300-yard or 5 touchdown passing games. Issues like the Simone concussion and the Anderson sport change have maligned the group as well.

That's not to say the pass-catchers don't deserve some of the credit (blame) for the anemic offense so far. There isn't a single wideout that can be consistently counted on to take over a game or make that key catch on third and long. At least not yet: Karstetter and Simone seem to be the most likely candidates for standout WR of the future, but the future is a long way off. For now, we can at least enjoy watching this group improve and mature in front of our own eyes. Essentially everyone except for TE Tony Thompson will be back next season; and two of our top three receivers for longer than that. So, like so many positions on the Cougar football team, the receivers are young, talented, and have the potential to be an incredible group going forward.

How to improve the grade: Touchdowns, please. The Forzani touchdown was a remnant of our past, where receivers could break a tackle or two and go for the big strike. This group needs more of that - it's one thing to have the ability to score passing touchdowns in the red zone, it's another to be a threat from anywhere on the field. A little more depth would be nice to see as well. While I like seeing the running backs involved in short passes to the flats, it would be nice to see some of the guys further down the WR depth chart get some reps. What do we have to lose? (well, other than games, which we're probably going to anyway)

Poll

Your call. Grade for the receivers?

A

1 votes

B

5 votes

C

7 votes

D

3 votes

F

2 votes

Incomplete

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 9

Nuss — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:33:48 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Don't grimace, Reid! You're Grady's first half MVP!

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Podcast time! Table of contents:

Opening - Was Saturday's loss to ASU a positive step in the right direction?
8:40 - Biggest positives and negatives from the first half of the season?
12:55 - MVP of the first half?
16:30 - About that Pac-10 officiating ...
22:30 - Hoops!
29:45 - Games of the week/upset specials

As usual you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad subscription options. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter." The advantage of subscribing? Besides having the audio directly delivered to your player of choice, I often upload the audio to the podcast site before posting it here.

Apparently, Podbean is having issues again. (This is kind of getting old.) If the streamer won't work, try this player.

Arizona State 27, Washington State 14

Grady. — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:44:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State head coach Paul Wulff, left, warmly embraces the most hated man in Idaho, Dennis Erickson, after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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A few steps forward. A few steps back.

In the end, this game played out the way most of us expected. Two anemic offenses and one stellar defense giving us an ugly game, but also a closer game than we're used to seeing. As one would expect, the stellar defense won out. ASU was too much to handle, with Vontaze Burfict, Mike Nixon, and co. dominating this game from the opening snap. The Cougs faced one of the best rushing defenses in the country, and boy did it show - between numerous tackles for losses, broken plays and sacks, the Cougars ended up with negative 54 yards rushing. Negative 54.

The Cougars had their opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalize. Reid Forrest's fake punt conversion for a first down brought some life to the offense, but no points following a Jeff Tuel interception. ASU had three turnovers in the first 30 minutes, but the Cougars couldn't convert even one of those into a score. Tuel struggled under pressure: the Devils had six sacks in the first half, and forced their fair share of hurries and bad decisions which led to Tuel's two picks. Marshall Lobbestael brought some brief stability to the Cougar offense in relief, but a fumble by Daniel Blackledge - on a catch that should have resulted in a first down deep in ASU territory - ended the threat. ASU sealed the half by running their two-minute offense to perfection. The result was a 13-0 halftime deficit that had to make the Cougars feel like banging their heads against a wall.

The second half saw improvement, but not immediately. ASU made a huge gain on a reverse to set up a nine yard touchdown run that left WSU back against the ropes. It took some turnovers - the Cougs forced six total - and the re-emergence of Jeff Tuel to get the Cougs back into it. Andy Mattingly's interception deep in ASU territory was the big break Wazzu needed. It set up Tuel's first TD, which wasn't exactly a thing of beauty. Intended for Daniel Blackledge - who was, at least in this writer's opinion, being interfered with - the ball came up short and into the opportunistic hands of Jared Karstetter, who made a beautiful adjustment for the six. That fired up both sides of the ball, and the Cougars were back in business down 19-7.

