SB Nation - Logwone Mitz

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

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

Inside The Numbers: WSU Edition

TwistNHook — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:00:37 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State Coach Paul Wulff asks his Pop-Pop if he has any hard candy for him. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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We've run an Inside The Numbers post for the following teams:

Maryland, EWU, Minnesota, and UCLA.

We haven't done it for the following teams:

Oregon and USC

With that in mind, LET'S RUN THE NUMBERS ON WASHINGTON STATE! Leave nothing to chance. NOTHING! In that vein, Avinash and myself take a few moments to look over some WSU numbers and see what conclusions we can draw. Enjoy the stats and add your thoughts after the jump. GO BEARS!

TwistNHook: First, let's take a look at their passing stats:

Situation	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Int	TD	Rating	Long	1st	15+	25+
All Plays	6	201	104	51.7	1143	10	5	97.77	99	47	24	8
1st Half	6	102	49	48.0	464	6	1	77.72	33	21	10	3
2nd Half/OT	6	99	55	55.6	679	4	4	118.43	99	26	14	5
1st Quarter	6	39	18	46.2	169	3	0	67.17	29	9	3	1
2nd Quarter	6	63	31	49.2	295	3	1	84.27	33	12	7	2
3rd Quarter	5	33	18	54.5	288	2	2	135.74	47	10	6	3
4th Quarter	6	65	37	56.9	391	2	2	111.45	99	16	8	2

Uh, I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but this ain't good. I realize that you can't beat a dead horse when it's the first comment you make, but let's be honest here. I have yet to even look at the rest of the stats and I kinda know how this one is going to go. Just take a look at their ratings. 77 in the first half! 77! In the NFL that is not very good. In college, that's horrific. Their numbers actually improve in the second half. Not great, but actually mediocre. This might be due to being down by a lot and the opponents playing softer coverage. I'm not entirely sure. What I do know is that 6-1 Int to TD ratio in the first half favors Cal. If we can get a few picks early in this game, we could get into a solid position to not have to worry too much about the second half.

Avinash:

Winning By 15+ Pts	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	0
Winning By 8-14 Pts	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	0
Winning By 1-7 Pts	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	0
Tied	3	11	5	45.5	34	1	0	53.24	13	2	0	0
Losing By 1-7 Pts	5	37	18	48.6	189	2	1	89.67	29	9	5	1
Losing By 8-14 Pts	5	36	18	50.0	160	1	0	81.77	22	8	5	0
Losing By 15+ Pts	6	117	63	53.8	760	6	4	109.44	99	28	14	7

Looks like you're right. Although it appears that Wazzu's QBs are behind all the time, so it's hard to tell (their one win, they didn't lead until the game winning field goal). We need Losing by 25+, Losing by 35+, Losing by 45+ stats to understand the deeper meaning.

"Both of these players unfortunately suffered career ending injuries at the end of this leap" via seattletimes.nwsource.com

Jeff Tuel will get the start though, so let's focus on him (Lobbestael is the backup, and has some awful stats):

Own 1 To 20 Yd Ln	3	7	5	71.4	130	0	1	274.57	99	3	3	1
Own 21 To 39 Yd Ln	2	15	7	46.7	50	0	0	74.67	17	3	1	0
Own 40 To Opp 40 Yd Ln	2	8	7	87.5	50	0	0	140.00	18	3	1	0
Opp 39 To 21 Yd Ln	2	11	6	54.5	67	2	1	99.35	23	2	1	0
Opp 20 To 1 Yd Ln (RZ)	1	5	1	20.0	11	1	0	-1.52	11	1	0	0

You can only tell so much from this small a sample, but wow...I didn't even think a negative college passer rating was possible.

He seems very comfortable at getting his team out of bad territory (he threw a 99 yard touchdown pass) but struggles once he gets into opposing territory. He did throw a touchdown against USC's third stringers in super garbage time, but other than that, three picks, around a 40% completion rate. Still, it's better than Lobbastel, who seems to look horrible all over the field.

TwistNHook: Let's take a look at their rushing numbers.

I am saddened that James Montgomery got injured and will miss this game, because

a)it would have been great to see him play
b)he was their best back, I believe.

