SB Nation - Dwight Tardy

The Apple Cup Primer

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

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.

Oregon State 42, Washington State 10

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

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

23 days 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: Are We Ready For A "Cold" Palouse?

Nestor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:12:23 -0000

If you haven't had the chance to do it you should listen to the podcast Ryan and Josh did last night going over UCLA's game against Washington State. They also hosted Nuss from CougCenter to preview the Cougars, who graciously offered his perspectives on what can expect tomorrow. There is no sugar coating the kind of dismal season Cougars have had in recent years. Given the circumstances it is pretty damn admirable how Nuss and his colleagues are sticking with the program through their darkest of hours. While he is being realistic about the Cougars' chances tomorrow, on our end I can't help but feel worried about our mindset heading into Palouse.

We have talked all week about how Palouse hasn't been a great place for UCLA football. Yes, we did experience a sort of miracle in 2005 when we won the game despite the "leadership" of Karl Dorrell. Except for that game though Martin Stadium has been a house of horrors. In the back of my mind I can't help but be worried about the mindset of a UCLA program which seems to have a tendency to read too much of its press clippings, when news/momentum breaks its way. There is also the weather factor for a Southern California based football team. Ted Miller from WWL writes:

If there were any arguments in favor of the Cougars notching the upset, weather would be a major factor -- particularly against a warm-weather team like UCLA.

"It depends on how cold it is on the day you play," Wulff said. "It could. No question it could."

The Cougars are just glad to be home. They've played five of their last six games on the road against five ranked teams.

As pointed out earlier this week Cougars also have Dwight Tardy who tore up the UCLA defense last time we visited Pullman couple of years ago. Our rush defense has been abysmal in recent weeks. It will be imperative for our front-7 to step up and make a statement early on against a Cougar team, which will try to build on any signs of life it can muster up in the early stages of the game. We just can't afford to give those guys any sense of hope or momentum in the first quarter. More after the jump.

Nuss noted last night that it looks like Cougars will be indeed with our freshman QB Jeff Tuel tomorrow. Tuel has given them a spark this season. The Spokesman Review wrote about how the Cougars (kind of like the Bruins) have gone through their own QB carousel this year:

The Cougars (1-8, 0-6 Pac-10) have used three starting quarterbacks this season: senior Kevin Lopina, who was the opening day quarterback; sophomore Marshall Lobbestael, who took over in the third game; and freshman Jeff Tuel, who earned the job in the fifth game and has kept it since.

But Tuel was sidelined in last week’s defeat to Arizona with a slight dislocation of his kneecap and probably will not be available against UCLA (4-5, 1-5) Saturday.

Lobbestael relieved and hooked up with Karstetter on a 64-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown that was a direct result of both being "on the same page."

A play was called. Lobbestael changed it. Karstetter studied the coverage and signaled a new route. Reading the change, Lobbestael lofted the ball out front, Karstetter snatched it with one hand, shed the defender and scored.

It was Karstetter’s sixth touchdown reception – he’s tied with James Rodgers of Oregon State for the Pac-10 lead – and third in three games.

"It was a great play, but I have complete confidence, Jeff and I and any of the quarterbacks, we all have complete trust in all the receivers," Lobbestael said.

Again it's worth repeating: Bruins are not in position to get comfortable against any team at this point of their rebuilding process. Lobbestale and Karstetter, I am sure have taken note of how opposing QBs have gone directly after ATV (who has been dealing with some injury issues) and Sheldon Price. So our guys better be locked in and ready.

Lastly, I will end with a quick note on the offensive side. It looks like Junior offensive lineman Jake Dean will get the start at right guard, with junior Darius Savage rotating in, in place of junior Ryan Taylor. Hopefully Jake can step up the same way Taylor did in last two weeks. We will need our OL to give Prince the same protection they have provided in last two weeks. It has played a huge role in Prince's emergence has a productive passer. Let's hope they can all stay in rhythm tomorrow afternoon in the Palouse.

