SB Nation - Jeshua Anderson

SECOND QUARTER GRADES: Receivers

Grady. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:22:23 -0000

Washington State wide receiver Johnny Forzani, left, catches a Jeff Tuel pass while ~~defended~~ getting facemask-punched by Arizona State cornerback Josh Jordan (23) during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Forzani ran the pass in for a 99-yard touchdown, the longest passing play from scrimmage in Washington State history. It was his only catch of the game. Arizona State won 27-14. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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Second Quarter Grade: C+

First Quarter Grade: B-

Stats:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	6	18	251	13.94	3	3.0	41.8
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	6	20	189	9.45	1	3.3	31.5
3	Gino Simone	FR	WR	5	17	157	9.24	0	3.4	31.4
4	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	5	3	149	49.67	1	0.6	29.8
5	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	6	12	130	10.83	0	2.0	21.7
6	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
7	James Montgomery	JR	RB	4	7	62	8.86	0	1.8	15.5
8	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	6	6	53	8.83	0	1.0	8.8
9	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	6	10	44	4.40	0	1.7	7.3
10	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	6	4	26	6.50	0	0.7	4.3
11	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	6	2	19	9.50	0	0.3	3.2
12	Carl Winston	FR	RB	2	1	-3	-3.00	0	0.5	-1.5
	Total			6	104	1143	10.99	5	17.3	190.5

Explanation:

From pleasant surprise of the season in the first quarter, to ho-hum group in the second, the receiving corps has been serviceable if not remarkable. Karstetter is still the clear #1 receiver, but has cooled off with only seven receptions in the last three games. That doesn't bode well for WSU in the second half, since this group is neither experienced nor deep. Nevertheless, there's some serious flashes of talent out of this group. Johnny Forzani for 99 yards anyone? How about Gino Simone, who has caught 13 balls in the last three games? That's more than our supposed top two receivers in Blackledge and Karstetter have over the same period of time. There's a lot of hope here, if you're OK with having some patience.

Outside of Forzani's ridiculous 49.67 yards per reception average, these aren't wideout numbers that are going to blow anyone away. A lot of it isn't the receiving corps' fault, frankly. The offensive line is getting blown up, giving the quarterbacks less time to make reads and find open targets. Then there's the issue of the quarterbacks themselves - the wideouts have had to adjust to three different starters, most recently a freshman just getting his feet wet in NCAA play. That's not a recipe for 300-yard or 5 touchdown passing games. Issues like the Simone concussion and the Anderson sport change have maligned the group as well.

That's not to say the pass-catchers don't deserve some of the credit (blame) for the anemic offense so far. There isn't a single wideout that can be consistently counted on to take over a game or make that key catch on third and long. At least not yet: Karstetter and Simone seem to be the most likely candidates for standout WR of the future, but the future is a long way off. For now, we can at least enjoy watching this group improve and mature in front of our own eyes. Essentially everyone except for TE Tony Thompson will be back next season; and two of our top three receivers for longer than that. So, like so many positions on the Cougar football team, the receivers are young, talented, and have the potential to be an incredible group going forward.

How to improve the grade: Touchdowns, please. The Forzani touchdown was a remnant of our past, where receivers could break a tackle or two and go for the big strike. This group needs more of that - it's one thing to have the ability to score passing touchdowns in the red zone, it's another to be a threat from anywhere on the field. A little more depth would be nice to see as well. While I like seeing the running backs involved in short passes to the flats, it would be nice to see some of the guys further down the WR depth chart get some reps. What do we have to lose? (well, other than games, which we're probably going to anyway)

Poll

Your call. Grade for the receivers?

A

1 votes

B

5 votes

C

7 votes

D

3 votes

F

2 votes

Incomplete

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

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.

FIRST QUARTER GRADES: Wide Receivers

Grady. — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:00:24 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State receiver Jared Karstetter and receiver Daniel Blackledge hug it out, bitch, after Karstetter caught a touchdown pass to bring the game to within one point with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against SMU Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won 30-27 in overtime. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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GRADE: B-

STATISTICS:

	Name	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Jared Karstetter	SO	WR	3	11	186	16.91	2	3.7	62.0
2	Daniel Blackledge	JR	WR	3	11	119	10.82	1	3.7	39.7
3	Jeffrey Solomon	JR	WR	3	10	110	11.00	0	3.3	36.7
4	Jeshua Anderson	JR	WR	2	4	66	16.50	0	2.0	33.0
5	James Montgomery	JR	RB	3	7	62	8.86	0	2.3	20.7
6	Tony Thompson	SR	TE	3	4	51	12.75	0	1.3	17.0
7	Johnny Forzani	JR	WR	2	2	50	25.00	0	1.0	25.0
8	Dwight Tardy	SR	RB	3	7	32	4.57	0	2.3	10.7
9	Gino Simone	FR	WR	2	4	24	6.00	0	2.0	12.0
10	Skylar Stormo	FR	TE	3	1	11	11.00	0	0.3	3.7
11	Logwone Mitz	SO	RB	3	2	2	1.00	0	0.7	0.7
	Total			3	63	713	11.32	3	21.0	237.7
	Opponents			3	78	1106	14.18	6	26.0	368.7