Now, we have Dwight "Don't Be" Tardy "To The Party." Yes, I know that not only is that Bermanism truly heinous, but the fact that I know what "Don't Be Tardy To The Party" is means I should just turn in my Y chromosome right now.

Situation	G	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long	1st	10+	20+
All Plays	6	200	453	2.27	4	40	29	15	5
1st Half	6	107	248	2.32	0	23	18	11	2
2nd Half/OT	6	93	205	2.20	4	40	11	4	3
1st Quarter	6	57	133	2.33	0	23	10	5	2
2nd Quarter	6	50	115	2.30	0	16	8	6	0
3rd Quarter	6	57	135	2.37	2	28	7	2	1
4th Quarter	6	34	67	1.97	2	40	4	2	2

From the guys who brought you terrible passing stats, we now have terrible rushing stats. Wow, this is bad. 2.27 yards per carry. The 1.97 yards per carry in the 4th is bad, but if you see they have much fewer attempts in the 4th. Most likely due to the fact that they are behind and throwing frantically to catch up. There's not really a lot you have to analyze here. Considering that we've generally held opposing RBs in check, save for anybody in a green and gold jersey and Joe McKnight from time to time, I feel fairly good at keeping Dwight Tardy under control.

"Save me, Bill Doba! Save me!" via blog.oregonlive.com

Avinash: To be fair, there are a lot of sacks there.

Tardy won't be the only guy; Logwone MItz and Carl Winston are going to see action too. They will probably all get savaged.

1st Down	6	91	314	3.45	0	40	6	8	4
2nd Down	6	68	118	1.74	2	20	11	5	1
3rd Down	6	36	-10	-0.28	2	9	8	0	0
3rd Down, 1-3 To Go	6	11	27	2.45	1	8	7	0	0
3rd Down, 4-6 To Go	5	11	-11	-1.00	1	5	1	0	0
3rd Down, 7-9 To Go	2	3	-6	-2.00	0	-1	0	0	0
3rd Down, 10+ To Go	4	11	-20	-1.82	0	9	0	0	0
4th Down	3	5	31	6.20	0	15	4	2	0

Clearly the key to open up Wazzu's game is to get into...4th down situations???

TwistNHook: Dude's name is Logwone?

If their passing attack isn't very strong, what about their passing D? Can they stop the pass?

The answer is no. SURPRISE!

Situation	G	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Int	TD	Rating	Long	1st	15+	25+
All Plays	6	200	134	67.0	1739	7	10	149.54	73	67	34	17
1st Half	6	103	74	71.8	1020	1	9	181.94	73	34	20	12
2nd Half/OT	6	97	60	61.9	719	6	1	115.15	61	33	14	5
1st Quarter	6	52	40	76.9	520	1	7	201.49	57	19	10	6
2nd Quarter	6	51	34	66.7	500	0	2	161.96	73	15	10	6
3rd Quarter	6	53	32	60.4	382	3	1	115.84	40	19	8	2
4th Quarter	6	43	28	65.1	337	2	0	121.65	61	14	6	3

I like how they are giving up 67% of their passes with a rating of 149.54. That first quarter rating given up is absurd. 201! So, when the game is close (ostensibly) and their opponents are playing first string, they have a redick success rate. 201 is beyond insane. Hopefully, this will give Riley an opportunity to continue building confidence. He appears to be an emotional player. I say that not as an insult or even really a compliment, but what appears to be a statement of fact.

For example, after the interception against USC, he looked rattle for the rest of the game. But at UCLA, when he had some great success under his belt early, his confidence was sky high and his play never really dipped. Hopefully, Riley can take advantage of a weak opponent here and continue to build confidence from that UCLA game. I mean these numbers speak for themselves. 7 TDs allowed in the first quarter by the pass. That's just crazy.

Avinash: These stats are even more absurd.