Then, the blunder. For most of the game, Reid Forrest had been rolling out to make rugby style kicks, like he used to do at the start of his career. Earlier in the game, though, he found a seam and was able to convert a first down that gave the Cougars some much-needed momentum. Yet again, in the second half, it looked for a moment like Forrest had a seam to the outside. But Arizona State wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. They stayed at home, and Forrest booted the ball out of desperation past the line of scrimmage. The result was a penalty that gave ASU exceptional field position. Field position that was converted into a Cameron Marshall TD run and a way-too-easy two-point conversion. 27-7.

Still, the Cougs weren't done. Although for a moment it looked like things were getting worse. A kickoff was fumbled out of bounds at the five, followed up immediately by a near-safety (and another play for a loss). That's when Wulff made a bold play call that would re-write the WSU record books. Jeff Tuel stepped back in his own end zone, and fired off a bullet to Johnny Forzani in single coverage. Forzani broke free, and the rest, literally, was history. 99 yards later Tuel had converted his first huge play as a Cougar. 27-14 after the PAT from Grasu.

But the ASU defense didn't bend from there, stuffing the Cougar offense on their remaining drives in the game. ASU's running game awoke to run out the clock, and that was it.

The Cougs had forced six turnovers, but committed four of their own. They made big plays on defense, but failed to prevent the struggling ASU quarterbacks from reaching the end zone. The Cougar offense was horrible: 181 total yards, numerous losses and penalties, but also 99 on one play and two passing touchdowns from our QB of the future. It was a game with a lot of positives, but a lot of negatives as well.

The best thing I can say is that this game definitely gives us something to build on. The defense made key plays, tackled well and only let one big play - the reverse - burn them. The offense struggled in the first half but Jeff Tuel's benching woke him up to the tune of two passing touchdowns and a play that cements his place in the WSU record book (as well as the NCAA, since you can't have a longer pass play than 99 yards).

Player of the Game: Louis Bland. It's tempting to go with Tuel, or Karstetter, but the only fireworks from the offense came in the second half. The Cougar defense came to play the whole game, and with Bland's eight tackles, one interception, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble, he was the anchor of a revitalized squad. I understand the ASU offense is bad, but you don't force six turnovers by accident. Bland, Mattingly, Long and the defensive backfield kept both the run and pass in check for the majority of this game, with only receiver Kyle Williams burning us for big numbers. I saw numerous plays today that would have been big gains or touchdowns last year. Now, the defense is covering their gaps, running down ball carriers, and keeping things in front of them. It's a noticeable improvement, and credit Bland as the centerpiece today.

Unsung hero: Jared Karstetter. The adjustment he made to catch the third quarter touchdown was huge. Furthermore, he continues to be the security blanket for the quarterbacks that Jeshua Anderson couldn't be. Tonight, he grabbed four balls for forty-five yards and made himself an available target for Jeff Tuel throughout the game. Now if only Tuel had the pass protection to get it to him.

Play of the Game: The longest pass play in school history, Jeff Tuel to Johnny Forzani for 99 yards and a TD. I always feel better about the Paul Wulff era when I remember that it's mostly his recruits making the big plays and giving us some hope for the future.

B.S. Call of the Game: Oh, there were many. Mostly against us, but a couple against ASU too. There were many penalties in general, deserved or not. But the offensive pass interference call on Daniel Blackledge was completely nonsensical. Not to mention a momentum killer.

It was over when... Cameron Marshall ran 10 yards for an ASU touchdown with 12:25 to play; following the botched fake punt.

Stat of the Game: WSU forced six turnovers. And we still lost. Probably because of the four turnovers of our own, making for ten (!) total. Although, that -54 rushing yards stat still makes me cringe.