EXPLANATION:

This is a grade largely based on the fact this group is exceeding expectations. Before the season, it was Jeshua Anderson and a group of unproven, young wideouts. Now it's some great young receivers, and no Anderson - and the Cougar passing game looks like it may actually be able to reclaim some of its lost glory. The passing game has been largely carrying a struggling Cougar offense; accounting for both Washington State offensive touchdowns against SMU, and outshining the rushing game in yards per attempt by a solid 5.9 to 3.5 margin. Granted, the passing game will almost always beat out the running game in yards per play, but we certainly expected more out of our running game, especially before the injury to Montgomery.

Jared Karstetter is asserting himself as a true #1 receiver, something Jeshua Anderson couldn't even do before he decided to hang up the football cleats for good. That 16.91 yards per catch average is phenomenal - even if he only touches the ball 3-4 times per game. One common theme this year is that the ball is being spread around the whole receiving corps (and sometimes the running backs) - with seven players averaging more than two catches per game. That kind of variety has helped the Cougars take advantage of linebacker mismatches and has kept the QBs away from throwing at the opponents' best corner. There seems to be a quality trio developing in Karstetter, Daniel Blackledge and Jeffrey Solomon. That's good because it takes some of the pressure off of the man who will someday lead this receiving corps: currently concussed freshman Gino Simone.

We also got a wonderful debut out of junior Johnny Forzani Saturday against SMU: two catches for fifty yards. Look for him to get the ball more as the season wears on and his injury troubles (hopefully) slide away. Also encouraging is the occasionally spectacular catching ability of tight end Tony Thompson - although the TE position is likely to be utilized much less often than the wideouts. Maybe the Legend of Stormo can help change our lack of depth there.

HOW TO GET THE GRADE UP: Simple: More catches. More yards. WSU has had a good yard per play average in the passing game, and now just need to utilize it more and move the ball down the field. The main piece of bad news for the WSU receiving corps is that they haven't shown consistency. When your top receiver only catches 3.7 balls a game, there's some instability, and a lack of a go-to guy on third and long. The Cougars would also be well served if they keep avoiding the dropsies. Karstetter had a bad one in the endzone against SMU, but made up for it with the catch that gave Wazzu the chance to tie.

It's been a decent run for the receiving corps so far, but the question remains: can they keep it up against the rest of the Pac-10?

Poll

Los Receivers?

A

3 votes

B

22 votes

C

24 votes

D

6 votes

F

0 votes

55 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State 30, SMU 27

Grady. — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:23:03 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State kicker Nico Grasu (18) is clutch and clutch is everything. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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For a program that needed a win in the worst way, Nico Grasu delivered.

Again.

Three games removed from his game winner in the 2008 Apple Cup, Grasu hit a 39 yard field goal in overtime to guide Washington State (1-2) over Southern Methodist (2-1), in the first ever meeting between the schools.

WSU had looked dead in the water earlier, with SMU jumping out to a 17-0 lead on touchdowns by Terrance Wilkerson and Zach Line. The Cougars finally showed some signs of life late in the first half, with Daniel Blackledge catching a three yard touchdown reception from Marshall Lobbestael with :30 seconds remaining.

It was the first start of the year for the sophomore Lobbestael, who completed 24 of 52 passes, netting two touchdowns and two interceptions. Despite struggling for three quarters, Lobbestael got a lift from the Cougar defense until he came through on the final possession of regulation.

With the Cougars trailing 27-13 late in the third, Alex Hoffman-Ellis took an interception from Mustang quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell 52 yards back to the end zone. It sparked a Cougar rally capped by teammate Myron Beck's 67 yard interception return for a touchdown.

That set up the final drive of regulation, with Lobbestael taking the Cougars 80 yards for the tying touchdown with 28 seconds remaining. Jared Karstetter caught the ball in the back of the en dzone on a dart from Lobbestael. The Cougar prevent defense held SMU's potent offense in the final thirty seconds, and the game headed to overtime.

Despite a career day by Bo Levi Mitchell - 40 of 57 passing for 424 yards and two touchdowns - it was his fourth and final interception that cost the Mustangs the game. Chima Nwachukwu picked off a touch pass in the end zone on the first play of overtime to give the Cougars the opportunity to win. WSU struggled to advance the ball on their possession, but gained five yards to set up the game game winning field goal by Grasu.