1st Down	6	98	70	71.4	921	4	3	152.31	61	35	18	8
2nd Down	6	55	37	67.3	515	0	5	175.93	73	17	10	6
3rd Down	6	43	25	58.1	249	3	2	108.18	40	13	4	1
3rd Down, 1-3 To Go	5	12	6	50.0	69	1	1	109.13	23	6	2	0
3rd Down, 4-6 To Go	3	5	5	100.0	37	0	0	162.16	10	4	0	0
3rd Down, 7-9 To Go	6	11	6	54.5	47	1	1	102.26	12	2	0	0
3rd Down, 10+ To Go	6	15	8	53.3	96	1	0	93.76	40	1	2	1
4th Down	3	4	2	50.0	54	0	0	163.40	29	2	2	2

9 yards per pass attempt and 71% completion rate on 1st down...uhh...you're dearly screwed. Followed up by another 9 yards per pass attempt and 67% completion rate on 2nd down. Dear God. Those awful Beaver teams from the 60s/70s/80s are shuddering at those numbers.

"From simpler times" via graphics.fansonly.com

Surprisingly Wazzu is pretty good in the red zone in terms of defending the pass...

Own 20 To 1 Yd Ln (RZ)

38.5

80.38

But that's probably because they're already in the end zone before they make the red zone.

Opp 1 To 20 Yd Ln	5	17	11	64.7	119	0	0	123.51	36	5	2	1
Opp 21 To 39 Yd Ln	6	46	41	89.1	650	1	2	217.82	73	23	12	7
Opp 40 To Own 40 Yd Ln	6	59	35	59.3	436	3	2	122.42	57	19	5	4
Own 39 To 21 Yd Ln	6	52	37	71.2	459	2	4	162.99	29	18	14	5

TwistNHook: Let's take a look at rush D here.

Situation	G	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long	1st	10+	20+
All Plays	6	220	1199	5.45	17	53	60	37	12
1st Half	6	108	638	5.91	12	44	36	22	7
2nd Half/OT	6	112	561	5.01	5	53	24	15	5
1st Quarter	6	46	296	6.43	5	31	16	10	5
2nd Quarter	6	62	342	5.52	7	44	20	12	2
3rd Quarter	6	44	231	5.25	1	53	9	4	2
4th Quarter	6	68	330	4.85	4	39	15	11	3

Ya. I kind of feel sorry for these guys. I mean giving up 6.43 yards per carry in the 1st quarter? That's just rough. Their best numbers is 4.85 and that is in the 4th when ostensibly the opponent is running out the clock and the D can key in on the run. Even when everybody KNOWS the WSU opponent is going to just be running, they still can't stop them.

I mean think about that average. That means that if in the 4th quarter when the opponent is trying to run out the clock, if they were to run on every play, they would slowly, but surely march down the field and score a TD. They'd get roughly 9 yards on the first 2 plays and then covert on the 3rd and short. So, even when the opponents try to not succeed, THEY STILL SUCCEED.

Honestly, this is a team where we need to focus on 2 things:

1. Keeping all of our players healthy.
2. Ensuring proper execution in game time situations.

The first is, by far, the most important.

Avinash:

Oh my Lord.

1st Down	6	108	558	5.17	10	53	15	17	4
2nd Down	6	76	395	5.20	4	44	30	10	4
3rd Down	6	29	178	6.14	1	31	10	8	2
3rd Down, 1-3 To Go	5	15	94	6.27	0	30	8	5	1
3rd Down, 4-6 To Go	4	5	10	2.00	1	12	1	1	0
3rd Down, 7-9 To Go	4	5	56	11.20	0	31	1	1	1
3rd Down, 10+ To Go	3	4	18	4.50	0	10	0	1	0
4th Down	4	7	68	9.71	2	39	5	2	2

So basically you can run for 5 yards per attempt on 1st and 2nd down each and pick up the first down, or pass for 9 yards per attempt on 1st and 2nd down with about a 50% chance of completing both passes to get the first down, or do a little of both and still pick up the 1st down. And if you don't pick up the 1st down, you're still left with a lot of 2nd and short/3rd and really short situations. Wow. Poor Cougs.

Actually Washington State is pretty good in 3rd down conversion defense (35%, 36th in the country)!!! I think it's because everyone's so surprised the offense needed a 3rd down to get to first down that they don't know what to do! Of course it makes you wonder how horrible the converting the 1st down on 1st and 2nd down stats look like.

