SB Nation - Kevin Lopina

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 16 - Football Wrap

Nuss — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:21:08 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Is there a chance these sorts of scenes could be fewer and farther in between next year? We think so.

Before we put this football season completely in the rearview mirror, just one last order of business: The final football podcast until August. We briefly look back at this train wreck of a season, but spend most of our time looking to the future and discussing just what it is that this team needs to do to take a step forward next season and in 2011.

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 -- this podcast was uploaded last night, so those of you with subscriptions have had access to this for the better part of 12 hours.

Also, be on the lookout for our next podcast, coming at you on Wednesday. We'll focus specifically on hoops, debriefing the Great Alaska Shootout and previewing the matchups with Gonzaga and Kansas State.

Poll

Your expectation for wins next year?

Two or fewer

64 votes

Three or four

123 votes

Five or more

16 votes

203 votes | Poll has closed

Why the Apple Cup might be closer than people think

Nuss — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:00:12 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Kevin Lopina was leading the offense the last time it moved the ball against a bad defense. Can he do it again on Saturday?

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We know all the reasons why the Cougs are going to get killed on Saturday -- Washington is much improved and has Jake Locker while the Cougs are terrible and play awful on the road ... blah, blah, blah.

Looking for a reason why the Cougs might actually be able to stay well within the approximately 24-point spread tomorrow? Here's the best one I could find.

For all the problems we have defensively, I maintain that the Cougs' biggest issue is the generally non-existent nature of the offense. WSU is currently averaging 4.2 yards per play, tied for 117th nationally. To stay in a game, you simply must be able to score some points, both for the obvious reason that you have to score points to win, but also to give your defense a fighting chance to stay fresh.

Our top three offensive performances -- in terms of yards per play -- were against Cal, Stanford and Hawaii. In fact, here's a look at how we've done against the four worst defenses we've faced:

Team	Natl. Rank, YPP	Season YPP Allowed	YPP Allowed to WSU
Stanford	t-94	5.9	5.5
Hawaii	t-94	5.9	5.2
SMU	t-72	5.6	3.9
Notre Dame	t-99	6.1	4.2
Washington	t-111	6.6	?

The common thread in the Stanford and Hawaii games? The offense was at relatively full strength -- it wasn't until after that Hawaii game that guys started dropping like flies. Additionally, although the SMU overall YPP was low, the offense was good enough to slice through the Mustangs for a game-tying touchdown at the end of regulation. Notre Dame is the outlier, of course -- the offensive line was completely decimated, and there was just no chance there.

But now? The offensive line is as healthy as it's been since that Hawaii game -- concussion to B.J. Guerra notwithstanding -- and the Huskies are statistically the worst defense the Cougs have faced all year. For all the money Nick Holt is being paid, he's still working with a defense full of young guys who make a ton of mistakes.

Additionally, the WSU offense is once again being led by Kevin Lopina, who isn't very good, but he hasn't generally been really bad, either. And it can't hurt that he beat Washington last year. As much as we love Jeff Tuel, of all the quarterbacks on the roster, Lopina is the least likely to be flustered by the crowd in Seattle.

The inescapable truth for Husky fans is that Washington has held just two opponents to less than 6.4 yards per play this season, and while WSU probably will be the third, there remains a substantial chance the Cougs will exceed their season average enough that they're able to move the ball with some consistency.

And if they can do that? They've got a fighting chance.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 15

Nuss — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:58:20 -0000

Stuck in your house instead of traveling? Need to kill close to an hour waiting for tonight's game in the Great Alaska Shootout?

Then the latest edition of the CougCenter podcast is for you!

Grady and I talk about the Apple Cup and share our favorite "why I hate the Huskies" stories, then move into hoops, specifically talking about how much better we feel after the Pac-10's abysmal start to the season. (No Craig again this week.)

If you've listened before and not liked it all that much, give this week a try. The conversation is great, and if you've ever been turned off by the sound quality of previous shows -- either the fact that it sounded like a phone call or the random popping noises that seem to be inevitable with TalkShoe.com -- good news! We've dramatically improved it by using Skype, which improves both the quality of voices and the quality of the conversation, since there's virtually none of the dreaded cell phone lag.

To be frank, we really enjoyed making last night's show a lot more than some other recent shows, and we think you'll enjoy the results, too.

Incidentally, the transition to Skype came at the recommendation of Ty Hildenbrandt at The Solid Verbal, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude; I always just assumed that we'd never be able to have good sound quality since we're all three in different parts of the country. Maybe I can pay him back by being a guest on his podcast when the Cougars are relevant again in five years!

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 -- this podcast was uploaded early this morning, so many of you might have already listened to it.

