SB Nation - Kenny Alfred

Pac 10 holes to fill in 2010

John Berkowitz — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:03:21 -0000

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Washington tailback Chris Polk became the first Husky frosh to ever rush over 1000 yards in a single season. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

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The Pac 10 proved itself in 2009 to be an elite conference with lots of parity for the first time since Pete Carroll's first season at USC. As for 2010 you can usually make a pretty good prediction on what is going to happen next year based on the previous years record, returning starters, and most importantly experience at quarterback.

If you are using that as a guide it is pretty easy to pick the Oregon Ducks as the favorite to win the conference in 2010. Overall the Pac 10 was young in 2009 and that was one reason for all the parity. Washington and Washington State like to point at youth for being a reason they will be better in 2009 but you can say that about any team in the conference next season excluding ASU and Arizona.

At first glance this is an early look at the holes that teams need to plug next season and what the reasonable expectation should be for 2010.

1. Oregon - Offense - 10 - Defense - 9

The Ducks go into 2010 as the favorite to win the conference. On offense they have everyone coming back except for TE Ed Dickson who will be adequately replaced by David Paulson. Defensively they need to replace half of their defensive line which is graduating but they do have the beef in reserve to do that. The defensive backfield will be young but a lot of those players saw considerable action this season.

The big key for Oregon is the return of Jeremiah Masoli at QB and his partner in crime LaMichael James. The Ducks should start next season in the top five nationally and be primed for a national championship run. If you are a duck fan you don't have too much in the immediate future to worry about.

2. Southern Cal - 7 Offense - Defense - 7

The Trojans lose three offensive lineman and their TE so their is some rebuilding to do up front. On defense they need to replace the entire secondary. This was a young USC team with plenty of talent on the roster which will only get better with time. The key to 2010 will be the continued development of QB Matt Barkley and the hope of some playmakers maturing around him on offense.

Pete Carroll has recruited well at USC but he didn't have any actual superstars on the roster in 2010 at key positions like he did in the past. The Trojans need a RB to emerge to compliment what Barkley will bring next season. Expect the improvement at QB to be there as usual. SC needs some serious playmakers if they are going to get past Oregon.

3. Oregon State - Offense - 8 - Defense - 9

On offense the Beavers need to replace Sean Canfield who played himself into a NFL draft pick this past season. The Rodgers brothers are scheduled to return but I could see James leaving early for the NFL. The Beavers lose only one starting offensive lineman. On defense the Beavers lose a LB and one of their CB's so they are in really good shape going into 2010 if Lyle Moevao can get a sixth year to come back and run the Beav offense.

If Moevao can get another season and James Rodgers comes back the Beavers will be very good on offense. If they don't come back I could see this team fall a couple of spots despite having an improved defense. You win with experience at QB in this league. If OSU is breaking in a new QB there will be some growing pains.

4. California - Offense - 9 - Defense - 5

The Bears only lose one offensive lineman and will likely lose RB Jahvid Best who is headed for the NFL early. No big deal because Shane Vereen is just as scary. Other than that the Bears return pretty intact on offense which means trouble for the rest of the Pac 10. On defense the Bears will loose 3/4 of their secondary, half of their LB corps and a DE so there is some rebuilding to be done.

I expect the Bears to do better on offense next season. Kevin Riley has to get better at QB with another year under Tedford. Defensively the Bears are rebuilding and that will ultimately keep them from winning the title. Tedford has recruited well over the years so he has some talent in the depth that is ready to move up to help fill holes on defense.

5. Stanford - Offense - 8 - Defense - 7

The Cardinal lose Heisman hopeful Toby Gerhart who is a huge part of their offense. He will be tough to replace. They also lose one OL and a TE so with the exception of Gerhart they return pretty much intact on offense. On defense they lose the two best players in their secondary in McNally and Sherman. They also lose monster NT Ekom Udofia and LB Will Powers.

Imagine Stanford without Toby Gerhart in 2009. How competitive would this team have been? Gerhart is a generational talent who the Cards won't be able to replace. Harbaugh continues to bring in solid recruiting classes so the Tree will be an improved team. The questions are will Andrew Luck be able to pick up enough of the slack in 2010 for the Stanford offense to be a factor? Can Stanford find an adequate replacement for Gerhart?