Cal should be up by double digits in the first quarter. If they don't, they clearly aren't taking this one too seriously. Wazzu's first string defense and offense, they just aren't good. If this is a two score game or less at halftime we should be seriously concerned about the future games coming up.

Poll

How do you think Cal will do against WSU?

Big victory for Cal

210 votes

Close victory for Cal

21 votes

Close loss for Cal

6 votes

Big loss for Cal

11 votes

248 votes | Poll has closed

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Running Backs

Nuss — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:20:00 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Scenes such as this -- which have been all too common over the past three games -- make it nearly impossible to evaluate the running backs, as it's not their fault there are no holes to run through.

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With the season now half over, we're resuming our quarter grades series, figuring that breaking the season into nice, even chunks is a great way to evaluate progress. The grades are a reflection of performance in that quarter, not cumulative over the season.

FIRST QUARTER GRADE: A

SECOND QUARTER GRADE: INC

STATS

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
FIRST QUARTER - Dwight Tardy	3	28	117	39	4.2	0	7	32	10.7	4.6	0

SECOND QUARTER		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
SECOND QUARTER - Dwight Tardy	3	28	69	23	2.5	1	3	12	4.0	4.0	0

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
FIRST QUARTER - Logwone Mitz	2	5	15	7.5	3.0	0	2	2	1	1	0

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
SECOND QUARTER - Logwone Mitz	3	26	84	28	3.2	0	2	24	8.0	12.0	0

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
SECOND QUARTER - Carl Winston	2	14	53	26.5	3.8	0	1	-3	-1.5	-3	0

COMMENTS: You know, I'd love to give these guys a real grade. But how exactly do you do that? Did Tardy suddenly become a worse runner against USC, Oregon and ASU? Of course not. Unless you're Barry Sanders, there's only so much a guy can do when there are no holes to run through, and that's exactly the situation these guys found themselves in for the past three games.

The two major developments over the last three games have been the absence of the team's best running back, James Montgomery, and the emergence of Winston, a true freshman. Winston -- whom I call Jacquizz Light -- is a smaller, shiftier back who has shown a burst that Tardy and Mitz lack. That's not a knock on those guys; that's just to say that Winston brings something different to the table. He's cut into Mitz's carries, which is a shame in the sense that we've seen what Mitz can do, but with such little holes to run through, giving the ball to a smaller guy who can hopefully squeeze through smaller creases and make a guy or two miss makes a lot of sense. Mitz is at his best running downhill behind a bruising line that can get a push, and that's just not what he was running behind the past three games.

I suppose I could have just given them another A, this time for effort -- especially for the tough yards gained against USC. Coaches also would include things like how well they did in pass protection, but my eye is fairly untrained to that sort of thing -- about the only time I notice is when a guy whiffs. In my mind, there just isn't enough information out there to evaluate these guys. They didn't do anything to hurt us, but they didn't really have the opportunity to help either.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE GRADE: I suppose I should rename this "How to Get a Grade." They need to have a fighting chance to gain some yards, something they should get starting this week against Cal -- assuming Zack Williams and B.J. Guerra return as scheduled. Both are critical to the success of the running game, and Cal has proven vulnerable against the rush, giving up better than 4.0 yards per carry to each of their past three opponents (including a whopping 5.27 this past weekend at UCLA). Notre Dame will provide a stiffer challenge, having started to sell out against the run to stop the pass, but Arizona is pretty average.

In other words, assuming reasonable health on the offensive line, we should get a better read on these guys over the third quarter of the season, as there should be yards to be had.

EDIT, 1:15 p.m.: Forgot to attach the poll. Vote if you so desire.

Poll

What grade do you think the running backs deserve?

A

0 votes

B

5 votes

C

20 votes

D

9 votes

F

2 votes

INC

9 votes

45 votes | Poll has closed

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

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Running backs

Nuss — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:48:38 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

The running backs get a fantastic grade thanks in large part to the play of this guy; will they be able to sustain their high level with him on the sidelines for the rest of the year?

Browse more photos »

With the college football season now being an even 12 games -- save for the odd game at Hawaii here and there -- it works out nicely to break the season up into three-game (or quarter) chunks for the purpose of evaluating how the team is coming along. We're going to look at it unit by unit.