The Apple Cup Primer

John Berkowitz — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:49:12 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

23 days ago: Washington State quarterback Kevin Lopina (9) attempts a pass as running back Dwight Tardy (31) blocks Oregon State defensive end Ben Terry during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Oregon State won 42-10. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Washington and Washington State have been playing football against each other since 1900. That means this will be the 102nd meeting between the two schools in what has been called the Apple Cup since 1962. The Huskies hold a 64-31-6 record despite dropping the past two contests to the Cougars.

UW's longest winning streak has been eight games, achieved twice: (1959-66 and 1974-81). WSU has never won more than two consecutive Apple Cups, but the Cougars have won back-to-back games on eight separate occasions: (1929-30, 1953-54, 1957-58, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1982-83, 2004-05 and 2007-08). Although Washington currently leads the overall series, the Cougars have taken four of the past five meetings including a double-overtime win in the 2008 meeting.

According to most WSU fans their favorite Cougar games include: the 1997 win over the Huskies in Seattle which gave the Cougars a Pac-10 Co-championship and a Rose Bowl berth; a 1992 WSU win played in the snow often referred to as "The Snowbowl"; the 1982 WSU win (first Apple Cup in Pullman in over 25 years) that denied Washington a berth in the Rose Bowl; a 2008 double overtime win which led to Washington's winless season; and the 2004 Apple Cup that ended a string of UW victories in the series.

Among the Husky faithful, the more recent memorable victories include: a stunning 2002 triple overtime win over the 3rd-Ranked Cougars in Pullman; a 2003 upset of a top-10 ranked Washington State team; and the 1981 Apple Cup that denied the Cougars a bid in that year's Rose Bowl. Husky fans also remember the 1975 come-from-behind win (WSU was ahead 27-14 with three minutes remaining) when Al Burleson intercepted a pass and ran it back more than 90 yards for a touchdown.

This season won't have a lot of the past drama mentioned above going into this game. Washington enters with a 3-7 record and the Cougars are 1-10. No matter what the records are the series has usually proven to be exciting no matter who is favored by how many going into the game. Washington for example is a four touchdown favorite playing at home this year. On paper the Cougars really don't have a chance but if the game was played on paper the playing surface at Husky Stadium would be cardboard rather than field turf.

Junior QB Jake Locker is the undisputed leader of the Huskies. This is his fourth season at Washington and he is currently 1-2 against the Cougars. You could really say that he is 0-1 because he has only played in one of the games so far. Since this could be his last Apple Cup expect him to be fired up for this game. Jake will be the best player on the field this Saturday for either team and he is overdue for a great game.

RS Frosh running back Chris Polk is another serious weapon in the Washington arsenal. He comes into the game needing only 111 yards to go over the thousand yard mark for the season. If he can get that done over the next two games he will become the only Washington freshman ever to do that. The Cougars are going to have their hands full with Polk. He breaks tackles and carries players with him for extra yards on every play. If you don't get to him in the backfield he is pretty tough to bring down.

The Cougars haven't had a lot of luck at QB this season. They have been through three starters so far in Kevin Lopina, Marshall Lobbestael, and Jeff Tuel. Tuel is the QB of the future but he won't get the starting nod. Senior Kevin Lopina will be the starter because Tuel is coming off an injury and Wulff would prefer that he doesn't have to get banged up again on Saturday risking firther injury that could impair him for next season.

Dwight Tardy has become the feature back of the Cougar offense. I personally think he is one of the better running backs in the conference. The Cougars enter the Apple Cup with a healthy offensive line for the firsttime in weeks and that could be an important factor in this contest.

Defensively these two teams are among the worst statistically in the Pac 10 so you can expect some scoring on Saturday. Honestly I think Washington has the edge here with a solid LB crew and the return of Cameron Elisara to the defensive line. I think WSU will have a huge problem defending Washington's receivers while keeping an eye on RB Chris Polk. That is even without mentioning the elusive Jake Locker.

Both of these teams enter the game trying to play for a little season ending respect with a sharp eye pointed toward the future. According to embattled second year WSU head coach Paul Wulff the future looks bright for the Cougars which is about all you can say when your team has won three games over the past two years. Wulff most likely has only one season left to prove the Cougars are improving.

Steve Sarkisian on the other hand has one three games in his first year at Washington which is a dramatic improvement for a team that was 0-12 the past season. Even if Washington wins the game nobody is going to roll the red carpet out for a four win season. What is important though is that the Huskies were competitive enough to have won another three games if a little luck had gone their way.