GO BRUINS.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: UCLA Bruins (with audio!)

Dancing Football — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:24:40 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has been limited due to injury at times this season. Even if he isn't able to go on Saturday, it probably won't make much of a difference.

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Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel

Record: 4-5 (1-5)

Offense: 20.3 PPG, 5.1 YPP

Like many of their Pac 10 brethren, the UCLA Bruins have chosen to go with youth at the quarterback position. Freshman Kevin Prince was named the starter at the beginning of the season over senior Kevin Craft. Craft still has had opportunities throughout the season, as Prince has missed time due to injury. In that time, Craft has put up numbers that are very comparable to Prince's.

Name	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD
Kevin Prince	184	105	57.1	1264	6.9	5	5
Kevin Craft	89	51	57.3	624	7.0	2	2

In fact, the numbers are nearly identical. The two combined for over 300 yards in UCLA's last game vs. Washington and Prince three for over 300 against Oregon State two weeks ago, so it appears the Bruins may be hitting their stride in the passing game. Expect Prince to start on Saturday, as he returned to practice Tuesday after suffering an injury against the Huskies, but if Craft is forced to play there shouldn't be too much of a drop off.

The Bruin passing game has been forced to carry the offense so far this season, as the running game has struggled mightily. UCLA is picking up just 3.16 yards per carry. In an effort to improve, Neuheisel has named Sophomore Derrick Coleman the starting running back for Saturday's game against the Cougs. The Bruins should expect to see an improvement this week, as Washington State usually brings out the best in their opponents.

Going forward, changing the running back may not be the solution UCLA is looking for. Looking at the stats, it appears the offensive line has struggled, giving up 25 sacks on the season and that small yards per carry average quote above.

Whoever the starting quarterback is for UCLA is on Saturday, they should enjoy success. WSU has shown little ability to get in the backfield, and the they should have the time in the world to throw. Moving the ball on the ground should not be a difficult task either against Wazzu's depleted defensive line.

Defense: 23.0 PPG, 5.3 YPP

UCLA's defense has looked very stout at times, but overall is right around the nation's average in yards per play. They are not the dominating force that Paul Wulff made them out to be in his presser this week, but they do force turnovers and they do well against the passing game.

One of the players that has been key in pass defense and forcing turnovers is sophomore free safety Rahim Moore. He has been able to pick off a remarkable eight passes and also leads the UCLA with six pass breakups.

While Moore has been spectacular, Brian Price is man to watch for the Bruins on defense. At tackle, he is one of the top defensive players in the nation. He uses his 6'2". 300 pound frame to overpower offensive guards and also has a suprising amount of quickness and agility. He has used all this to rack up 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks so far in 2009. Price will be in the Washington State backfield early and often on Saturday.

As is the norm, the Washington State offense will struggle on Saturday against a bigger and more athletic UCLA defense. Look for either Jeff Tuel or Marshall Lobbestael to be running for their lives and Dwight Tardy and company to struggle for yardage.

UCLA is in trouble with: Kenny Alfred is somehow able to neutralize Brian Price, freeing up the running game and giving Cougar quarterbacks more time to throw. Also, UCLA turns the ball over five times or more and the Cougs are able to turn at least two of those into scores. Then, we may have a game on our hands.

From the other side ...

For this week's interview with the opponent, Nuss caught up with Ryan Rosenblatt (aka ryebreadraz) from BruinsNation.com. Topics covered include the chances the Bruins stub their collective toe in Pullman, how the UCLA offense seems to be coming together, and what a beast Price is.

And as a reminder, you can subscribe to us on iTunes (why wouldn't you want to carry our pretty little voices with you everywhere you go?) or go to our podcast site here for other subscribing options.

Spaulding Roundup: In A Washington State Of Mind

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

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

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

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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.