One important thing to note: These grades are going to be based off the relationship between expectations and actual performance. For example, grading the WSU running backs on the standard set by Joe McKnight and Stafon Johnson would be a little silly. We'll grade them based on how well they lived up to -- or exceeded -- our expectations.

First up is the running backs.

GRADE: A

STATS

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Dwight Tardy	3	28	117	39	4.2	0	7	32	10.7	4.6	0

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - James Montgomery	3	37	167	55.7	4.5	1	7	62	20.7	8.9	0

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
2009 - Logwone Mitz	2	5	15	7.5	3	0	2	2	1	1	0

COMMENTS: Well, this was slated to be overwhelmingly positive before this happened. Still, since the grade is an assessment of where this unit has been rather than where it's going (we'll tackle that in a moment), let's focus on that.

This unit has been a high point for the team, even if the Cougars haven't been able to run the ball as much as they'd like thanks to slow starts, sizable deficits and now injuries on the offensive line. Both Tardy and Montgomery have shown that they have gamebreaking ability when given holes to run through, and that's all you can ask for out of your running backs, since they can't control much else.

Most encouraging is the yards per carry. Much was made before the season of Tardy finally being healthy; that, combined with better line play, has led to his 4.2 yards per carry -- up significantly from the 3.62 of last year. Montgomery's 4.5 yards per carry haven't been seen out of a regular WSU runner since Tardy was able to do it two years ago.

Oh, and after the Cougars fumbled the ball away so many times last year, the running backs have put the ball on the ground exactly one time -- Montgomery's fumble on Saturday.

There's really no fault to be found with this unit.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE GRADE: Well, there typically wouldn't be any way to improve this grade, but with the loss of Montgomery for the season, it's going to take some serious work from Tardy, Mitz and probably either Marcus Richmond or Carl Winston to maintain this grade. Tardy has looked good, but not as good as Montgomery, and he's going to need to step up his game.

If there's a silver lining to all of this, it's that Mitz is going to get a real shot at carrying the ball with some regularity. He's an absolute bruiser -- the kind of guy who can wear a defense down with 15 carries. There just weren't enough balls to go around with Montgomery in the fold, so Mitz got short shrift. (Five carries in three games? Yeow ...) Now we get to see if Mitz can build on the considerable potential he showed last season.

The Tailgater's Guide to Cougar Football: Week One

Grady. — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:22 -0000

Please, someone, stop this thing before it kills us all.

View full size photo »

A weekly series from CougCenter, the Tailgater's Guide is dedicated to helping you prepare for all the action on Cougar Football Saturday; both on the field and off.

The Game

Stanford Cardinal (0-0) at Washington State Cougars (0-0); 3:00 p.m. PT

Location

Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Coverage

TV: Fox Sports Northwest (announcers TBD), FCS Pacific
Radio: Cougar Sports Radio Network

Last Meeting

2008 (at Stanford): Stanford 58, WSU 0

The Line

Stanford -16.5

Why you should care: Cougar football is back! And not a moment too soon. And, for the first time since the season opener last year, WSU fields a (mostly) healthy lineup on both sides of the ball. It's WSU's first shot at a win in 2009, and one of the best opportunities they'll have to steal a conference victory. It's also the first chance to see some marquee freshmen take the stage for WSU: WR Gino Simone, DE Travis Long and LB Darren Markle, among others.

Most intriguing storyline: Kevin Lopina will start at quarterback for the Cougars, with Marshall Lobbestael relieving possibly as early as the third or fourth series. Will one of the two QBs distance himself from the other? More importantly, will either have success?

Key matchup: Stanford's Toby Gerhart against WSU's defensive line. In one half of football against the Cougars last year, Gerhart ran for 132 yards and four (!) touchdowns. Needless to say, WSU's revamped defensive line with Kevin Kooyman and Travis Long need to buckle down to keep this game competitive.

Why Stanford might win: If the Cardinal can keep turnovers to a minimum and run over the Cougar defense with ease, they should have this one in the bag. The Stanford passing game is questionable, but then again so is the WSU defensive backfield. It should still be advantage Cardinal. This is essentially a must-win for the tree's bowl hopes in 2009, given their difficult end to the schedule.