6. Washington Offense - 9 - Defense - 7

The Huskies lose Ossai and Homer from the offense. On defense they lose Butler and Savannah at LB plus Jones and Teo Nesheim on the DL. Jones was more of a spot starter because of injuries and the same can be said of Savannah who will petition for a 6th year.

The Huskies have some good returning at the offensive skill positions but they are in year one of rebuilding the offensive line because Sark couldn't find any to sign in year one. It will take at least two years of development until this highly rated OL class is ready to contribute. The only big question on offense is if Jake Locker will return. If he does UW should go to a bowl in 2010. If he doesn't it will set the program back a year or two.

Defensively Washington played a lot of young players in 2010. They also have a lot of talent coming in with the next class which should alleviate depth concerns. Washington will be improved on defense next season even though the losses of Teo Nesheim and Butler will be felt.

If Jake Locker doesn't come back the Huskies would fall to eighth in my early predictions. Not much of a fall but the difference between making or not making a bowl game in 2010 unless a miracle happens at QB.

7. Arizona - 5 Offense - Defense - 4

The Wildcats lose WR Terrell Turner, FB Chris Gronksowski, and most of their offensive line. On defense they lose half the defensive line and all three of their starting LB's. They also lose two starters in the secondary.

Thank god for Nick Foles and Nic Grigsby because this team is going to need them next year. Arizona and ASU are really the only team in the conference doing a major rebuild from an attrition standpoint next season. If TE Rob Gronkowski returns it will be another big plus.

8. UCLA - 8 Offense - Defense - 7

The Bruins lose FB Chane Moline, WR Terrance Austin, and TE Logan Paulsen on offense. Defensively they lose the Bosworth twins and Reggie Carter at the LB spots. Alteraun Verner is always leaving at CB. You can count on Rick Neuheisel to continue bringing in new talent from the recruiting trail. There are some losses on defense but the Bruins have the talent to fill the holes coming back or coming in. T

The big questions are on offense. Can the Bruins develop an adequate starting QB to go along with an adequate running game in 2010. It all starts on the offensive line. Has Rick built up enough talent and depth here to make a difference on the OL in 2010?

9. Arizona State - 2 Offense - Defense - 5

The Sun Devils are in trouble unless Dennis Erickson can plug some major holes immediately. On offense they lose three starting linemen along with the TE, WR's, RB, HB, and QB. As bad as they were on offense maybe starting over is a better idea.

On defense they lose DE Dexter Davis, LB Travis Goethel, LB Mike Nixon, and 3/4's of the secondary. The defense was the only spark the Devils had last year so this is a major area of concern.

Erickson starts 2010 on the hot seat for the first time as a college coach. He really needs to hit the JV trail this off season to have a chance to get this team near .500 in 2010. I don't think he can get it done in the time he probably has left. Breaking in a new QB won't help matters.

10. Washington State - 8 - Offense - Defense 9

On offense the Cougars lose QB Kevin Lopina, RB Dwight Tardy, C Kenny Alfred, and TE Tony Thompson. On defense they lose LB Andy Mattingly and Safety Xavier Hicks.

The good news is that everyone who matters is coming back. The bad news is that really nobody on this roster matters at this point. WSU needs a massive influx of talent to climb out the basement. Wulff needs to put together a remarkable recruiting class this off season or he isn't going to make it out of Pullman alive next season.

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.

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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

OPPONENT PREVIEW: UCLA Bruins (with audio!)

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

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

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Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel

Record: 4-5 (1-5)

Offense: 20.3 PPG, 5.1 YPP

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defense: 23.0 PPG, 5.3 YPP

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

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

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

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

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

From the other side ...

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

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

Should Wulff be fired after just two seasons?

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

More photos » by John Miller - AP

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.

AUDIO: Paul Wulff weekly press conference

Nuss — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:03:04 -0000

After a week off for the bye, Paul Wulff returned today for his weekly teleconference with reporters in advance of Saturday's matchup with Cal. I gotta be honest -- this is one of the most boring press conferences ever. But give it a listen if you so desire.