Golden Is Thy Name: Tate and Hughes Lead Notre Dame Rout of Washington State

CW — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:52:37 -0000

More photos » by BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI - AP

about 1 month ago: Notre Dame player Sergio Brown celebrates with a back flip after defeating Washington State, 40-14 in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Bahram Mark Sobhani)

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Some Irish fans - we'll call them the lunatic fringe - have been complaining that Notre Dame hasn't been blowing the doors off of teams because of their vast talent advantage, or whatever. Granted, every team they had played against Nevada had been a BCS team that either has a great win or very competitive game against a top team. We were not going to get a poor effort from them, and due to the abilities of Jimmy Clausen and friends, the Irish were 5-2.

This game - this weird Halloween night clash with a Pacific Northwest foe near the Mexico border - is what it looks like when you play a team where you have a dominant talent advantage. You control the lines on both sides of the ball, you get your back-ups plenty of reps and everyone gets to focus on enjoying the band and going home happy. There were obviously some very bad things to come out of last night: the injuries of still-unknown consequence to Trevor Robinson and Dayne Crist, plus Jimmy re-aggravating the turf toe. But the Irish did what they needed to do as they get ready for a tricky November slate, and now to the bullet points.

Golden Tate is a top two or three Heisman candidate at this point, and anyone who has him lower than that is simply voting for the big name quarterback who was supposed to be at the top of the ticket before the season started. All he does is score touchdowns - out of the backfield, on catch and runs, tearing the ball away from three defenders on a jumpball in the endzone - and jump into bands and refuse to get tackled at any point. He's amazing, he's got two go-ahead fourth quarter touchdowns (Michigan State, Boston College) and a huge game against Southern Cal. He played better as more of the defense focused on him after Michael Floyd's injury. Golden Tate is a Heisman front runner, and anyone who doesn't have him there doesn't deserve a vote.
Great work by the defensive line all night, as KLM led the team in tackles with five. Ian Williams had a pick, Ethan Johnson was a constant presence in the backfield and Wazzu running back Dwight Tardy didn't really get going into the second string was in. Hopefully they enjoyed rushing the passer this week, as the next game against Navy won't warrant too many of those opportunities.
Excellent game by Robert Hughes and Theo Riddick as Armando Allen sat a spell. Hughes had 182 yards of offense on 28 touches - just beautiful, gaudy numbers as he consistently provided a nice check down for Jimmy - while Riddick flashed some speed with 12 for 75.
Dayne really flashed the gun on that pass to John Goodman. Let's hope his leg(s) is okay, although it's not a good sign when the pain from an injury is so intense a player just drops the ball. Jimmy, please stay? Thanks.
Tony Dungy compared Clausen to Drew Brees at halftime. I like it.
Duval Kamara went from being written off by Irish fans to becoming a very nice part of this receiving corps. It was also nice to see Kyle Rudolph back in the mix at receiver, as well as Mike Ragone getting his first catch of the season (which seems impossible, yet is true).
As far as Irish bowl chances go, they are two very tough road games and two tricky home games away from winning out, so let's not get too involved with that. However, it is worth glancing at: If the Irish go 10-2 they will have a shot at a BCS game, a good chance at the Cotton Bowl (depending on how LSU looks in November) and become a virtual lock for the Gator. If they go 9-3, I imagine it's almost a definite trip to the Gator against the Canes or Hokies. There are all fine games against good teams, so the focus of Irish fans should be on just winning, baby.

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.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 11

Nuss — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:45:25 -0000

Back for our weekly yakkity yak. Table of contents:

Opening - A look at the authors' current states of employment. Riveting stuff.
6:15 - Can the passing game keep up the promise it showed against Cal?
8:20 - Where's the guy who used to be our starting running back? (And we're not talking about Montgomery.)
13:40 - How big of an impact can the offensive line have against Notre Dame? Is it possible for the Cougs to at least hang with the Irish, who have yet another explosive offense?
21:00 - Games of the week and upset specials (we all missed last week!)
25:45 - Predictions on the Notre Dame game. (Not to spoil the surprise, but ... we all think we're going to lose.)

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 was uploaded to the feed a couple of hours ago ...)

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