Player of the Game: Jared Karstetter. Fresh off the football retirement of Jeshua Anderson, Karstetter took the weight of the weakened receiver corps on his shoulders and caught five balls for 63 yards and the game tying touchdown. Karstetter dropped a touchdown earlier in the first half - just prior to the Blackledge TD - but we'll forgive him for that. Cougar players don't have much experience in the end zone lately.

Unsung Hero: Marshall Lobbestael: Even in the midst of calls from the fans for Lopina and/or Tuel, the Lobster regrouped and led the game tying drive with under two minutes to play. While he struggled with accuracy and only averaged 4.6 yards per completion, he threw for two touchdowns and called the signals for both the game-tying and the game-winning drives. Even though the performance wasn't stellar, credit Wulff for sticking with a quarterback and allowing him to dig himself out of his own hole. And, honestly, his first interception wasn't his fault as he got hit as he threw.

Key to the Game: Not to self-promote, but I did say the key matchup would be the Cougar pass defense versus SMU signal caller Bo Levi Mitchell. It was. In the first three quarters, Mitchell torched the Cougar D on four scoring drives, including two passing touchdowns en route to a 24-7 lead. In the final 16:16 plus overtime, Mitchell was torched for four interceptions; two for touchdowns, and another by Brandon Jones preventing the Mustangs from taking a two possession lead with 4:48 to play.

B.S. Call of the Game: Our newest feature - inspired by one of the worst calls I have ever seen in my life. See, what we watched today was a game of "American Football", or "Football" in the slang the kids use. In said game, players run and catch the ball and are "tackled" by defenders. Sometimes, the quarterback floats the ball up in such a way that it hangs their receiver out to dry, with the result being a rather brutal "tackle", by the one (or in this case two) defensive backs that hit him. So, even though the hit by the two Cougar defensive backs was cleaner than the shine left on your dishes from a box of Mr. Sparkle, some "officials" decided to throw a flag for a personal foul. This despite the fact it occurred on a key third and long, on a drive that could have resulted in SMU taking a two possession lead with under five minutes to play. Fortunately, Brandon Jones led the rejuvenated Cougar defense with a diving interception to erase our memory of the earlier penalty.

Play of the Game: The hyphenated pick six by Alex Hoffman-Ellis was a brilliant play, but let's be honest. No one in that stadium believed we had a shot until Myron Beck took the ball two-thirds of the length of the field on an interception return to bring the Cougars within 27-20. Yes, I know Grasu won it, but he wouldn't have had to had he not missed a chip shot earlier in the game.

It was over when... The Clutchiest Kicker in the World, Nico Grasu, hit the 39 yarder to win it.

Stat of the Game: Paul Wulff is 2-0 in games decided by less than 14 points. In all others... 1-13.

The Tailgater's Guide to Cougar Football: Week 3

Grady. — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:08:31 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

Washington State running back Dwight Tardy (31) runs for his life because his team is not very good at football. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

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

The Game

Southern Methodist Mustangs (2-0) at Washington State Cougars (0-2), 2 p.m. Pacific

Location

Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA

Coverage

TV: None! So for sure we'll win.
Radio: Cougar Sports Radio Network

Last Meeting

This is the first meeting between SMU and WSU.

The Line

SMU -6

Why you should care: Possibly the last chance for WSU to avoid the horror of an 0-12 season.

Most intriguing storyline: See above.

Key matchup: SMU QB Bo Levi Mitchell versus the Cougar pass defense. Hey, remember how awful the Cougar rushing defense was a year ago? It looks like our pass defense is turning out to be equally atrocious in 2009. The Cougars are currently 118th in the nation in pass defense as measured by yards per pass attempt. While it's a small sample size that's based off of, and it may regress some as the season wears on, it's part of the reason WSU can't keep opponents off the scoreboard. It's also the number one reason the Cougars are tied for last in the nation in yards per play allowed - with Florida Atlantic - at 8.6. That number means WSU opponents have averaged close to a first down on every play from scrimmage. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch.

One potentially lucky break for the Cougars: Mitchell is coming off of a rib injury that had him struggling to run from sideline to sideline just to get the play call in during SMU's last game. He may have to play through some pain Saturday, and that's never a good thing for a QB.

Why SMU might win: Bo Levi Mitchell plus the talented running of back Shawnbrey McNeal put SMU in a good position offensively. Their defense is suspect, but then again so is ours, so SMU could very likely take this one in a shootout.

Key Player (SMU): Shawnbrey McNeal. The Cougar rushing D was supposed to improve in 2009. And yet after giving up a worst-in-the nation 5.78 yards per carry last season, WSU is actually worse this year, surrendering 6.25. Awesome. Even if Mitchell and co. struggle with turnovers, SMU can put the ball in the hands of McNeal and score some points.

Why WSU might win: The Cougars face an uphill battle, but they can try to take advantage of a sketchy defense. SMU averages giving up 6.0 yards per play, even with an opening slate of Steven F. Austin and UAB. If Lobbestael/Tuel/Lopina/Bledsoe whoever it is playing Saturday can take advantage, and the Cougar running game can get going, WSU may be in business.