Wulff can't say that because the Cougars have just been pounded in every contest this season excluding an unlikely win over SMU. WSU is often out of the game by the end of the first quarter. The problem of course at WSU is talent, depth, and experience. The Cougs like the Huskies are playing way too many young players. Only time, careful recruiting, and development will cure that for Cougars.

The key for Washington in this game is to come scoring often and early. Washington State is prone to far fall behind before the end of the first half and actually play a lot better in the second stanza. If Washington lets the underdog hang around into the third and fourth quarters they could be in for trouble.

Last years contest was a classic example of that. The Huskies who didn't play well all day looked like they had the game sewn up with seconds to go in the fourth quarter until WSU hit their first long pass of the game to score a game winning TD as time wound down. This is the exact same scenario that shot Washington in the foot against ASU earlier this season.

In conclusion Washington needs to put this one away early and as Kavario Middleton said earlier this week put up 50 points on WSU to let them know where they stand in the overall food chain of the Pac 10. This contest is all about respect and Washington needs to establish that against a program that has beat them four of the last five meetings.

AUDIO: Paul Wulff press conference, 11-24-09

Nuss — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:48:01 -0000

Paul Wulff's weekly Tuesday teleconference with reporters -- Apple Cup style. Lots of genuflecting, which I'm pretty sure I don't like. But if there's one thing I admire about Wulff, it's that he is absolutely resolute. Pretty remarkable considering what we've been through the past two years.

One item of note that came up: Wulff called Jeff Tuel's chances of playing "remote." Bummer.

Additionally, one reporter made what I can only assume was a joke when he asked a question about the Cougs' substitution patterns on defense. Only nobody laughed until Jim Moore asked Wulff if he had any trick plays in the plan for this weekend. Apparently, asking a coach about their gameplan is dumb. Who knew?

UCLA 43, Washington State 7

Grady. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:07:28 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

WSU just made this man look like Peyton Manning and pre-dogfight Mike Vick.

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Ugh.

Just awards tonight.

Player of the Game: Kevin Lopina. 7/14, 102 yds, 1 TD versus 0 INT. Also 33 yards on 4 rushing attempts, and we'll forget about his fumble momentarily.

Unsung Hero: Jeffrey Solomon earns his first award by being the only Cougar to reach the end zone, and the only receiver to catch more than one pass. Finished with two receptions for 54 yards.

It was over when... Chane Moline capped off the Marshall Lobbestael interceptionfest with a two yard run to put the Bruins up 14-0. With 5:16 left to play in the first.

Play of the Game: The 46-yard Lopina to Solomon touchdown pass. I can't remember anything else positive happening in this game.

Lowlight of the Game: The absolutely unacceptable 68 yard touchdown run by UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince. Like I typed from the stadium in the gamethread, sometimes it's like Paul Wulff wants me be in favor of firing him.

Stat of the Game: Total yards: UCLA 557, WSU 180. And this was not in Southern California weather.

Yep, Jeff Tuel is still awesome

Grady. — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:22:39 -0000

More photos » by BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI - AP

Your leaping does not intimidate Jeff Tuel

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You may be thinking after last night's 40-14 loss and two touchdown, two interception performance: "Nothing's going right!!! Even our savior Jeff Tuel isn't that good!!! What's Robb Akey's cell phone number!?!?!"

Well, hang on.

Tuel is still a big step above our other options at QB. He's no Reid Forrest, but he should still be our starting quarterback the rest of the way. Observe (best viewed in widescreen mode): [h/t cfbstats.com]

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD
1	Jeff Tuel	FR	QB	5	111	66	59.5	766	6.9	5	6
2	Marshall Lobbestael	SO	QB	6	105	49	46.7	475	4.5	5	2
3	Kevin Lopina	SR	QB	4	48	28	58.3	313	6.5	2	1

Even with a less-than-stellar performance against Notre Dame, Tuel still tops our other quarterbacks in virtually every statistical category you can think of. This, from a true freshman, whom we weren't sure had the size or the capabilities to really do anything this season but gain experience.

Plus, you can see the difference on the field. Tuel's more mobile, more accurate, and seems to have a better command of the offense than the two guys who have more experience. Plus, Tuel's numbers are even more impressive when you consider the teams he's played (USC, Oregon, ASU, Cal, ND) versus those Lopinastael have played (Stanford, Hawai'i, SMU). Seriously, though: four out of the five teams JT's played are currently ranked!

Now, before you get too excited about the final three games, remember that Notre Dame's pass defense is awful (105th coming into last night's game - 8.2 YPA allowed), and one would've hoped that Tuel would've torn it to shreds. Still, Tuel gets to face an even worse Washington pass defense (109th, 8.4 YPA allowed) and a mediocre Oregon State pass defense (58th, 6.8 YPAA) before the season is out. Arizona and UCLA are better (both 34th before yesterday's action), so don't expect a breakout performance in either of those.