If you haven't voted in Nuss' poll below yet, do it. My vote is that it was a positive step in the right direction, but I'm interested to know what the rest of Coug Nation thinks. Of course you're always welcome to expand on your thoughts in the comments.

Enjoy the bye week - only six days until Midnight Mayhem.

Taking stock of the injuries

Nuss — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:57:02 -0000

UPDATED FRIDAY, 2:23 p.m. with Wolfgramm out

Since this is a game in which we all feel like we ought to at worst be competitive -- and at best have an outside shot at an upset (which I'm not sure I get, but whatever) -- I'm paying a little closer attention than usual to the injury situation heading into the weekend.

Here's the best list I could compile of the issues. Each player's "status" is my best guess based on published reports, as I have no special insight. They're arranged from most likely to start to least likely to play; players with long-term injuries (Kevin Kooyman, B.J. Guerra, Steven Ayers, etc.) not included:

SS Xavier Hicks

Injury: Stiff back

Status: Will start

What it means: Can't lose anyone else out of the secondary. Period. So he's gotta play and be effective.

OLB Andy Mattingly

Injury: Thigh bruise

Status: Will start

What it means: Mattingly suffered this injury some time ago, and probably has been more hampered by the injury than any of us realized. His playmaking has dropped off the last couple of games, but he says he's getting better. Let's hope so. This team needs a healthy Mattingly.

QB Jeff Tuel

Injury: Bruised hip/back

Status: Likely to start

What it means: The Sun Devils bring the No. 9 rushing defense into Martin Stadium. That means we're going to have to throw the ball to be successful. I don't have to tell you again how bad Marshall Lobbestael has been -- I already did that once. We need Tuel to play, and we need him to be effective. Because, as inconsistent as ASU's offense has been, you still have to score points to win, right?

RB Dwight Tardy

Injury: Sore shoulder

Status: Likely to start

What it means: With James Montgomery already out, do you really want the bulk of the rushing load dropping to Logwone Mitz and Carl Winston? I like them both, but the one thing that separates Tardy is that he's generally nails in pass protection (although he whiffed on one on Saturday). We need him, even if we're facing a practically impossible task in running the ball.

OG Brian Danaher

Injury: Concussion

Status: Likely to play

What it means: Paul Wulff has said that the starting offensive line would be the same regardless of Danaher's progress. Color me among those flummoxed as to why that would be the case. Expect to see lots of Danaher before it's all said and done, and that's a good thing -- Alex Reitnouer might yet be a good offensive lineman, but he needs another 30 pounds before he's really ready to tangle with ASU's 290+ pound defensive tackles.

WR Jared Karstetter

Injury: Hip pointer

Status: 50/50 to play

What it means: It's never a good thing to take a way a weapon from a struggling offense -- especially the one who brings a unique skill set. Karstetter is our biggest receiver, and I think you could make a good case that he's our best receiver.

DT Bernard Wolfgramm

Injury: Hip injury

Status: ~~Might play, but probably limited if he does~~ Not going to play

What it means: This is hugely bad. The defensive line actually has performed reasonably well this year, but with the loss of Josh Luapo, it already was thin. If there's one place we can't afford to lose guys, it's defensive tackle. ~~If Wolfgramm can't go,~~ We're left with Toby Turpin and redshirt freshman Anthony Laurenzi starting, Dan Spitz moving inside as the third tackle, and Jesse Feagin moving into the starting lineup at end. See why this is bad?

MLB Alex Hoffman-Ellis

Injury: Staph infection in his left arm

Status: Unlikely to play

What it means: This is probably the least bad of any of the injuries in the sense that there's an extremely competent backup ready to step in. In fact, extremely competent might be selling Louis Bland a bit short. Expect very little drop off.

OG Zack Williams

Injury: High ankle sprain

Status: Unlikely to play

What it means: This team needs Williams back to be able to run the ball. Fortunately, there probably was no chance we were going to be able to run the ball this weekend, whether Williams was in the lineup. Best to get him healthy for Cal after the bye.