Key Player (WSU): James Montgomery. The football retirement of Jeshua Anderson now cements Montgomery as the most talented playmaker on offense, and he's going to be key if the Cougars can beat the Mustangs. Monty's start to the 2009 season has been impressive. He's averaging 5 yards per carry, 9 yards per reception and 24 yards per kick return. Montgomery could be a catalyst for the Cougar offense this weekend, and take some pressure off the QBs.

Pregame activity: Ferdinand's. Even in the gloomiest of Cougar football seasons, you can always count on ice cream to cheer you up. And nobody in Pullman does it better than Ferdinand's, even if their hours are ridiculously stingy and game day is really one of the few times you can count on them being open. Anyway, drop in, buy some ice cream, buy some Cougar Gold cheese, and you're set. Perfectly content before you watch the Cougs lose in horrifying fashion.

Pre- or postgame meal suggestion: Sella's. About a decade ago, my family and I went down to Pullman to tour WSU as a possible college destination for my sister. It was brutally hot - somewhere in the 90 to 100 degree area, and we took the walking tour anyway. The tour also felt painfully long then - maybe an hour or so, but it felt like three. Then, our reward at the end was touring un-air-conditioned Stevenson; enough to make me petrified of dorm life for the next four years. It wasn't the most shining display of WSU's assets.

When I toured Pullman at my turn to look at colleges, everything was different. I was welcomed with open arms by my then-prospective major, architecture (see how well that turned out). It was a beautiful fall day in the 70s. I saw the brand new rec center. Saw the recently renovated Honors Hall. It was more than enough to steer me away from being a Duck, which was my #2 college choice (I take pride in the fact that UW was #3). And, helping to seal the deal, I had lunch with my Mom at Sella's. Sella's gets a lot of talk for the calzones, but the pizza is vastly underrated. So is drinking beer and water and such out of jars. If I had a friend coming into town for one night, and one night only, and wanted to know the single best local place to eat in Pullman, I'd direct them to Sella's. Even if my placemat art is never good enough for the wall.

Travel Tip of the week: If you have some extra time to kill on the way down, and like scenery, allow me to suggest taking Highway 27 instead of 195 from Spokane. I only suggest it in the early fall when road conditions aren't an issue - although there are times in the winter when snow drifts on 195 actually make it a reasonable choice. You do need that extra time, because you'll be slowed down by numerous small towns and their out-for-blood police (still to date my only ticket driving to or from Pullman came in Tekoa, thanks to their staunch refusal to let you speed up to 55 on the outskirts). Still, the towns are really fun to see, the scenery is beautiful and it's one of those car commercial type drives where you have some curves but can still go a reasonable speed. You may get stuck behind a plow or two, but I found it's actually not as annoying as being stuck behind the guy that goes five under on 195 and refuses to pull over despite the line of twelve cars behind him.

So - if you're patient and want a drive through the heart of the Palouse, give 27 a shot.

Gametime snack of the week: Funyuns. Mainly cornmeal and not really an onion-based product, they're still pretty delicious. Try the Wasabi flavor.

Fun fact: they were originally supposed to be named "OnYums", but the name was already taken. Enjoy that useless information.

Gametime beer of the week: Busch Light. OK, Pullmanites, let's get this out of the way. Thanks to going to college here, Busch Light is the first beer I ever had, and with beer being an acquired taste, I hated it. Actually I can't even remember the last time I had it, especially since I discovered good, elitist, imported beer. But nevertheless, it's Busch Light, and I'm fairly certain their business performance today hinges entirely on the Pullman market. So go for it. It's probably nowhere near as bad as I remember.

PREDICTION: Like last week, the longer explanation is in the podcast. After last week, though, I can't help but play Debbie Downer. I really hope I'm wrong: SMU 38, WSU 35.

Pac-10 Picks:

California 31, Minnesota 17 It's sad that Minnesotans are slowly abandoning the Metrodome for open air stadiums, in a place where I'm pretty sure there shouldn't be open air stadiums.
USC 41, Washington 13. Lest you forget, upset-watchers, that U-dub gave up 23 points to Idaho last week. Idaho.
Oregon 31, Utah 28. If the Ducks win, they deserve to be ranked again. And we can hang our heads in shame that WSU isn't nearly as strong a program as Boise State.
Arizona 24, Iowa 21. An upset pick in the midwest! But seriously, Iowa isn't that good, Arizona isn't that bad, and I want this one for the Pac-10.
Oregon State 28, Cincinnati 27. I really want this one for the conference. The Big East is a horrible league, and even though Cincy is one of the better squads, it's a tough trip to Corvallis.
Stanford 31, San Jose State 16. Finally, Coug fans get their chance to answer the key question, "how do we measure up against San Jose State?" I'm fairly certain they'll play Stanford better.
Arizona State 41, Louisiana-Monroe 10. Dennis sure loves his cupcakes this year.
UCLA 28, Kansas State 17. Looking at this slate it's clear this could be a statement week for the Pac-10. Let's hope it is, because then at least we can say we're the worst team in one of the best conferences. That's something, right?

