SB Nation - Andy Mattingly

Should Wulff be fired after just two seasons?

Nuss — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:53:28 -0000

No one is happy with the performance of the football team on the field. But does that mean Paul Wulff should lose his job at the end of this year?

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Following yet another predictable drubbing at the hands of yet another Pac-10 foe, the question as to whether Paul Wulff deserves to hang onto his job for a third season is bubbling to the surface yet again.

It's been intimated at various times and in various spots around the site in comments that we at CougCenter are at best Wulff sympathizers and at worst staunchly in Wulff's corner, and aren't really interested in frank discussion about the coach and his staff. I don't want to speak for my fellow authors, but neither could be further than the truth when it comes to me (reference here and here), and I know Grady hasn't always been glowing in his assessments of Wulff, either. In general, we feel like we're critical when criticism is warranted, but we also try to be as fair and evenhanded in our evaluations as is possible.

Obviously, not everyone thinks that's the case.

So, in the interest of putting this "CougCenter loves Paul Wulff" rhetoric to rest, let's have a frank and honest discussion of the status of Wulff's job. I can't promise we'll reach a conclusion that makes everyone happy, as there certainly is room for reasonable minds to differ. But I can promise that I'm going to try and look at this from every conceivable angle, bringing in arguments on both sides.

Plausibility vs. possibility

To start with, I think any honest discussion about Wulff's job security needs to start with one critical question: Is it even plausible that he could lose his job? Sure, it's possible; but then again, it's possible that I could win Mega Millions this week.

The reality is that the WSU athletic department has taken a major hit in this economic climate (just like everyone else), and Athletic Director Jim Sterk has been forced to trim from the budget (just like everyone else). But unlike everyone else, WSU already operates at a substantial financial disadvantage -- it has the smallest budget in the conference and the fewest number of donors.

It's important to recognize the gravity of that, because with three years at approximately $600,000 per left on the original five-year deal, I can't imagine any plausible scenario where the WSU athletic department decides it's a good idea to pay someone $1.8 million not to coach while simultaneously paying a new guy approximately $700,000 to $800,000 (as the price of head coaches has gone up) to coach. That's just reality.

Is it possible that there's some sugar daddy donor out there so disillusioned with the state of the program that he's willing to pony up $2 million to make Wulff go away? As we said, anything's possible. But at a time when Sterk's openly working hard to raise the funds to renovate Martin Stadium -- and not exactly setting the world on fire doing it -- the plausibility of that person existing is slim.

I think even the most ardent "fire Wulff" supporter would have to acknowledge this reality. Still, in the interest of having an honest and earnest conversation, let's set this aside for the moment and assume that it is, in fact, plausible that Wulff could be dismissed at the end of the year. At that point, the question obviously becomes whether his performance actually warrants dismissal.

The talent question

We've heard the argument over and over again: Bill Doba left the cupboard bare. Wulff himself intimated as much (repeatedly) from the moment he took over, and it's an argument we've made. But really, we like things that we can measure around here. So, I tried to think of some way to measure the level of talent in a program. I considered looking at recruiting class rankings, but we all know how reliable those things are. They're great at the time, but often turn out to be inaccurate.

So, here's what I settled on. It's admittedly crude, but it's at least concrete, and I think it provides some perspective. Here are the number of future NFL players* on each WSU roster since 1997:

* With "future NFL player" being defined as a player who spent at least a day on an active NFL roster. This table is the best I could come up with from my research, and it might not be complete -- with all the information available on the internet, you'd think it would be pretty easy to track this stuff down. Not the case.

Year	Record	NFL Players	Players
1997	10-2	13	McKenzie (Sr.), McEndoo (Sr.), Withrow (Sr.), C. Jackson (Sr.), Boose (Sr.), Bender (Sr.), Leaf (Jr.), Lindell (So.), Gleason (So.), Riley (So.), Thompson (Fr.), Meier (Fr.), R. Smith (Fr.),
1998	3-8	6	Meier (Sr.), Lindell (Jr.), Gleason (Jr.), Riley (Jr.), Thompson (So.), R. Smith (Fr.),
1999	3-9	11	Lindell (Sr.), Meier (Sr.), Riley (Sr.), Gleason (Sr.), Thompson (Jr.), Wynn (Jr.), Holden (Jr.), M. Williams (Jr.), R. Smith (So.), Trufant (Fr.), Gesser (Fr.)
2000	4-7	12	Thompson (Sr.), Holden (Sr.), Wynn (Jr.), M. Williams (Sr.), R. Smith (Jr.), Trufant (So.), Gesser (So.), Coleman (Fr.), David (Fr.), Paymah (Fr.), Ha. Abdullah (Fr.), Long (Fr.)
2001	10-2	11	R. Smith (Sr.), Thompson (Sr.), Trufant (Jr.), Gesser (Jr.), Paymah (So.), Long (So.), Ha. Abdullah (So.), Coleman (So.), David (So.), Long (So.), Bienemann (Fr.)
2002	10-3	12	Trufant (Sr.), Gesser (Sr.), Ha. Abdullah (Jr.), Coleman (Jr.), David (Jr.), Long (Jr.), Paymah (Jr.), Darling (So.), Bienemann (So.), Mihlhauser (Fr.), Bruce (Fr.), Frampton (Fr.)
2003	10-3	11	Ha. Abdullah (Sr.), Coleman (Sr.), David (Sr.), Paymah (Sr.), Darling (Jr.), Bienemann (Jr.), Mihlhauser (So.), Bruce (So.), Frampton (So.), Hu. Abdullah (Fr.), Hill (Fr.)
2004	5-6	12	Ha. Abdullah (5Sr.), Paymah (5Sr.), Bienemann (Sr.), Bruce (Jr.), Frampton (Jr.), Harrison (Jr.), Mihlhauser (Jr.), Brackenridge (Jr.), Hu. Abdullah (So.), Hill (So.), Bumpus (Fr.), Collins (Fr.)
2005*	4-7	11	Bienemann (5Sr.), Bruce (Sr.), Frampton (Sr.), Harrison (Sr.), Mihlhauser (Sr.), Brackenridge (Sr.), Hill (Jr.), Hu. Abdullah (Jr.), Bumpus (So.), Collins (So.), Gibson (Fr.),
2006*	6-6	8	Brackenridge (5Sr.), Bruce (5Sr.), Frampton (5Sr.), Hu. Abdullah (Sr.), Hill (Sr.), Bumpus (Jr.), Collins (Jr.), Gibson (So.)
2007*	5-7	4	Hu. Abdullah (5Sr.), Bumpus (Sr.), Collins (Sr.), Gibson (Jr.)
2008*	2-11	1	Gibson (Sr.)