Key Player (Stanford): Gerhart. Obviously. Grippi has a good article on him in this week's Spokesman-Review.

Why WSU might win: If the three-headed rushing monster of James Montgomery, Dwight Tardy and Logwone Mitz is successful, it could take the pressure off the rotating quarterbacks and keep WSU in the game. If the Cougs can force Stanford to make some mistakes (read: turnovers) and keep Gerhart's rushing yards to a minimum, they have a chance.

Key Player (WSU): Lopinastael. One of the two Cougar quarterbacks has to have success passing the ball for WSU to remain in this one. Handing it off to the backs can be successful, but when Stanford loads the box it'll be up to Kevin or Marshall to make a play.

Pregame activity: Lawson Gardens. Sure, not the most manly outing out there, but this will satisfy your significant other's need for something other than football, and give you an opportunity to see the place perennially voted "Pullman's best kept secret" by Daily Evergreen readers. It's also one of the last chances to get there before everything turns brown in the fall. And while they don't allow dogs (booooo), it's still worth a walk around. Of course all of this assumes you can find the place, which is almost statistically impossible. Ask a local. Or Google Maps.

Pre- or postgame meal suggestion: LocoGrinz Hawaiian BBQ, Moscow. If you have the urge for ridiculously good Hawaiian food, make the drive across the border to LocoGrinz. Or better yet, call and order ahead so that it's ready by the time you get there. Everything on the menu is enticing, but nothing tops the Pulled Pig (a.k.a Kalua Pork) with noodles on the side. Also worthwhile is the Korean BBQ chicken, if you can handle the spiciness of the sauce.

There are rumors of a second location opening up in downtown Pullman sometime soon. If so, I'm there.

Travel Tip of the week: When parking on campus, it's important to have an escape plan. Does your parking lot empty into the horror that is the North end of Stadium Way? Or can you sneak down Colorado or another side street to your freedom downtown? Sometimes parking farther away from the stadium has its benefits - although if you're clear out by the rec center you may have to resort to going through apartmentville and/or through Airport Road before you can get home. Best bet: If you're going to park farther away from campus, park closer to downtown or Dissmores.

Or, better yet, bring your RV and avoid all the traffic.

Gametime snack of the week: Cashews. Obscenely delicious, and easy to sneak into games in small quantities. I'm kidding of course about sneaking things into games - you should really spend $3.50 on a pretzel that costs probably $.50 cents to produce. Although, it's hard to complain about college concession prices after you've been to a Mariners game.

PREDICTION: I would love to see the Cougars start off 2009 with a huge conference win. Unfortunately, Toby Gerhart is still too much for a rush defense that was horrific last year and will only be marginally improved this fall. The Cougs may keep it close in the first half, but the Cardinal prove to be too much to handle. Stanford 38, Washington State 17.

Pac-10 Picks:

Oregon 38, Boise State 34 (Thursday). The Broncos are nearly unbeatable on their home blue turf (blurf?), but I still think Oregon brings in too much talent to let an early win slip away.
Oregon State 63, Portland State 7. Remember how awful we were last year? We still drubbed Portland State. That can't be a good sign for the Vikings when they travel to Corvallis.
USC 49, San Jose State 6. That's an easy enough prediction to make.
UCLA 38, Stan Diego State 14. These last two feel like the exact same game. Enjoy your blowouts, L.A.!
Arizona 31, Central Michigan 17. Arizona always seems to have an early season game where they are far from impressive. This could be it in '09.
Arizona State 56, Idaho State 3. So many close, exciting games this week, I surely won't fall asleeeeeeeeoqhfjrfesvqbefvejnvejrngjqtngejon
California 38, Maryland 21. California has gone from perennial also-ran to a school with a chance to sweep both the Pac-10 basketball and football titles this school year. Ugh.
LSU 49, Washington 10. Please. I've never gambled on sports, but LSU -17.5 is the most tempting line I've seen in a long, long time. UW hasn't improved that much.

Season record: 0-0

Now to wrap things up, our burning question of the week. See you at the game, and Go Cougs!

Poll

Burning Question: Which Cougar QB earns the majority of the snaps Saturday?