Items of note:

Injuries made up a huge portion of it. Likely to play: Guard Zack Williams, defensive tackle Bernard Wolfgramm, center Kenny Alfred, middle linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis. Better than 50 percent chance to play: Guard B.J. Guerra, tackle Steven Ayers. Less than 50 percent chance to play: Tackle Tyson Pencer.
Looks like defensive end Kevin Kooyman isn't getting any better. An injury redshirt application is becoming more and more likely.
Defensive tackle Josh Luapo had successful knee surgery. He's still out for the year.
Myron Beck has more or less completed a switch back to full-time safety, which gives the team the chance to put Chima Nwachukwu back at corner some with the season-ending injury to Daniel Simmons.
The team really emphasized mental preparation and maturity in setting goals for the second half of the season.
Jahvid Best is good.
Cal's main problem against Oregon and USC? The passing game.

Special thanks to the Washington State University sports information department, who provides the audio.

Monday hodgepodge: Recruiting, injuries and more

Nuss — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:53:21 -0000

Bye weeks are always a little weird and awkward for blogs, since -- like the team -- we get into a certain week-in, week-out routine with games every Saturday. For the first time in a month and a half, there is no game to look forward to this weekend (assuming you do, in fact, look forward to them).

Of course, this isn't a bad thing, as this team needs a week off to heal in the worst way. Every team says they look forward to a bye because of the injury factor, but this team is a special kind of hurt. We all thought it couldn't get any worse than last year, but it has. Boy, it sure seems like a long time ago that we were talking about this team being healthy out of camp.

So, the bye will not just allow for an extra week for some of the guys who have been out to get healthy, but it will allow those who have been playing banged up to get right. That's a big deal moving forward.

Why? Because if this were last year, I honestly wouldn't care about this team getting healthy. They were in so far over their heads on a weekly basis, that it honestly didn't matter who was on the field. But this team has shown signs of life -- the kind of life that leads you to wonder what they might be able to do with a few more bullets in the chamber, specifically on the offensive line.

Looks like we'll probably get a chance to find out against Cal. Guards Zack Williams and B.J. Guerra and guard/tackle Steven Ayers all have a shot at being back in the lineup. Assuming both Kenny Alfred and Micah Hannam are healthy for Cal -- both were banged up by the end of the ASU game -- we actually could have our entire starting five back on the offensive line (assuming Paul Wulff wants to put Ayers back in the starting lineup for Tyson Pencer).

One player who almost certainly won't be ready for Cal is Brian Danaher, the backup guard who returned from a concussion on Saturday. Wulff seemed concerned about Danaher all week, even refusing to re-insert him into the starting lineup. Well, it turns out his concern was well founded, as it's believed Danaher suffered yet another concussion.

Danaher now has a disturbing history of brain trauma, and while I'm sure the coaches, trainers and Danaher don't need my advice, I'm going to give it to them anyway: Shut him down. Maybe forever ... but at least for this year. Knowing what we now know about these brain injuries -- and given that there is so much more to learn -- there is no reason to put his future at risk. None whatsoever.

Another player who won't be back for Cal is corner back Daniel Simmons, who suffered a broken leg and is done for the year. Major bummer for him, as he had fought his way into the starting lineup this year. However, he's still just a redshirt freshman, so still lots of promise to look forward too.

Tough to say exactly what Wulff and defensive coordinator Chris Ball will do in this spot. If Eric Block is healthy -- he's been struggling with his digestive issue again, and didn't play on Saturday -- you could see a move of Chima Nwachukwu back to corner. That could also happen if they're comfortable with Jay Matthews, who played but didn't record a tackle.

I don't think they'll do that, though. my guess would be that they would elect to put either Terrance Heyward or Aire Justin (remember him?) over there. Why? Because Cal is a team that's obviously going to focus on running the ball, and it's going to be more important to have sound tackling from the safety position, and the dropoff in that respect is significant after Nwachukwu. If LeAndre Daniels or Tyree Toomer were still back there, it would be a different story. But they're not.