The years with asterisks next to them are obviously not complete, but let me ask you a question: How many guys that started in 2005 or 2006 do you expect to be added to this list? Kenny Alfred, generally considered WSU's best pro prospect graduating this year, is a longshot at this point to make an NFL roster (although I certainly wouldn't bet against him). Andy Mattingly probably will get a camp invite, but he won't make a roster. Maybe Reid Forrest? But there are only 32 punting jobs in the world, and it's darn hard to crack one of them.

If you want to make a case for a player even being potentially NFL quality, you've got to reach all the way down to the freshman and sophomore classes. That's an enormous gap in developed talent, one that we simply have not seen in the last 12 to 15 years. Looking at that table, in most years at least half of those 11-12 players that would eventually end up in the NFL were upperclassmen. Any credible critique of the job Wulff and his staff are doing has to at least acknowledge that this team has less upper end talent to work with than any team in the last decade and a half, outside of maybe 1998.

It's impossible to make a reasonable argument that holds Wulff accountable for this, and again, people must acknowledge what a difference it is now from where we were even five years ago.

But what about "coaching up the guys you've got?"

This is an area where those disillusioned with Wulff potentially have a valid gripe. While talent can make even poor coaches look good and it clearly has an impact on what coaches feel like they can do with scheme, it does not necessarily limit creativity, and I've been consistently stunned by the lack thereof in that area this year. I understood it to a degree last year, when the team was just getting going in this system for the first time and Wulff admitted they just threw too much at the guys too fast.

But this year? They should be able to do some things designed to attack opponents' weak spots, especially on offense. Yet, we see very little beyond vanilla play calling in that regard. Mike Holmgren always used to say that he thought he could make a touchdown difference for his team simply through his schemes and gameplans, either at the beginning of the game before adjustments could be made or at the end of the game in play calling. I've never once -- not once in 22 games -- felt like we have gained an advantage by outcoaching the opponent.

Perhaps it just comes down to talent and execution. But it's equally plausible that it's not just talent and execution, which as led some to say that Wulff and his staff are in over their heads. And when they say that, they're really talking about three guys: Wulff, offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy and defensive co-coordinator Jody Sears. Between the three of them, had exactly six years (!) of FBS coaching experience before coming to Pullman -- all of it by Sears, who spent three years at Iowa State as a grad assistant and three years at West Point as an assistant.

Sturdy and Sears were Wulff's coordinators at Eastern, and he was insistent on bringing his guys with him to Pullman. He believed (and presumably still believes) in what they were doing at EWU, but whether that was the right move is clearly in question at this point. One has to wonder if Wulff let his loyalty get in the way of better judgment.

To wit: Sturdy had been head coach at NAIA St. Ambrose University for 12 years before joining Wulff for one year at Eastern; Sears had been Wulff's defensive coordinator for five years and was named defensive co-coordinator at WSU because Wulff felt like he "earned" the opportunity with his work at EWU , even as he was hiring Chris Ball -- whose experience as an FBS coach is unparalleled on this staff -- to be his assistant head coach and other defensive co-coordinator. Neither had the pedigree to suggest that they were ready for the jump to coordinating at an FBS school.

Building a family atmosphere is important. But when you have no experience coaching at the FBS level and you choose to put people who also have essentially zero FBS coaching experience in two of your most prominent coaching positions, it's naturally going to bring your decision making into question -- especially when they've done very little to distinguish themselves over the better part of the two years following, at least to the naked eye.

Additionally, assistants are the ones most closely working with players on their individual development. Again, you can't evaluate development in a vacuum, but I can't think of a player that I've seen who I've thought, "Wow! That guy has gotten so much better!" Yes, they've gotten stronger, but they don't seem to be a lot better. I realize there are subtleties to that sort of thing that might be invisible to my untrained eye, but it seems like it would be at least a little bit obvious if a guy is really growing.