Season record: 14-4

Enjoy the game, and as always, go Cougs!

Jeshua Anderson quits team to focus on track

Nuss — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:03:45 -0000

Per Grippi:

Some more big news out of WSU. It looks like Jeshua Anderson has decided to forgo his football career to concentrate on track full-time, which means he’s made the choice, two weeks into the season, to pull away from football. After spending a couple weeks mending a hamstring strain – something that also plagued him during track season – Anderson was stepping up, having caught four passes for 66 yards, a 16.5 average. Talking with Anderson earlier in the year, he said he thought a lot over the summer about dedicating himself to track, but after talking with his family, he decided to play another season. It seems like he’s changed his mind.

I understand Anderson has a hugely bright career in front of him in the world of track -- he's nearly world class there, while he's a mediocre college receiver -- but man, no matter what Anderson's reasoning, this sure looks like him jumping off a sinking ship.

Honestly, I started to wonder about him a bit on Saturday. I saw lots of head shaking when balls weren't thrown his way, and you have to wonder if he just reached a point where the risk to his track career of playing football -- especially with the nagging hamstring injury -- became too much considering this is a team heading nowhere.

Whatever his reason, I wish he just wouldn't have put everyone through this song and dance in the first place. What would have made the risk worth it? Four wins? Six wins? Eight wins? I don't want to pass judgment too soon, but when you make a commitment to a team, there's only one way breaking a commitment to your teammates can possibly appear.

We knew there was no chance Anderson was coming back next year, so I guess this just gives the team a chance -- stop me if you've heard this one before -- to give some younger guys a look.

Sigh.

Final scrimmage recap

Grady. — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:02:34 -0000

Martin Stadium, with the team running sprints after the scrimmage

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EDIT #2 (9/1) - Sooo.... after talking it over with WSU's media relation folks, I decided to take the video down for good. There's no set-in-stone rule on this sort of thing, but because the shots are wide-angle, they could potentially give opponents unnecessary insights to formations and such. Now, the reality is that I don't think anything from practice was particularly new or unusual with respect to Wulff's schemes, but we'd rather not take the chance of ticking off the coaching staff of the team we root for. So - no video. Don't worry; you're not missing anything Earth shattering.

EDIT (8/30): I'm taking down the video until we get official word/OK from WSU, because we really should have asked them in the first place -Grady

It's difficult to get excited about a team with low expectations. After all, WSU is expected to finish at the bottom of the Pac-10 conference. The Cougs are coming off a historically rough 2-11 season - one without much hope or a major talent influx to look forward to.

Still, all it takes sometimes is an exceptional performance by an individual to get a fan excited about their team again.

Meet Gino Simone.

Can I get a do-over on my wide receiver preview? My hope for a Simone redshirt was completely misplaced. Gino is a phenomenal wide receiver, and he can help the team immensely. Right now. Despite the lack of height (he's 5'11"), Simone runs routes like a pro and has the hands to match. He caught the longest pass of the evening, which was the first play from scrimmage - 41 yards from the arm of QB Kevin Lopina. He ran a gorgeous crossing route for another catch, one of four total on the day. He caught the scrimmage's only passing touchdown, a 7 yard reception. He would have had the game's only 2-point conversion completion had a flag not snuffed it out.

Jeshua Anderson didn't play and still needs to rest up for the opener, but never fear. Pac-10 play will tell us if it's for real, but today, Gino Simone played like a number one receiver. I'm excited.

Now, let's break down the rest of the scrimmage by the winners and losers.

Winners

Kevin Lopina

Wulff has been taking the stance all position races are even. Still, when it comes to quarterback, Lopina is the favorite, and he did little to prove otherwise Friday. Kevin looked at home in the offense, staying accurate (9 for 11) and comfortable throughout the scrimmage. He utilized the speed of his receivers, Simone included, and was able to move the ball despite a tough day for the running game. He was a little fortunate; Jared Karstetter made a spectacular adjustment to an underthrown ball for a long completion early on. Lopina also gave up 10 to 15 easy rushing yards on a rollout in favor of throwing to a fully-covered receiver. It almost cost him an interception. Still, Lopina was accurate enough to keep his place atop the currently invisible quarterback depth chart.

Reid Forrest/The Kicking Game

It's painful for me to say it, but our best shot at a first-team all Pac-10 selection this year may just be our punter. Once again, Forrest looked phenomenal, averaging around 50 yards per punt and downing two kicks inside the ten yard line. The first of those was a beautiful ball that touched down at the ten and bounced laterally to safety. The second, well, the second was just insane. 62 yards. Too bad our return man has a case of the dropsies.