Lopina

90 votes

Lobbestael

17 votes

107 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State University Roundtable

TwistNHook — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:00:19 -0000

via img2.allposters.com

TwistNHook: Don't laugh. Last time WSU came to Cal, we beat them by 3 points. 20-17. 3 points.

Ragnarok: Last time we heard from these guys, they were holding open tryouts on campus for quarterbacks. Open tryouts!!

Avinash: Is Pullman turning this into a reality TV show?

TwistNHook: We shouldn't mock WSU too much, because we were once like them.

WSU's only other scheduled TV game is the Oct. 31 game against Notre Dame in San Antonio (NBC, 4:30 p.m.).

I feel like there were years when even the Big Game wasn't televised live. Washington State has really fallen off, it is sad. What can they do to regain their former glory? Remember, they are the last non-USC team to go to the Rose Bowl. They've been to a Rose Bowl this decade, which is more than us Cal fans can say (by a magnitude of about 5).

HydroTech: Did you know that their QB last year (one of many who played), Kevin Lopina, had 0 TDs and 11 INTs on the season?!?!? Yikes.

Their top WR Brandon Gibson is gone now. I wonder who will step up and take his place?

Have you looked at WSU's away schedule? At USC, at Oregon, at Cal, at Notre Dame, at Arizona, and at Washington!!! BRUTAL. The easiest away game for them is at Washington, and given that WSU's level of talent isn't exactly far superior (if at all) to Washington, that's going to be a really tough game too.

TwistNHook: Firstly, I'm sure we are all excited about CougCenter Week coming up this week. I love those guys. I just went over to check up on them and they have a great article on their linebackers up.

via seattletimes.nwsource.com

Ah, but last year also was a testament to what these guys can do when the line in front of them is doing its job. One need look no further than the Apple Cup. With the defensive line turning in a yeoman's effort behind resurgent Toby Turpin, linebackers Greg Trent, Andy Mattingly (moved back to linebacker for the game) and Louis Bland combined for 23 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss. Bland, a converted safety, was particularly effective roaming free, repeatedly slicing into the backfield to disrupt plays. Additionally, these guys finally started to trust each other as the year wore on, and it showed in the results.

And there's the rub for this year. If there's one unit that could give the running backs a run for their money in terms of talent and depth, it's these guys. When a guy was a third team freshman all-American and the Apple Cup hero and isn't currently slated to start despite looking pretty healthy coming off a knee injury (Louis Bland) that says a lot about what the unit has going for it. Mattingly is back where he belongs at outside linebacker, Jason Stripling looks to finally be ready to fulfill the projections many had for him when he came north from Texas, and a trio of talented young guys in the middle are champing at the bit to fill the void left by Greg Trent.

LB appears to be a position of strength for them. Honestly, its not fun to just crush teams. I mean I guess its fun in one sense. The first 3 minutes of the WSU game were fun. But then after essentially the first play, the fun dissipated quickly. I mean I don't wanna lose or anything, but at least go up against teams that can put up a fight. So, I'm hoping for WSU to improve this year. And maybe the key is through their LB play. They have some young talent here and could be leaders for the team.

Do I believe that Cal will lose to WSU? No. Do I think it will be as lop-sided as last year? Even though the game is at home, no. I am actually looking forward to this one, oddly enough. Am I weird for looking forward to the WSU game?

Yellow Fever: When are you ever not weird?

TwistNHook: When I buy my Nets season tickets and attend all those WWE wrestling matches. That's when I'm MOST normal!

Yellow Fever: This coming from a guy who wrote a paper on Japanese puroresu.

TwistNHook: Hey, that got an A!

via www.pe.com

I think. Actually, I don't remember, it was so long ago. I hope it got an A!

HydroTech: How many yards do we all think Best is going to get against WSU? Last year he had 200 yards on 14 carries. If I recall correctly, Best was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter or so. Perhaps next time he needs to stay in the game and roll up 300 yards on them.

Yellow Fever: I say he stops around the 250 mark.