This doesn't even take into account the number of undisciplined plays many of the players make on a weekly basis. Youth can be blamed for a lot of things, but many of the mistakes that are consistently being made are of the cerebral variety. Coaches -- particularly the assistants -- have to bear some of the responsibility.

At this point, one could make the argument that many players seem to actually be regressing.

There is one thing, however, the coaching staff does need to get credit for: These players clearly believe in what their coaches are doing. They showed a commitment to the offseason program that had been missing for years, and they have yet to quit on this season, or any game in it. When you're getting your face kicked in week after week, that's no small feat.

On recruiting

Of course, those who defend Wulff point to the guys who are actually making plays on the field: The guys who were brought in by Wulff and his staff. Louis Bland, Travis Long, Gino Simone, Bernard Wolfgramm, Johnny Forzani, Jeff Tuel, Zack Williams, Jeffrey Solomon, Myron Beck ... the list goes on. Wulff's first stub of a recruiting class produced some of the guys on that list, and the rest came from last year's recruiting class, which was the highest rated for WSU in years. Wulff and his staff are already raving about this year's class as being better than last year's (although recruiting services don't necessarily concur with that opinion).

That they're able to do this with an on-field product that is among the worst in all of college football is pretty darn remarkable.

This is where things really get a little dicey if you want to consider changing coaches at the end of this year. As shown earlier, this is already a program virtually devoid of developed, upper-tier talent, thanks to a couple of poor recruiting classes at the end of the Bill Doba regime and a "half" recruiting class in Wulff's first year. What happens if you change coaches now? How many of those players back out of their verbal commitments, since signing day isn't until February? (If you listen to Wulff, there already are a number of WSU's verbals still being recruited by other Pac-10 foes.) And what does that do for the overall talent level in the program once again?

If you fire Wulff this year, whoever takes over this program would have the unenviable task of trying to convince a bunch of kids who were sold on the family atmosphere that they should still come to Pullman. (With many of them presumably heading elsewhere.) In essence, that coach would be inheriting a program with one solid recruiting class in five years after cutting yet another one off at the knees. That's a pretty steep price to pay to make a change.

Final thoughts

When you take all of these things on balance, I just don't see how this administration can let Wulff go at the end of this season. Nobody is happy with the performance on the field, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks Paul Wulff is going a fantastic job. Athletic Director Jim Sterk, who has been publicly supportive of his coach, might very well have made a colossal mistake in hiring Wulff in the first place. But you have to acknowledge the following:

There is a very real talent gap -- not just between us and the rest of the Pac-10, but also between where we are now and where we used to be when we were competing in this conference.
The talent gap is the biggest reason why this team is not competitive right now, no matter what you think of the coaching job.
Firing this coaching staff this year would only make that talent gap worse.
The probability that the school has the financial wherewithal to make such a move is minimal, anyway.

However, it should be noted that you can certainly change some of the rest of the coaching staff without necessarily adversely affecting the positive things this staff is doing overall. Breathe some new life into the offense with another coordinator -- perhaps one who already has had substantial success at the FBS level. Make Ball the only guy calling the shots on defense. Reassign Steve Broussard and get a new special teams coach.

I'm normally not one for appeasement, but at a time when the athletic department is trying to raise funds for an upgrade to the stadium, a (relatively) low cost maneuver such as replacing some assistants will send the subtle but firm message to the fanbase that they're not satisfied with where they are at while at the same time endorsing the overall direction of the program, which both recruits and players are buying into. These are very doable moves, and if you hire the right guys, they could have a real -- and immediate -- impact on the field.

After those changes, it has to be made clear to Wulff and his staff that tangible progress in the form of wins has to come next year. If it doesn't, you run the risk of killing off whatever it is that still has these players playing hard and still has recruits wanting to come here. You can sell them on a rebuilding job for a couple of years, but when that thing starts dragging into year three with no sign of real progress, a losing culture sets in that can be incredibly difficult to break.

If you are forced to make a change at that point -- year four, post Doba -- the new coach would have two solid recruiting classes as his foundation, with many of those players having developed into experienced sophomores and juniors. While it might not be fair to keep Wulff and his staff from sticking around to see the fruits of their labor, it's the reality of the business, and probably the best chance for the program to take its next step forward.

For now, though? The optimum way to keep the program making positive progress is to make sure that Paul Wulff sees year three -- not for the benefit of Wulff, but for the benefit of the program.

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.

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Linebackers

Dancing Football — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:22:35 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Andy Mattingly tries to pull out the feathers of a duck.

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Grade: B+

First Quarter Grade: A-

Stats:

			Tackles					Sacks	Pass Defense					Fumbles			Blkd
DEFENSIVE LEADERS		GP	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds		No-Yds	Int-Yds		BU	PD	Qbh	Rcv-Yds		FF	Kick	Saf


46	Louis Bland	3	15	8	23	2.0	-11	1-9 .	1	.-22	.	1	.		.	2.	.	.
43	Alex Hoffman-Ellis	2	13	4	17	.5	-1	..		.	0.	0.	0			.	.	.
45	Andy Mattingly	3	7	9	16	1.5	-3	.			0	1	0	1	-0		.	.
51	Jason Stripling	3	9	5	14	1.5	-4	.		.	0	0	.			.	.	.
13	Myron Beck	3	4	1	5	.		.			1	1	.		.	.	.	.
44	Mike Ledgerwood	3	1	0	1	.		.		.	0.	0.	.		.	.	.	.