Nico Grasu also looked like his usual clutch self, hitting 2 PATs and a 31-yard field goal.

Wide Receivers

Aside from Simone, the rest of the receiving corps also had a banner day. I mentioned Karstetter's 37-yard catch, and Kevin Norrell also looked comparable at times to a former Cougar #4 (Brandon Gibson). Randy Johnson (no, not that one) caught a couple balls as well. Some of it was the quarterback play; a lot of it was the receivers getting good separation off the line and hauling the ball in when it came their way.

Defensive Line

Another potentially sketchy unit for 2009 showed glimmers of hope in the scrimmage. There was really no running game for the crimson or white teams (although we'll talk about the RB situation later), and pressure was applied to the quarterback fairly consistently. Travis Long and Kevin Kooyman each recorded a sack, and with the Lobbestael offense backed up against the goal line they almost earned a safety (the refs - yes, there were refs - got a little generous there). This was the kind of performance that gives us hope we won't be run over yet again in 2009.

Linebackers

Andy Mattingly looked like his old freshman self again, with a mammoth hit and good pursuit of the ball. The other linebackers did well aiding in run protection and swarming to the ball carrier. Pass defense was a little rough at times, but with the quarterbacks and receivers on it would've been difficult for them to stop it.

Xavier Hicks

Came off the end untouched to block a Dan Wagner punt attempt. It was an exciting play, but extremely scary to witness our special teams melting down like that just before the regular season.

---

Losers

Marshall Lobbestael

How can someone who played well have a bad day? When he didn't play well enough to clearly snatch the starter's job away from Kevin Lopina. Ocho Rojo was solid throughout and threw strikes to his wide receivers. However, he did sail the ball over a couple receivers' heads and struggled a little on his sideline routes. When it came to throwing it down the middle, however, Lobbestael was dead on.

If only we could put Lobbestael's arm on Lopina's body, with Alex Brink's brain. Then we'd have something special.

Running Backs

This is a little misleading. While there was virtually no run game for the Cougars in the scrimmage today, the Big Three (Tardy, Montgomery, MItz) were all sidelined. So don't read too much into it. Arthur Burns, Carl Winston and Leon Brooks ran for a total of 26 yards. Not great. Winston did score the other of the scrimmage's two touchdowns, following that Hicks blocked punt.

Offensive Line

If the D-Line looked good, it only makes sense that they made the O-Line look overwhelmed. And so they did. Pass protection was decent, but the number of "sacks" (remember, no tackling of the QB) were a little too high for comfort. Also, the lack of rushing support in clear rushing situations around the goal line was a little disheartening. Still, with the key running backs out, the O-line provided enough protection for the quarterbacks to move the ball downfield. A couple rough QB-center exchanges are cause for concern - fortunately it's still just practice.

The Return Game

There really wasn't much to get excited about in the punt/kick return game, save for one decent punt return after Forrest had to kick it out of his own endzone. The kick returns should have/could have been better considering that most of the kickoffs were line drives - something that could cause us some trouble in the regular season. Still, I feel there was enough experimenting by the coaches going on in special teams that the right group of blockers may not have emerged yet.

Defensive Backs

No interceptions and a lot of accuracy from the quarterbacks do not bode well for the corners and safeties. They covered the deep ball fairly well, but were sometimes a little too tight with their men and risking pass interference. They had all sorts of trouble tracking Gino Simone and the other wideouts, and with the run game under wraps it would've been nice to see an interception or two. I did love Hicks' blocked punt, however.

Dan Wagner

I have to be careful here, as I don't like to be mean to 18-23 year old players doing the best they can (and a heck of a lot better than I could). So, allow me to say the one positive thing about Wagner's day: he didn't throw an interception. However, he did misfire on a wide open receiver down the field that would have easily been a touchdown. He also had that punt blocked, but that was hardly his fault.

Jeff Tuel didn't make an appearance; I am still very afraid of injuries forcing us to burn his redshirt.

Overall, a solid scrimmage and a good performance by the Cougs on both sides of the ball. I'll leave you with the only huddle from the scrimmage, at the end:

THE AFTERNOON PAPER: Is it all starting to slowly crumble - already?

Nuss — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:26:48 -0000

If you've read our position previews, you've seen one common theme pop up over and over again: Health will be paramount to this team's chances for any kind of respectability this season. We all know the Cougs simply don't possess the depth to compete if even a few of their top players miss game time.

So, while camp got off to a good start on the injury front, a good number of question marks have started to creep in. It's not all doom and gloom -- the team has yet to suffer a catastrophic injury that requires surgery or such, which is good -- but it's enough that, with just about a week to go until Stanford, I'm starting to get a little nervous.