QB Kevin Lopina

Injury: Calf strain

Status: Will not play

What it means: Nothing, really. He wasn't going to play unless both QBs in front of him go down, and if that happens ... well, just shoot us all.

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Wide Receivers

Grady. — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:00:24 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State receiver Jared Karstetter and receiver Daniel Blackledge hug it out, bitch, after Karstetter caught a touchdown pass to bring the game to within one point with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against SMU Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won 30-27 in overtime. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

Browse more photos »

GRADE: B-

STATISTICS:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	3	11	186	16.91	2	3.7	62.0
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	3	11	119	10.82	1	3.7	39.7
3	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	3	10	110	11.00	0	3.3	36.7
4	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
5	James Montgomery	JR	RB	3	7	62	8.86	0	2.3	20.7
6	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	3	4	51	12.75	0	1.3	17.0
7	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	2	2	50	25.00	0	1.0	25.0
8	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	3	7	32	4.57	0	2.3	10.7
9	Gino Simone	FR	WR	2	4	24	6.00	0	2.0	12.0
10	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	3	1	11	11.00	0	0.3	3.7
11	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	3	2	2	1.00	0	0.7	0.7
	Total			3	63	713	11.32	3	21.0	237.7
	Opponents			3	78	1106	14.18	6	26.0	368.7

EXPLANATION:

This is a grade largely based on the fact this group is exceeding expectations. Before the season, it was Jeshua Anderson and a group of unproven, young wideouts. Now it's some great young receivers, and no Anderson - and the Cougar passing game looks like it may actually be able to reclaim some of its lost glory. The passing game has been largely carrying a struggling Cougar offense; accounting for both Washington State offensive touchdowns against SMU, and outshining the rushing game in yards per attempt by a solid 5.9 to 3.5 margin. Granted, the passing game will almost always beat out the running game in yards per play, but we certainly expected more out of our running game, especially before the injury to Montgomery.

Jared Karstetter is asserting himself as a true #1 receiver, something Jeshua Anderson couldn't even do before he decided to hang up the football cleats for good. That 16.91 yards per catch average is phenomenal - even if he only touches the ball 3-4 times per game. One common theme this year is that the ball is being spread around the whole receiving corps (and sometimes the running backs) - with seven players averaging more than two catches per game. That kind of variety has helped the Cougars take advantage of linebacker mismatches and has kept the QBs away from throwing at the opponents' best corner. There seems to be a quality trio developing in Karstetter, Daniel Blackledge and Jeffrey Solomon. That's good because it takes some of the pressure off of the man who will someday lead this receiving corps: currently concussed freshman Gino Simone.

We also got a wonderful debut out of junior Johnny Forzani Saturday against SMU: two catches for fifty yards. Look for him to get the ball more as the season wears on and his injury troubles (hopefully) slide away. Also encouraging is the occasionally spectacular catching ability of tight end Tony Thompson - although the TE position is likely to be utilized much less often than the wideouts. Maybe the Legend of Stormo can help change our lack of depth there.

HOW TO GET THE GRADE UP: Simple: More catches. More yards. WSU has had a good yard per play average in the passing game, and now just need to utilize it more and move the ball down the field. The main piece of bad news for the WSU receiving corps is that they haven't shown consistency. When your top receiver only catches 3.7 balls a game, there's some instability, and a lack of a go-to guy on third and long. The Cougars would also be well served if they keep avoiding the dropsies. Karstetter had a bad one in the endzone against SMU, but made up for it with the catch that gave Wazzu the chance to tie.

It's been a decent run for the receiving corps so far, but the question remains: can they keep it up against the rest of the Pac-10?

Poll

Los Receivers?

A

3 votes

B

22 votes

C

24 votes

D

6 votes

F

0 votes

55 votes | Poll has closed