Comments: The linebackers continue to be the most talented and consistent group on defense. The four guys that have played the majority of the snaps are all serviceable Pac 10 players. However, only being "serviceable" is the one thing that has been an issue. With the so-so play of the defensive line and the lack of speed in the backfield, the linebacking corps would need to be All-World to give the Cougs a shot at a decent defense.

That's not really their fault though. They are still pretty solid and still made some of the big plays in the second quarter of the season that they did in the first quarter of the season. What's evident in the young guys is that this group is becoming smaller and faster.

Two of those smaller, faster guys, Alex Hoffman-Ellis and Louis Bland, have been battling it out at middle linebacker, and the truth is, they both deserve the time. Both guys have had their chances, as the linebackers have not been immune to the epidemic of injuries that have hit the Cougs this season. Both guys have also taken full advantage of their chances, putting up some huge tackle numbers and forcing turnovers.

On the outside, Andy Mattingly has held his own, but has not been the beast in the pass rush that WSU so desperately needs. Jason Stripling, who has had one of the strangest careers you will see, seems to be the week link of the group. He is not very dynamic in any one area and he is not all that great in any area. Each guy was able to record some nice TFL numbers, each making 1.5.

What can be done to improve: Very similar to what I said in the first quarter grades, these guys need to step up and make game-changing plays. This team cannot win without the defense putting points on the board, and the linebackers are the only ones that have done that so far.

They also need to get in the backfield (same as first quarter grades). The Pac 10 has a lot of run-oriented teams these days (When on Earth did that happen?) and for the defense to be effective they need to limit those first down runs and eventually force obvious passing situations on third down. The defensive line does not get into the backfield, so the linebackers need to use that speed (looking at you Louis Bland and Hyphen) to get in there disrupt running plays.

Poll

What say you?

A

0 votes

B

6 votes

C

6 votes

D

1 votes

F

0 votes

13 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona State 27, Washington State 14

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

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

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

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A few steps forward. A few steps back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taking stock of the injuries

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

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

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

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

SS Xavier Hicks

Injury: Stiff back

Status: Will start

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

OLB Andy Mattingly

Injury: Thigh bruise

Status: Will start

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

QB Jeff Tuel

Injury: Bruised hip/back

Status: Likely to start

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

RB Dwight Tardy

Injury: Sore shoulder

Status: Likely to start

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

OG Brian Danaher

Injury: Concussion

Status: Likely to play

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

WR Jared Karstetter

Injury: Hip pointer

Status: 50/50 to play

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

DT Bernard Wolfgramm

Injury: Hip injury

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

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

MLB Alex Hoffman-Ellis

Injury: Staph infection in his left arm

Status: Unlikely to play

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

OG Zack Williams

Injury: High ankle sprain

Status: Unlikely to play

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

QB Kevin Lopina

Injury: Calf strain

Status: Will not play

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

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 6

Nuss — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:49:04 -0000

A little late, but hopefully always worth the listen. Topics discussed include last weekend's game (why aren't we more excited about a win?), where the team stands after the first quarter of the season (we're left a bit unsatisfied) and what we need moving forward (looking your way, Tyson Pencer and Andy Mattingly), and interesting games and upset alerts from around the country.

Oh, and we also talk for a minute about what we'd like to see on Saturday, but we didn't dwell too much on it, hopefully for obvious reasons.

As usual, you can listen via the player below, or visit our podcast page for various subscription options. We also now appear in the iTunes directory (keyword "CougCenter").

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Linebackers

Dancing Football — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:25:23 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Louis Bland and Andy Mattingly have been part of a very impressive linebacking corps through the first quarter of the season.

Browse more photos »

GRADE: A-

STATS (best viewed in "wide" format; link on left side of page):

			Tackles					Sacks	Pass Defense					Fumbles			Blkd
DEFENSIVE LEADERS		GP	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds		No-Yds	Int-Yds		BU	PD	Qbh	Rcv-Yds		FF	Kick	Saf


46	Louis Bland	3	12	7	19	2.0	- 4	.		.	.	.	.		.	.	.	.
51	Jason Stripling	3	11	5	16	1.0	- 2	.		.	.	.	1	1	- 8	.	.	.
43	Alex Hoffman-Ellis	3	9	6	15	2.0	- 4	.	1	- 52	1	2	.		.	1	.	.
45	Andy Mattingly	3	12	2	14	1.0	- 1	.		.	1	1	.		.	.	.	.
13	Myron Beck	3	8	2	10	.		.	1	- 67	1	2	.		.	.	.	.
44	Mike Ledgerwood	3	1	1	2	.		.		.	.	.	.		.	.	.	.

COMMENTS: I had to give these guys a solid grade, because without them, we would most assuredly be 0-3. Even with out the spectacular interception returns from Hyphen and Beck (sounds like a good cop show from the 70s) this unit has been the most steady of any on the defensive side. Every guy that has had significant playing time has made an impact, and the backups have really stepped up when the starters left due to injury.