TwistNHook: According to the box score, he was taken out early early early in the 3rd quarter. Here are his last 2 plays:

California at 11:28		CAL	WSU
1st and 10 at CAL 11	California penalty 5 yard false start accepted.	42	3
1st and 15 at CAL 6	Jahvid Best rush for 8 yards to the Cal 14.
2nd and 7 at CAL 14	Jahvid Best rush for 86 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.	48	3
	David Seawright extra point GOOD.	49	3
	David Seawright kickoff for 60 yards returned by Chantz Staden for 27 yards to the WshSt 37.
DRIVE TOTALS: Cal drive: 2 plays 89 yards, 00:50 Cal TD

ME LIKEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That 8 yard run was actually lower than his average of 14.3. That happened with about 11 minutes left in the 3rd.

Speaking of which, for those of you who complained that Jahvid Best is a mediocre back who just racked up tons of garbage yards against terrible teams, like the Washingtons, he played about a total of 4 quarters against them. He rushed for like 450 yards in those 4 quarters. If he had played all 8 quarters, he maybe coulda gotten 1,000 yards! Kind of a toads redick argument, in my ever so humble opinion.

Avinash: I wonder who will be the tougher opponent, EWU or Wazzu?

TwistNHook: We could ask Paul Wulff about that one, I bet.

Ragnarok: Frankly, the only thing about this game I'm even remotely interested in is seeing James Montgomery facing his old team. He was a good backup for Forsett back in '07, though he never struck me as a star. While I remember reading articles at the time of his transfer stating that playing time wasn't the reason he left Berkeley, I gotta wonder where he'd fit into the Bears' current rotation of backs. He'd be behind Best; that's pretty obvious. Would be still be ahead of Shane Vereen?

Avinash: Funny thing is he isn't starting for Wazzu this season. It's still Dwight Tardy's role.

Coug Center:

This is one unit where Coug fans can proclaim to all that are listening, "We have Pac 10 depth there!" Dwight Tardy has proven he can gain yards and make plays if given the opportunity to advance to the line of scrimmage before getting gang-tackled. James Montgomery's biggest problem at Cal was that he wasn't as good as Jahvid Best, Marshawn Lynch, etc. Logwone Mitz has size and possesses the ability to break off a big gain (see: Apple Cup!).

Paul Wulff likes to run the football. He can do so with this group. There will not be anyone taking the ball 40 times a game a la Jerome Harrison, but a running back by committee approach seems like a very exciting option. The Cougs will have the luxury of a talented back with fresh legs in there on every play. Maybe, just maybe, Dwight or James or one of the other guys will get really hot one game and we will ride him to an upset over (insert Pac 10 team here.)

TwistNHook: Here's hoping that upset isn't over us!

Yellow Fever: I'm going to guess that since Dwight Tardy (who?) is starting over him, he'd probably be behind Vereen as well.

Avinash: Danzig did some of his own reporting on Monty for WSU Football Blog:

We saw Monty as more of a power back than a speedster. He got most of his reps during short-yardage situations for good reason. Monty cannot be taken down with arm tackles and he had a knack for always getting an extra three yards while being tackled. He would do this by twisting and torquing his body toward the first down marker. He almost never went down during first contact. He does have the speed to get to the edge and turn the corner but he never looked like he was moving that fast. We hardly ever passed to him, but when we did, he caught everything... no drops. While on campus, he was an ideal student and never got in trouble.

TwistNHook: We do not have a lot of information on Montgomery, because he did not play a lot. I think danzig's analysis is right on. More of a power back than a speedster. Ostensibly, he would have been the thunder to Best's lightening. Oh well.

Yellow Fever: For what it's worth, I think he also made some references to not really enjoying the environment around campus either. Berkeley isn't as crazy as its previous reputation so it's unclear as to what he was talking about, so who knows.

Avinash: Rent control maybe? Rent control sucks.

TwistNHook: So, who is gonna win this one? I say Cal Googleplex-0.

No, wait, make that Cal Googleplex-2. I see a garbage time safety here. Sorry Sweeney!

HydroTech: I think WSU can get a "moral victory" if they can only lose to us by 30. Did I just jinx us? Vegas Bowl here we come.....

Yellow Fever: Not that there's anything wrong with another excuse to go to Vegas.

Poll

How will Cal do against WSU?

Big win

145 votes

Close win

4 votes

Close loss

5 votes

Big loss

5 votes

159 votes | Poll has closed