The good news is that the Cougs should get some help up front in trying to stop Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen in the form of defensive tackle Bernard Wolfgramm, who appears as if he should return from his hip injury. That's beyond huge, because we all remember what Best did to Matt Eichelberger and Ai Ahmu last year ...

There's absolutely no doubt that with Wolfgramm, this starting four up front is light years ahead of those guys. Even against USC's vaunted line, there weren't any holes like that. (At least, not after the first drive.) Additionally, middle linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis should return from his staph infection. While Greg Trent was as hard-nosed a player as you'd find, he wasn't the most fleet of foot. Hoffman-Ellis gives the Cougs a chance with his athleticism.

There also appears to be more help on the way for next year. Somebody asked recently about defensive end Brandon Rankin. I couldn't find any info out there, but the intrepid Vince Grippi did some looking and dropped this little nugget in his pregame report from Saturday:

Two players who signed with WSU last February but couldn’t make it into school, Brandon Rankin and Quayshawne Buckley, seem to be on track to get into school in the spring semester. Buckley is waiting to hear his test results – that was kept him from qualifying – and is confident he did well. Rankin is on track to finish his classes. In case you don’t know, Rankin is 6-foot-5, 260-pound junior college defensive end who has earned a four-star rating from Scout.com and will have two years left. Buckley, a 6-4, 270-pound defensive lineman, earned three stars as a high school senior last year.

Rankin is the kind of kid who could have an immediate impact. Imagine a defensive end rotation with Travis Long, Kevin Kooyman -- who looks more and more like he's headed for a medical redshirt -- and Rankin. How cool would that be?

That about covers it for today. We'll be back along either tonight or tomorrow with a lengthy post looking at the defense. You'll also start seeing the second quarter grades (can you believe the season is half over?), and we'll have Paul Wulff's press conference for you to listen to tomorrow. And since basketball kicks off its season this weekend with Midnight Mayhem, we'll probably be sprinkling in a little hoops content this week, too. I can guarantee it will be part of what we talk about on the podcast, so you've got that to look forward to as well.

In other words, while the football team will be on a bye ... we won't.

Injuries, injuries, injuries

Nuss — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:12:11 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Jeff Tuel couldn't escape this one last Saturday. Will he fare much better this weekend behind yet another patchwork offensive line?

Browse more photos »

Coming into the season, here is what the two-deep looked like on the offensive line:

Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
Steven Ayers (#So.)	Zack Williams (#Jr.)	Kenny Alfred (#Sr.)	B.J. Guerra (#So.)	Micah Hannam (#Jr.)
Tyson Pencer (#Fr.)	Brian Danaher (#Jr.)	Andrew Roxas (Jr.)	Brian Danaher (#Jr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)

Here's what it looks like now:

Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
Tyson Pencer (#Fr.)	Alex Reitnouer (Fr.)	Kenny Alfred (#Sr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)	Micah Hannam (#Jr.)
Joe Eppele (#Jr.)	Reed Lesuma (#Sr.)	Chris Prummer (#So.)	Reed Lesuma (#Sr.)	Joe Eppele (#Jr.)

Obvious things I'll go ahead and point out:

Only two starters are left from the projected starting five -- the same two guys who made it through all of last year.
Of the 10 players on the original two-deep, only four are healthy enough to play this weekend.
There are three players on this week's two-deep who didn't even appear on the original two-deep. One of them will be starting.
That one player is a true freshman, who will teaming with a redshirt freshman to make up the left side of the line. That's Jeff Tuel's blindside, in case you were wondering.
There are nine different players on the original two-deep; there are only seven different players on the current two-deep. Meaning, if this line suffers more than two injuries at any point in the game, Paul Wulff will be turning to either true freshman Tim Hodgdon (whom they still hope to redshirt) or redshirt freshman Michael Pfeiff.

And we thought the injuries last year were bad.

What does all this mean for Saturday? It means we're going to have an awfully, awfully tough time scoring points. It seems like it's been beaten to death, but the fact that Cal -- with its awesome offensive line and Jahvid Best carrying the ball -- could only score three points against this unit doesn't bode well for the Cougs.