Louis Bland was an absolute beast in the opener against Stanford, but has been limited due to injury since. Amazingly, he still leads this group in tackles. Alex Hoffman-Ellis has proved why he was number one on the depth chart for much of fall camp. He was the player of the game against Hawaii and has shown the ability to disrupt passing lanes. Andy Mattingly has been happy to return to his natural position, showing off his talent in the opener when chasing down Andrew Luck on a fourth and goal. When healthy, he can make noise in the pass rush. Jason Stripling has been solid in his first significant playing time. Myron Beck hasn't played as much as the other guys, but will definitely be on my top ten plays of the year list with his 67 yard interception return against SMU.

HOW THIS GRADE CAN BE IMPROVED: The defensive line has really struggled and the linebackers will have to play even better to compensate for that. More sacks and quarterback pressures out of blitz packages are a must. They are the most talented and deep unit on the defense and we will need to see even more big plays out of these guys the rest of the year if we want to upset a Pac 10 team.

Poll

What grade would you give the linebackers?

A

15 votes

B

36 votes

C

14 votes

D

4 votes

F

3 votes

72 votes | Poll has closed

What I'll be looking for today, and pregame notes

Nuss — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:35:46 -0000

As mentioned ad nauseam this week, there were a lot of reasons to feel like the Cougars have most definitely improved this year after watching a loss to Stanford that really was more closely contested than the final score would suggest.

But one thing that stood out to me more than anything was the reason the score wasn't as close as the game seemed to be: Stanford has playmakers, and we don't. At least not yet.

While Chris Owusu was bigger and faster than anyone we could match up with him, nobody on either side of the ball looked dominant for the Cougs. Yes, James Montgomery looked good when he got some space, Andy Mattingly made a nice play on that fourth-down pursuit of Andrew Luck, and Jared Karstetter looked like he's developing into a big, physical target.

But even in that, none of them -- or any of their teammates -- looked like guys who could take over a game, or break it open.

Now, there remains the strong possibility that some of that had to do with scheme. But one of the biggest things I was shocked by last week was just how hard it was for our receivers to get open against potentially one of the worst defensive secondaries we will face in Pac-10 play. Of the 18 passes completed by quarterbacks, only 10 were caught by wide receivers. The other eight went to running backs and tight ends.

I know this isn't necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison, given the differences in the offenses, but in 2006 Brandon Gibson, Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus were the team's top three pass catchers and combined for 150 of the Cougs' 260 total receptions. If we throw in the two other wide receivers who caught passes that year (Chris Jordan and Charles Dillon), that number goes up to 175 of 260 -- a robust 67.3 percent.

This team doesn't appear to have even one guy on the order of Gibson, Hill or Bumpus on offense -- a guy who can fly past a defender on a route or make a move and turn a five-yard gain into a 30-yard gain.

Like I said, I'm hoping some of it was scheme, or even to a lesser extent guys getting up to speed in the first game. Besides being young, much of our receiving corps missed significant time during camp with injuries. Because if that's not the case, and we simply don't have a receiver who can get open against a subpar secondary, I think this year could be more painful than we're hoping for.

Same thing goes for the defensive side of the ball. The Cougs forced just 13 turnovers in 13 games last year, and are off to a similar start this year after zero takeaways against Stanford. I just don't see a Will Derting, Mkristo Bruce, Rien Long, Marcus Trufant or Lamont Thompson out there.

So that's what I'll be looking for today. Granted, this is a bottom half WAC team, but do some guys start to flash some ability to make some plays? If we do, maybe it's a sign that these guys just need to get some experience for it to shine through. If not ... well, I kinda don't want to think about that today, because I want to enjoy my Saturday.

Game notes I've run across ...

We talked all week about how important it is to get pressure on a run-and-shoot quarterback. Well, that job just got a lot harder: Kevin Kooyman has a PCL injury to one of his knees, and is out three-to-four weeks, according to Grippi.

In his place will be Casey Hamlett and Jesse Feagin. If you're keeping score, our three defensive ends will be a true freshman, a transfer from a now-defunct Division II program and a senior who, before last week, had played a grand total of 10 games in his career (most recently two seasons ago after sitting out last year to concentrate on academics). Oh, and by the way, they had just one tackle between them in the opener. Cross your fingers.
Furthermore, defensive tackle Dan Spitz is out, and Grippi keeps hinting that Louis Bland might not play, either. I've said before that I'd be shocked if Bland doesn't play, given what a warrior he is (lowercase w) -- he also said on a local radio show this week that his knee is "100 percent" and he's going to play -- but when Grippi repeats something like this over and over, it's usually got legs and makes me think the coaches might not let him play to save him for the long haul.
Aire Justin is also out at corner. But I'm starting to wonder if that matters, as he doesn't look like he's improved one bit since last year. No wonder Daniel Simmons shot past him on the depth chart in camp.
Eric Block is out too after that monster hit. (Sense a theme here on defense?)
We talked on the podcast about how the Cougs should try to defend the run-and-shoot. Grippi gives us what might be a sneak preview:

"(Myron) Beck didn’t start against Stanford and only made one tackle. But the 6-foot, 209-pound former safety – he started the first three games there last season – may hold the key for the Cougars defensively. Beck should see plenty of action as a hybrid linebacker/safety, called upon to help in pass coverage and run support. The Cougars didn’t have him against Hawaii last year and he missed most of the offseason recovering from back surgery. But he’s run well the past two weeks and the former Ingraham High (Seattle) star is ready to play."
I talked to Stephen Tsai again yesterday, and he said the Warriors' regular backup QB is out. Why is that a problem? Because they had to fly their third-stringer in from the islands yesterday to take his place. Greg Alexander has had issues with knee soreness in the past -- one reason why his coaches want him to stay in the pocket more -- and if he has to leave the game for any reason, that would be a huge advantage to the Cougs, I would think.
I can't wait to watch LB Aaron Brown play for Hawaii. Why? Because he was a student at the school I taught at for his first two years. Even though he left us for the football factory in the valley, I'm interested to see how he looks.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 4

Nuss — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:40:08 -0000

We're back with another edition of the CougCenter Podcast, and I think it's our best one yet. It's also our longest one yet, tipping the scales at a robust 35 minutes. We didn't intend on it; that's just kind of how it worked out because there were a lot of good things to discuss.

Since that's a little longish, here's a table of contents for your convenience, in case you want to just skip ahead to a particular topic (or, in case you want to decide if you really want to listen - trust me, you do!). Times are approximate:

Opening - Lingering impressions of the Stanford game.
6:05 - Breakdown of new player performances in the opener.
11:50 - Buy or sell: Kevin Lopina should get the majority of the snaps on Saturday.
19:50 - Buy or sell: Lopina will be the most important player to Cougar success on Saturday.
24:35 - Buy or sell: The best way for the Cougs to slow down Hawaii's offense is to blitz the heck out of them.
29:15 - National look: Game you can't wait to see and an upset special
34:30 - Hawaii game predictions

As usual, if you're interested in subscribing to the podcast, click on the "subscribe" button on the player. If you like to do it manually, you can always use the podbean feed at http://cougcenter.podbean.com/feed/, or you can visit our podcast site here for the entire archive, where you can also download individual files.

And if you missed it earlier this week, other Hawaii-related audio (the Stephen Tsai interview and Paul Wulff's weekly teleconference) also appears in the player below.

Your Pac-10 Weekend Primer: All Eyes on the Horseshoe

Avinash — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:06:24 -0000

Much bigger week for the Pac-10, with some of the best teams in the Pac-10 facing high quality OOC competition. We start off with the headliner.

via latimesblogs.latimes.com (Image from Adam Rose)

#4 USC at #6 Ohio State, 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST, ESPN HD

This figures to be a much closer affair than the one last season, where one of the best college defenses ever suited up, took the Buckeyes behind the woodshed and drilled them to pieces. No, this figures to be a real test for a Trojan squad that has won their road OOC games by a combined score of 328-101 since 2004.

Trojan Football Analysis has a fantastic four part writeup (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) about the strategies he believes will be used by both sides. Here's the primary way he expects the Buckeyes to attack USC: "I suspect the staff will do a couple of things differently in the 2009 game versus USC. For starters the Trojans will face more two back power plays and I suspect that Ohio State will run some counter plays as they did versus Texas in the Fiesta Bowl with great success. Also I expect Ohio State simply to put the ball in Terrelle Pryor’s hands and have him run the Zone Option Read play more often. In 2008 this was arguably the most effective run play Ohio State ran at USC averaging 6.8 yards on five carries. Expect those rush attempt numbers to go up this Saturday…" I suggest reading all four parts, including a talk

Eleven Warriors has a similar Hydro-like breakdown of gamefilm: "The Buckeye secondary was torched in the Coliseum last season. Whether it be from a missed switch or assignment, a beautifully drawn-up h-back wheel route or a well-timed pick, it wasn’t pretty. The bad news is all three of the Trojans that caught Sanchez touchdowns are still on the team and while they’re extremely talented athletes, none of them pose a sever matchup problem on the face of it. The Trojan offensive line is probably the best unit on an obscenely talented squad and getting pressure won’t be easy, but if Barkley is given time to throw, we could very well be in for a similar result."

What it means for Cal: A Buckeye victory means the Trojans are likely vulnerable to the power run style that Cal is also fond of running (different schemes and styles, but the methodology is similar), and that the Bears might indeed try out Riley's ability as a mobile passer as well as runner. A Trojan victory most likely means the Bears could be facing as high as the #2 team in the country on October 3rd, and that Matt Barkley isn't intimidated by tough road crowds. Or it could mean Ohio State isn't very good.

Rest of the games to watch, starting with ours after the jump.

Our game

Eastern Washington at California 5:30 PM EST, 2:30 PM PST, CSN California

Hours and hours of scouring the Internet, and all I could find on the Eagles was a season preview from their website. Fantastic.

Eastern Washington is a very talented FCS team. They're returning 25 players with starting experience and only debuting seven new starters (albeit four on the offensive and defensive line, always critical losses). They lost to Colorado by 7 points. Starting quarterback Matt Nichols gave senior Graham Harrell and Texas Tech a decent passing battle for a half before finally getting routed last year. Because they're unlikely to be eligible for the FCS postseason, their matchup with Cal could be their biggest game of the season. This is a team that has shown it has the capability to play well against bowl-eligible FBS squads, so don't expect the Bears to just walk all over them.