The most significant injury of camp came yesterday, when it was discovered that the sprained ankle starting cornerback Brandon Jones suffered on Tuesday could sideline him anywhere from one to three weeks. Jones had established himself as the team's best corner in camp.

No, the injury's not devastating -- Chima Nwachukwu, who obviously has a lot of starting experience at corner, slides into Jones' spot, and the team seems to feel comfortable with Tyree Toomer or LeAndre Daniels filling in for Nwachukwu at safety. And it's not like Stanford is likely to chuck it 40 times next weekend with a freshman quarterback and Toby Gerhart in the backfield.

But it's part of a growing list of nicks and bruises -- which looks worse when put together as below -- that could either cause players to miss game time or limit their effectiveness. These are just the guys who figured to get significant playing time against Stanford:

Running back James Montgomery sprained a knee last Friday, and I believe he's still out of practice, as I can't find an update on his prognosis. (EDIT: Per Grippi, he is indeed still sitting out practice, doing some light jogging on the side.)
Wide receiver Jeshua Anderson has been battling a hamstring injury for a couple of weeks now, and has only recently resumed straight-line running activities. He appears on target for the Stanford game, but if you remember back to track season, a hamstring was bothering him then, too. I don't know if it's the same leg or not, but one has to wonder if this is going to be a chronic issue with the team's most experienced receiver.
Wide receiver Daniel Blackledge, who had been the best receiver in camp early on after a strong offseason, has only recently returned uninhibited to practice after suffering a leg injury.
Other receivers still not at full speed include Johnny Forzani (foot) and Jeffrey Solomon (back).
Linebacker Andy Mattingly has only recently returned to full practice after suffering a groin injury. By all accounts, the team is just taking it slowly with him, but muscle injuries such as this always possess the potential for re-aggravation. (See Anderson, Jeshua.)
Starting middle linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis has been suffering through a foot problem that kept him on the sidelines for the last week. He's returned to limited practice now that a more serious injury has been ruled out, and could be ready for Stanford.
Running back Marcus Richmond -- a versatile back who generally serves as the team's full back when it needs one (he threw the block that sprung Logwone Mitz in the Apple Cup) -- appears to be out for "a while" (Grippi's words), also with a sprained ankle. Not sure if he's on the same timetable as Jones.
Starting right tackle Micah Hannam has flu-like symptoms. And since we've all been there with the flue and know that it can take up to a week or more to recover, there's certainly a possibility that Hannam won't be at peak effectiveness for Stanford.

It's not like any of this is completely unexpected -- injuries are going to happen, it's a fact of football -- and again, I'm as thankful as anyone that none of these are catastrophic and don't figure to have long-term effects. But if even half of these injuries have effects that carry over into Stanford (or beyond), it's going to make an already uphill climb even steeper. We need these guys to be as close to 100 percent as possible to have a shot at the Cardinal.

Here's the best of the rest of the day's Cougar news from around the Web:

Mattingly told Ted Miller at ESPN.com that the Cougs will surprise people in the Pac-10. (No surprise there.)
Jim Moore's unemployment checks must be running out, because that slacker churned out two columns in two days: one on reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the team (for the P-I) and one on guard B.J. Guerra (for Cougfan.com).
The San Francisco Chronicle has this preview of Stanford, which has to include the best written line of training camp. Bonus points to the reader who finds it and posts it in the comments.
Speaking of Stanford, San Jose Mercury News college football writer takes umbrage with Jim Harbaugh's new $50,000 bathroom.
The Sporting News has a "Best of the Pac-10" list, and guess what? The Cougs actually had one mention! (A darn good choice, if you ask me.)
Miller ranked each school in terms of its running backs unit. WSU checked in at No. 7. Seems fair to me, although it's not a stretch to see that ranking being higher by the end of the season.

We'll be back later.

THE EVENING PAPER: Anderson impressing at practice

Nuss — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:17:19 -0000

Leonardo DiCaprio knows the best way to stay incognito when abroad is to pose as a Coug fan. (via x17online.com, h/t CleenCoug)

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Remember how, three weeks ago, I said how absurd it was that Jeshua Anderson wasn't listed among the starters at wide receiver? Well, that depth chart is looking sillier with each day that goes by.

Vince Grippi checks in with this story detailing Anderson's progress as a receiver. He's obviously always had the deep threat ability, but his hands now seem to have taken a marked step forward -- something that should cement his status as the team's top wideout. And it's not just his hands, but his strength appears to be better, which is helping him as a downfield blocker. WSUFB's Longball shared a similar sentiment in his practice report from yesterday. (It's an excellent read.)

Bottom line? If Anderson truly is stronger and able to be more of a complete receiver to go along with that speed, that should be a huge boost to the offense. (As long as Marshall Lobbestael, the only guy not named Jeff Tuel on the roster with the ability to get the ball downfield, is the one doing the throwing so that defenders aren't simply sitting on the intermediate stuff.)