Still, Jeff Tuel is a promising young QB. One of the few good reasons left to watch the remainder of the Cougar football season.

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Quarterbacks

Grady. — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:57:58 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

It's Tuel time!!!! Get it? I'm shocked no one else in the world has utilized that pun yet.

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FIRST QUARTER GRADE: C+

SECOND QUARTER GRADE: C-

STATS:

Game 4 - USC

Tuel: 14/22, 130 yds, 1 INT, 5.9 yards per attempt (YPA)
Lobster: 2/9, 14 yds, 1.6 YPA

Game 5 - Oregon

Lobster: 7/13, 48 yds, 2 INT, 3.7 YPA
Tuel: 1/2, 3 yds, 1.5 YPA

Game 6 - ASU

Tuel: 11/22, 175 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT, 8 YPA
Lobster: 6/12, 60 yds, 5 YPA

TOTALS

Tuel: 32/57 (56%), 308 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT, 5.4 YPA
Lobbestael: 9/23 (39%), 122 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT, 5.3 YPA
Lopina (pictured below): 0/0, 0 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 YPA

Comments: Why not a failing grade? Well, for one, like pretty much everyone, I'm a Jeff Tuel homer. Also, if you check the stats from both Marshall Lobbestael and Tuel in the ASU game, they were pretty darn serviceable. In fact, I would say the two interceptions tossed by Tuel in that game had more to do with the fact his offensive line was getting blown up around him. Granted, he succumbed to the pressure, but he's still a true freshman and mistakes are very understandable. Hopefully he learns from them, and improves. At the moment, he already seems to be progressing more than the elder Lobbestael.

Speaking of Ocho Rojo, we've been in search of an effective Lobbestael for quite some time, and he doesn't seem to be coming. His 5.3 yards per attempt is close to Tuel's, but it's based off a much smaller sample size. His accuracy is more worrisome - you can see it on his throws and on the stat sheet with a 39% completion percentage and a 0:1 TD:INT ratio. For the year Lobbestael is completing 46.7% of his passes - it's troubling to see him regressing even with a couple of games under his belt. Unlike my co-bloggers, I still believe there's hope that Lobbestael can be an effective Pac-10 quarterback. But it's going to take time, and at the moment it looks like Tuel is just as effective. Not to mention the hope that JT has the higher upside.

So, let's talk about Tuel. We have, yet again, a small sample size thanks to his injury against Oregon and the fact he came on in relief against USC. The second half against ASU was his breakout performance: two touchdowns, including his school-record 99 yarder to Johnny Forzani. That against no interceptions, keeping the Cougs within striking distance against one of the better defenses in the conference (not to mention a defense that guaranteed he'd have no help from the run game). His 5.4 YPA is something to get concerned about, however. It's less than the team yards per attempt (5.7), and 109 teams in the FBS currently have averaged higher YPA during the season. Still, nothing to panic about. Yet.

He's no Jake Locker, but Tuel has mobility. The only issue so far seems to be - and this was especially true in the first half against the Devils - he hasn't learned yet to keep looking downfield when he's forced out of the pocket. Several times already he's taken off and run for minimal gains when the better decision is to try and get the ball downfield. He needs to be especially careful when you consider injuries are common among scrambling quarterbacks that aren't afraid to take a hit. JT's also struggled with decision making under pressure, something any true freshman would. That aspect of his game will improve, but for now Wulff may need to simplify things for him in the offense, and try to let Dwight Tardy and the run game set up the pass.

How to improve the grade: The number one thing is getting a positive touchdown to interception ratio. Number two is finding receivers deep, at the least in the 10-20 yard range, and getting that yards per attempt average up. In fact, it scares me how low Tuel's average is, even with the whole 99-yards-on-one-pass advantage he has. If we can find any effectiveness (or healthiness) out of Kevin Lopina or Lobbestael, great. Although it doesn't necessarily help us going forward. The remainder of the season is still all about getting Tuel experience and making him prepared for his future as a Pac-10 starting quarterback. It's not going to be easy, but the best teams in the conference (minus Cal) are now behind us. There's no reason to think Tuel can't have success and turn some heads in the final six games. Just please please please no one get hurt.

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.

The case for starting Jeff Tuel

Nuss — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:31:46 -0000

I had planned to write this earlier today as a persuasive piece, but given that the decision has now been made, the focus shifts from persuasion to validation.