Which is why it'll all come down to whether Cal doesn't turnover the ball, and whether they can run the ball with a ruthless efficiency. Both of these happening should result in a comfortable Golden Bear victory. Otherwise I'll be sick as hell pondering the upset potential for three hours.

What it means for Cal: If we lose this game, I'm covering the women's field hockey team the rest of the fall.

Games you should be able to watch

Stanford at Wake Forest, 12 PM EST, 9 AM PST, Raycom HD (should be available on ESPN360.com)

Jim Harbaugh could put the Cardinal in a very generous position with a win here. The Furd aren't world beaters by any means, but they do have a very favorable schedule, and considering the Demon Deacons are reeling from a shocking home loss to Baylor, it isn't out of the question that Gerhart and Luck can make some noise on the East Coast.

Ted Miller talks Furdball: "Harbaugh also was happy with redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck's debut. Luck completed 11 of 23 for 193 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. "Andrew played very well," Harbaugh said. "He did a great job running the offense. He did a great job with the audible package. Really good in the huddle, enunciating plays. He's got a megaphone at the line of scrimmage. Throwing the ball, the receivers didn't have to go searching for the ball. For the most part, he was very accurate."

If there is a concern for the Cardinal, the defense gave up 351 yards to the Cougars, who ran the ball well at times. Grobe's offense will be a significant step up in competition."

Blogger So Dear (Wake Forest's SBN blog) ponders what went wrong in last week's defeat, eventually pointing out a general inconsistency in style of play.

I know Wake has made its mark offensively off of trick plays and mixing up the looks, but who can get comfortable with a new formation every series and sometimes from play to play? In the first drive, the Deacs had a lot of success in a wishbone set, using Chris Givens and Y'lou, but they went away from that in favor of FB football later, then tradition I-formation, then shotgun.

Lobo tends to outthink himself--he comes up with good plays and schemes, but he has a real problem sticking with one formation or another and this has to hurt the flow of the offense. And to add insult to injury, Kevin Harris had just four carries on the day and Brandon Pendergrass and Josh Adams combined for 7 carries and 20 yards. This just is not going to get it done for a team that said they were going to smashmouth football this year.

If the Deacs go back to misdirection, pulling guards, opening holes in the middle and using end-arounds as well as getting Riley good looks in the flats, over the middle and down the sidelines, Wake will have more success. It will be interesting to see what Lobo goes with this week.

What it means for Cal: A win by the Furd puts them in great position (SJSU, UW, UCLA at home) to start the season 5-0. And one win away from bowl eligiblity. Blech.

UCLA at Tennessee, 4 PM EST, 1 PM PST, ESPN HD

Just like with the Furd, this is the first real look at what the Bruins will be capable of this season. A win here could vault them into the upper half of the conference.

Bruins Nation's BlueReign goes over the keys for UCLA's D stopping Tennesee's offense.

I expect Tenn to lean on the run game. As documented, Tenn is missing experience at the WR position due to injuries. The left side of their OL (LT - Scott & LG - Richard) consits of 2 seniors with Scott being an All-Sec type of performer. Their backs (Hardesty & Brown) are on the bigger side weighing around 215 lbs. I'm not going to state the obvious (Price having a big game) but Datone will be critical in this game. He'll be matched up against Scott and if he can hold the edge, our LB's should be able to flow to the ball to limit their run game. Dye needs to take proper angles and be a sure tackler in this game because he'll need to support the front 7.

Crompton suffered the same fate like Drew by having multiple coordinators during his career but the kid has talent. Crompton is not very mobile and if we can get pressure on him, he'll make bad decisions. Tenn is playing 2 FR (Teague is starting) in their WR rotation. Every opponent will be picking on whomever is the CB opposite ATV. Viney must be ready for the challenge.

Rocky Top Talk looks at how it pits two former Trojan OCs against each other.

Kiffin maintained balance despite two factors that we thought would suggest otherwise: Jonathan Crompton and a non-competitive game. We thought coming in that Crompton's past and WKU's present would lead to a ton of rushing plays. Instead, Kiffin dialed up 43 runs but 33 pass calls in his UT debut. Along with all the points and yards, the Vols racked up 34 first downs and went 7 of 9 on 3rd down.

This was a gameplan that kept its foot on the gas and kept the opposition off balance: the Vols ran some on second and long and passed some on third and short, and I don't know about you, but I had a terrible time trying to figure out what was coming next.

And that's a very good thing.

Chow, on the other hand, has a more particular style. Especially when not blessed with USC-level playmakers at the skill positions, as he was in Nashville and is now at UCLA, Chow loves employing the tight end in the passing game. With the Titans, receptions were spread around while backs saw their yards per carry increase significantly. And under Chow Vince Young was at his best while he was there, which comes as no surprise given his long pedigree of QB development, which UCLA fans hope will soon include Kevin Prince.