How about some basketball news? The field for the Great Alaska Shootout has been announced, and let's just say the way it lines up virtually guarantees a cakewalk into the championship for the Cougs.

The five other teams participating are Alaska-Anchorage (a D-II team), Nicholls State (No. 176 Pomeroy Rating in 2008-09), Oklahoma (No. 13), San Diego (No. 177) and Houston (No. 72). Becuase the tournament was unable to secure eight teams, there will be pool play to determine seeding for the final game, in which the first place, second place and third place teams from each pool will square off.

The two teams in WSU's pool? Alaska-Anchorage and Nicholls State -- the two worst teams in the tournament.

While the other pool is hardly filled with heavyweights, it's got one team that should still be in the Top 25 come November despite the loss of its best player from last year (Oklahoma), another team that has just about every meaningful contributor returning (Houston) and another team that still has plenty of talent as it looks to rebound from an intensely disappointing season (San Diego). The games in that pool should, at the very least, be intensely competitive and fun to watch.

Honestly, this isn't such a bad thing. The Cougs play a brutal schedule next year, so having a couple of cupcakes in a tournament -- one of which amounts to a true road game -- isn't all bad. And there's a better chance than not that they'll face a Top 25 Oklahoma on a neutral court. Pretty good setup, if you ask me.

Other interesting stuff from around the internet from the last couple of days:

Grippi checks in with today's morning practice report. Pretty limited in scope compared to recent days. EDIT, 7:22 p.m.: Of course, moments after I push "publish" Grippi files a pair of stellar posts -- this one on the revival of the no-huddle offense (I'll have my thoughts on it in the coming days) and the more comprehensive afternoon practice report.
Dwight Tardy tells freelancer Howie Stalwick that he likes the little mean streak the offensive line has developed. Most interesting about this story is that this is the first time I remember a player admitting that there were times last year the Cougs sort of quit. I mean, we all saw, it, but this is the first time I can recall somebody saying it.
It's looking more and more likely that the Alamo Bowl will play host to the Pac-10's No. 2 team. Besides the increase in payout, I'm just not sure how this helps the conference raise its profile. About the only other thing it does, in my mind, is push El Paso down to the No. 4 choice, which I suppose is a positive.
ESPN.com's Ted Miller puts together his preseason all-Pac-10 team. Guess how many Cougs are on it?
Nice story out of Hawaii praising Derrick Low as one of the state's top athletes.
This one's for Jo-Jo: Soccer has earned a preseason ranking -- No. 21 -- for just the second time in the program's history. That's the good news. The bad news? There are three teams in the Pac-10 ranked in the top 10, and four other top 25 teams on the schedule.

THE AFTERNOON PAPER: Jeshua's farewell tour, video from day one

Nuss — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:21:55 -0000

You probably should get used to the idea that this is the last season you'll see Jeshua Anderson in a Cougar uniform.

That's because, according to freelancer Howie Stalwick, Anderson seriously considered turning pro in track after once again dominating the NCAA in the 400-meter hurdles. In fact, Anderson didn't finalize his decision to come back to the football team until just a few weeks ago.

To what do we have to thank Anderson's return to our immensely inexperienced wide receiver corps?

Anderson ... admitted "that would have been a hard decision" whether to return if he had qualified for the World Track and Field Championships in the 400 hurdles. The top three finishers at the USA Track nationals qualified; Anderson came in fifth.

He said his goal is to compete professionally in both track and football, but let's be real here: While Anderson has been a nice playmaker at times on the football field, he's nowhere near NFL material. On the other hand, he's proven to be one of the elite track athletes at the NCAA level in just his first two years of college. If college athletics is the training ground for professional athletics, Anderson has very little left to prove. The best move for him and his future is to turn pro in track following the end of football season, never to return to WSU.

So, while Anderson said "It’s a blessing to be back here at school and to see your teammates happy for you to be coming back," and that he's "happy to be here and have a great season," let's call it what it is -- Anderson's final year in crimson and gray.

Elsewhere, there's nothing like the opening day of practice to bring out the microwaves and pretty faces for an appearance! Here's some video from day one via some of our Eastern Washington television outlets. You can find additional video here from KREM2, which they don't let people embed (join the 21st century already, guys ...) and also here from KXLY, which does allow embedding, but for some reason SBN's interface won't allow me to embed both the video from KNDU and KXLY. (Probably something to do with the fact that they both use the same player interface.)

Before you watch the video, let's play a little game. Two very distinct thoughts came to mind after watching this video. I'll post them after the jump. You do the same in the comments after watching the video to see how closely they matched up.

Kevin Lopina didn't throw an interception! Hooray! (What's that? There were no defenders? You're such a downer ...)
I'm more convinced than ever that I would not want Andy Mattingly to hit me over the head with a frying pan.