A few weeks back, I compared the performances of Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael in the opener against Stanford. It was designed to compare perception with reality, hoping to bring clarity to the situation.Obviously, we're all pretty excited about what Jeff Tuel did while in the game, but as somebody rightly pointed out in the game thread, I'm pretty sure we've never been so excited about a guy who was 1-for-4 passing over the course of his first five drives.

Was the team really that much better when he was in the game?

The answer is ... yes, but maybe not quite as much as you might think.

Whenever we compare two guys, we want to keep it as apples to apples as possible. We'll return to those two long drives to end the game in a moment, but I want to leave those out of the statistical comparison for the time being, given that it came against a number of second stringers seemingly playing a lot of soft zone. That's not to discount what Tuel was able to do -- after all, USC's second stringers went on to score approximately 458 points on us in the second half last year, and with the way this offense has struggled, I wouldn't care if he was throwing against air -- that's just to say that the statistics get pretty significantly skewed when you figure in those last two drives.

Conveniently enough, that leaves us with five dries apiece. As you look at that play call splits, keep in mind that I'm just looking at the official play by play and using my memory to try and remember what happened on each play.

		Lobbestael	Tuel
Series		5	5
Plays	Run	7	20
	Pass	13	15
	Total	20	35
Team Yards Gained		-3	86
Team YPPlay		-0.2	2.5
Passing		2-of-9, 14 yds	1-of-4, 5 yds
	YPComp	7.00	5.00
	YPAtt	1.56	1.25

Without a doubt, the offense was better with Tuel. Then again, it really had nowhere to go but up after averaging negative yards per play with Lobbestael at the helm. Ouchy. But let's not confuse what Tuel did those first three drives with the vintage Cougar offenses of the past decade. The success was relative, and should temper your enthusiasm just a little bit.

However, there's one extremely important distinction between Tuel's performance and Lobbestael's. Check it out how each performed on passing plays:

	Lobbestael	Tuel
Passes Called	13	15

Completions	2	1
Incompetions	7	3
Sacks	4	5
Rushes	0	7

Passing Yards	14	5
Sack Yards	-28	-19
Rushing Yards	0	42
Total Yards	-14	23

Despite having more passes called and only being able to get half the number of balls out of his hands -- for half as many completions -- Tuel was able to generate positive yards overall, mostly thanks to his legs. He was able to tuck the ball and avoid taking a sack a number of times, and also was able to limit the damage on most of the sacks he did take.

In fact, of the seven times he scrambled after dropping back to pass on those five drives, five times he produced a result that tangibly benefited the team. Twice, he rushed for 10 or more yards on 2nd-and-long to set up a 3rd-and-short (each of which Logwone Mitz converted); twice, he scrambled for a first down; and once, he avoided a deep sack. This doesn't even take into account the fumble he picked up on 2nd-and-9 on the third drive and ran forward for eight yards, since I think that was supposed to be a running play.

When Paul Wulff originally announced his intention to take the redshirt off Tuel, I was as vocally against it as anyone. It seemed like a waste in a season heading nowhere fast. But I think after Saturday, the implication from the stats is undeniable: For this team -- one that obviously is heading somewhere after a strong performance against USC -- Jeff Tuel is clearly the best option.

There was a considerable amount of consternation about him playing behind a banged up line, but Tuel showed that he's actually the best quarterback to play behind such a line. He's not only mobile; he possesses an uncanny ability to avoid taking a direct hit. And while the arm didn't quite live up to the hype in terms of strength (at least to my eyes, which is obviously subjective), the release was quick and he was accurate.

While the running is nice, that last attribute is truly what distinguishes Tuel from Lobbestael, and why it's clear he should be starting. I think we all kept hoping that Lobbestael would make good on the promise he's shown over the past calendar year, but, as we've done with Lopina, we might just have to make peace with the realization that he is what he is: A statue in the pocket who's incredibly vulnerable to the blitz thanks to slow decision making and inconsistent accuracy. You can only blame the knee for so long, especially when he was only completing ~50 percent of his passes last year before getting hurt.

Tuel, on the other hand, showed he can fit the ball into tight spaces (see his first completion to Tony Thompson) and fire darts into soft spots in a zone. That's why those last two drives make me so excited for Tuel's potential this year: He wasn't just completing passes, he was hitting guys on the numbers or on the hands in stride, prevent zone or not. He was putting the ball in places where guys could do something with it, completing 13-of-18 for 125 yards. I can't say this with great certainty, but I'm fairly confident that no WSU quarterback has had a stretch like that all year.

I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. Taking the redshirt off of Tuel was the right decision, and it's time to give him the keys to the offense full time. Here's to hoping that Saturday's start is the first step in that process.