I honestly thought the Cougs had a chance to keep this game closer than most people thought, figuring the Ducks will be suffering the inevitable let down. But that was when Danaher was starting at left guard. While the change of one guy might not seem like much, when you go from a guy who made eight starts last season to a guy who was still in high school and rated a two-star recruit last season -- at a position where physical maturity is at a premium ... that's a big, big difference. That's not even taking into account that communication is going to be doubly difficult in the Autzen atmosphere.

Truly, I'm afraid what we're going to see offensively on Saturday is going to resemble last year in a lot of ways. Want to know the biggest reason why our passing game was so horrific last year? Because the offensive line could not block five-on-four, at least one tight end and one running back were kept in to block on almost all obvious passing plays. (Which, of course, was most of the plays.) That meant we were sending just two or three receivers out into patterns against seven defenders. It becomes a vicious cycle where you can't pass if you can't protect the quarterback, but you also can't pass if you protect the quarterback too much.

And you wonder why Brandon Gibson had 10 fewer receptions and 500 fewer yards than he did the year before. It wasn't Gibson.

There's a chance that Paul Wulff and Todd Sturdy don't do that as much on Saturday, since Tuel obviously isn't the stationary target that Marshall Lobbestael is and Kevin Lopina became as his injuries mounted last year. You'll likely see just a running back protector in early in a hope to give Tuel a chance to throw the ball to a guy who's actually open, but if he's successful, expect Oregon to ramp up the pressure by bringing extra guys. And unless Tuel can elude the rush and make them pay with a big gain or two, the Ducks will be relentless.

While I want, want, WANT to believe that this game can be closer than expected, I'm coming around to the idea that it's probably going to be ugly, simply because of the matchup factor.

I still think the defense will turn in a yeoman's effort, but I'm extremely concerned about the big plays -- especially against a spread offense predicated on misdirection and confusion. If the offense struggles like I think it's probably going to, the defense is probably going to feel the need to make something happen. That's death against an offense that requires assignment-sound defense to stop it.

Unless things such as poor decision making, poor discipline or unforced turnovers rear their heads tomorrow, if it turns out to be a blowout, don't lose faith.

If you'd like to hear Paul Wulff talk about the injuries at length, listen to his Thursday press conference via the player below. It's distributed via our podcast; you can find subscription options at our podcast page.

Kenny Alfred is the man

Nuss — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:17:05 -0000

In case you weren't quite sure of center Kenny Alfred's awesomeness -- after all, when the team has performed as poorly as WSU has over the past couple of seasons, it's easy to overlook the anchor of one of the team's worst performing units -- let me remind you.

First, there was Alfred being named to the watch list of the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation's top center.

Today, Alfred was named one of five semifinalists from the Pac-10 for the William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), which is commonly known as the "Academic Heisman." There are 154 finalists total. From the NCAA:

"Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Renamed this fall in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post- graduate scholarship. ...

"The NFF Awards Committee will select and announce up to 15 finalists on Oct. 29. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2009 NFF National Scholar- Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner, who will have his scholarship increased to $25,000, will be announced live at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner on December 8 at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. A total distribution of $277,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening."

And finally, if you want to know why reporters have called Alfred one of their favorite people to interview, just check out this chat with 950-AM KJR's Ian Furness from yesterday. I challenge you to find a more articulate and thoughtful college student athlete.

Will he win any of these awards? Probably not. But that begs a question.

Does it matter?

Congrats, Kenny. Keep doing us proud.

The blame game

Nuss — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:48:46 -0000

I try pretty hard not to play the blame game around here, but a game like yesterday leaves you searching for answers.