Against San Diego State, Chow and the Bruins were balanced as well: 38 rushes, 31 passes. Along the way, the Bruins won time of possession by almost 12 minutes and picked up 359 yards. Most of the pieces of UCLA's offense will be different than the ones the Vols saw last year in Los Angeles, with a new quarterback, new backfield and a mostly new offensive line, so it's hard to pull a lot of relevant information from last year's game on this side of the ball. But don't expect the quarterback to throw four interceptions in the first half.

What it means for Cal: I really have no idea whether this win will tell us anything about how Cal matches up with the Bruins, since it's too early in the season to figure out how good either Tennessee or UCLA really are. To be continued.

Purdue at Oregon, 10:15 PM EST, 7:15 PM PST, FSN HD

Well now. What happened to the Ducks last week?

Addicted to Quack notes the Ducks will be very thin at running back: "First off, the running back situation has become very tenuous with Blount and Alston out. And in response, the Ducks are going small, with all backs in the rotation under 6 feet. The only player who had any reps that wasn't was Darron Thomas. That's right, our QB of the future may end up playing running back a little. If he takes a carry in the game, I think most Duck fans will just end up closing their eyes so they don't watch when he gets snapped in half. However, what the new group lacks in size and depth, they make up for in speed. James and Barner are two of the quickest players on the team, which could prove to be a huge value to the running game."

Purdue's SBN blog, Hammer and Rails, notes the importance of their offense being able to mix it up: "It will be important for us to continue being unpredictable on the offensive side of the ball. Lost in Saturday's game was the way Gary Nord mixed things up. We ran more formations than I can ever remember us running, and we were very successful in each set. Obviously, our offensive line and fullbacks did a great job in clearing holes for Jaycen Taylor and Ralph Bolden. The return of Frank Halliburton will only help an already very good situation. If our offensive line can continue to muscle Oregon's front seven around we will have a very successful day."

What it means for Cal: No Oregon run game means a much easier time for the Bears in Autzen in two weeks. Presence of a run game will mean we'd better be prepared to play well, or get burned.

Not going to be easy to find

Air Force at Minnesota, 7 PM EST, 4 PM PST, BTN HD

The Daily Gopher tries to get oriented with the triple option. Perhaps they could use Hydro's Armed Forces Bowl post on the subject! Anyone want to email them or leave them a comment with a link to it?

What it means for Cal: If Minnesota is able to slow down the Air Force running game, they could have the potential to slow down Best. I emphasize potential.

Idaho at Washington, 3:30 PM EST, 12:30 PM PST, Fox Sports Northwest/Fox College Sports Pacific

EDSBS: "We had no idea Ty Willingham was a class 1 narcotic. This is the only explanation for the passionate, intelligent, and capable play of Washington against LSU Saturday night. Washington outgained LSU 478-321, had 25 first downs to LSU’s 17, and came within a pair of turnovers from beating your 2007 BCS champions in their first game under Steve Sarkisian. Jake Locker played well, but you knew he was top-shelf liquor being thrown into cut-rate cocktails by Willingham and company. The pleasantly shocking bit was the impassioned play of the defense, who looked like different people than the morose crew who finished 2008 prone and staring at the ceiling weeping after a loss to Washington State. The whole effect of revival was made better by watching it on tv, where the cameras were shaking thanks to Husky Stadium’s suddenly vibrating crowd rocking the upper deck. Lane Kiffin had a solid performance, sure, but Sarkisian gets the early blue ribbon in Pete Carroll’s class of Young Coaching Achievers From Camp Win Forever."

What it means for Cal: Monitor these Huskies closely. This is not a team you want to play to end your season.

Hawaii at Washington State, 7 PM EST, 4 PM PST

Coug Center did a podcast with a local Hawaii reporter about the upcoming matchup with the Rainbow Warriors. They also seem very happy with their linebacker play.

Andy Mattingly, Louis Bland and Jason Stripling showed that, without question, they are one of two units on this team that are legitimately Pac-10 caliber. (Running back being the other.) In the face of what figures to be one of the better rushing attacks the team will face all year, the trio combined for 18 of the Cougs' 59 tackles.

That's what linebackers are supposed to do, and it's something that was missing all too often last season.

We've mentioned in the past that their effectiveness this season would likely be predicated on improved play by the line in front of them. While the defensive line didn't rack up a lot of tackles against Stanford, they did do their job most of the time against the run, occupying gaps and allowing the linebackers to slice in and make the play after only a few yards or less gained.

What it means for Cal: I dunno.

Northern Arizona at Arizona, 10 PM EST, 7 PM PST

Here's something from ABC15. If you're interested, which I'm sure you're not.

What it means for Cal: No one cares about this game. Took me thirty minutes to even find a preview for this game.

Oregon State at UNLV, 11 PM EST, 8 PM PST, CBS College TV

Building the Dam notes the unusual start time, but no one else seems to be too worried about the situation. They also discuss the UNLV spread offense, which gave the same BYU team that knocked off Oklahoma quite a bit of trouble last season.

What it means for Cal: Considering Oregon State's slow starts to the season, this is no gimmee for the Beavers. Ragnarok has already marked this as an early upset possibility. Ultimately it means nothing to us, since Oregon State will play us tight in November anyway, but it could show how capable the Rodgers brothers are of lifting their team on tough road occasions.

Poll

USC or Ohio State?

USC

178 votes

Ohio State

34 votes

212 votes | Poll has closed