Since I'm not some kind of film guru when it comes to football -- I'm much more comfortable breaking down what teams are trying to do in basketball -- I'm going to just pass along some interesting quotes I ran across and leave you to post your own theories in the comments as to how yesterday came about:

Hawaii WR Greg Salas: "We hit ’em deep last year with a couple of those (pass plays), and we got ’em again with the same stuff."
Salas again: "Man-to-man. Playing off. Great feeling. Some teams get out of it, they stayed in it. It was great."
WSU DB Chima Nwachukwu: "It seemed like they were well-rehearsed for what we were doing. We have to do a better job of disguising our coverage."
WSU defensive coordinator Chris Ball: "The toughest thing we have to do as a staff is convince the kids that they can win football games. You can’t expect coaches to come out and get them fired up. Players are responsible for getting themselves ready to play mentally."
Nwachukwu: "It seems like we need something to spark us at the beginning of the game. That put us in a bad position, because (Hawaii) came out ready to go."
WSU center Kenny Alfred: "We’re a team that has to learn how to start. Starting and finishing are both crucial."
Hawaii LB Blaze Soares: "We're Warriors, and we want to be known as the hardest-hitting defense in the country. Game by game, we want to prove that. It's a bold statement, but I think we have talent to do it.
Soares: "We wanted to go out there and play for the people of Hawai'i. We know our economy is very bad. We play 60 minutes of football, and that's when our fans' problems go away. They're focused on UH football. We have to go out there and make our fans happy for 60 minutes, and not let them think about real-life problems. We want them to go out and have fun watching us play."
Hawaii DE Paipai Falemalu: "It was fun. Our seniors hyped us up. Rocky (Savaiigaea), Blaze and R.J. told us to go out there with an attitude and hit hard."
Hawaii safety Spencer Smith: "Blaze was right. He wanted us to hit hard and play hard for Hawai'i. That's why 'Hawai'i' is on the front of our jerseys. When we win, the Islands are happy. When we lose, the Islands are sad. I think everyone is happy now."
Hawaii coach Greg McMackin: "I wanted our guys to know we weren't coming over to try and eke out a win, like we did last year (in a victory over Washington State at Aloha Stadium). We were going to attack their tail and go after them. I know we're a team that can attack on all three sides of the ball. That's our personality."
Salas: "We came out, and we came out fast. We were hungry."
McMackin: "There are so many teams that run a no-huddle, it doesn't bother us any more. If they bring in other people, we have enough time to bring in other people."
Hawaii LB R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane: "They would call a play, and then we would call a play, and then they would call an audible and then we would have to call an audible."
Hawaii center John Estes: "Frankly, Central Arkansas is a much better team (than Washington State). All this stuff about struggling against a I-AA team ... a football team's a football team. We knew we were going to beat Wazzu. We should've put up 70, but we made a lot of mistakes."

THE MORNING PAPER: Stanford vs. WSU

Nuss — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:14:49 -0000

Looking for a way to pass the time until kickoff (other than listening to ESPN2 announcers gush about Greg Paulus)? Here, for your reading pleasure, is all the coverage I could find of today's game:

For WSU:

The official WSU gameday news release. (You should print it and have it by your side during the game. Comes in handy.)
Grippi's hitting it hard for the S-R, checking in with these final notes, his GameDay Items (excellent read), and a story on the Cougs looking for a fresh start.
In The News Tribune, Stalwick says it's time for the Cougs to prove they're better.
WSU Football Blog had its great Football Friday (on a Thursday) a couple of days ago, as well as a super sim courtesy of NCAA Football 10.
The Seattle Times has this weak little preview, but Withers has five keys to the season, as well as a feature on Kenny Alfred and a column begging Wulff to be patient with Tuel -- all part of the Times' WSU preview package.
The San Francisco Chronicle has this little piece on James Montgomery.

For Stanford (when Mercury News writer Jon Wilner said it was a pro town, he wasn't kidding -- there ain't much out there):

The official Stanford gameday news release.
Inimitable Wilner checks in with his preview, and his paper has this lame little matchup piece.
The San Francisco Chronicle turns its focus on the Cardinal defensive backfield, which appears to be Stanford's most notable weak link heading into the season.

Nationally:

If you feel like wasting five minutes of your life (like I did), head over to Buster Sports for this podcast preview of today's game courtesy of former UCLA coach and current "analyst" Terry Donohue. Guess how many WSU players he mentions by name in the five minutes? (Hint: It's less than one.)
Ted Miller at ESPN.com compiles his best injury report. It's really a sight to behold. Arizona heads the list with only three injuries, but guess who's second? It'll bring a smile to your face, especially when you consider there's only one projected starter on it.

See you at 2 p.m.