| 22 September 2009
Good morning Coug Nation. Hope all is well in your world. Lots to get to, so away we go.
First, should be an interesting presser today at 2:30. What will they say? We aren't 100% sure, but we have an idea. First, Phase III details of a public fundraising campaign will be announced, that much we do know. I don't think that's any secret, given all the online rumors and such that have been percolating the last month. There was even a commercial WSU has been running at football games alluding to this as well. And, there will likely be something with an online flair to it. But unfortunately no, we aren't involved with any of this announcement. We haven't heard from WSU since early August regarding the next phase and if/when we could help. It's been the cone of silence ever since, but not for a lack of effort on our part, believe me. Our own Sutra has reached out repeatedly in recent weeks, but to no avail. So that is what we know.
If we completely speculate here, they will roll out an online website or web page of some kind where you can donate directly to Phase III. And, financially they still have some ground to cover. We aren't sure of the exact numbers, but we have heard anywhere from $5 million to even more than that ($9 million?). At least that was some of the talk as of a couple of weeks ago. There are a set number of luxury seating that they have to pre-sell, and a certain dollar amount they have to raise overall, but if all goes well, they will break ground in March next spring with the idea that it should be completed prior to the 2011 season.
Whether or not we have any involvement here, it doesn't matter to us (really). We just want to help, any way we can. It's time to dig deep, whether it's chump change or a sizable chunk of your nest egg, whatever you can do. It's time to answer the call for help.
Meanwhile, the WSU depth chart is out for this week. Not some huge surprises, but it looks like Gino Simone might be back, as he has the "OR" next to his name as a starter (I'm sure we'll hear more about his health situation today). The offensive line shuffle continues, with big Tyson Pencer getting his first start of the year at left tackle. Defensively, frosh Dan Spitz is now a starter at left defensive end, ahead of Casey Hamlett and the still-injured Kevin Kooyman. Combined with Travis Long, that's two frosh starting on the defensive line. Not an ideal situation by any stretch, but, hey, if they are the best players at their position, then they should play. At least we know from what we've seen out of coach Wulff is that for the most part, the best players are going to play. Players can't help but respect that approach, knowing that they are going to get a fair shake out of this staff.
Finally, we have officially reached the "quarter pole" of the 2009 season. Three games in, nine games to go. Has the season played out close to what you thought? Has it been worse than what you imagined it would be when you started thinking about Cougar football? Here's some three-games-in thoughts, at least from me (and we encourage your thoughts as well!):
1) At first thought, the QB play didn't seem improved....but the numbers don't back that up. Maybe it's what your mind perceives isn't always the truth, but coach Wulff and Todd Sturdy have said they need better QB play and they want to "grow the position". But you know what? The numbers really aren't too bad. Right now the team is fourth in the PAC-10 in passing yards at 239.7 yards per game. If you told me before the season started if I would take 239.7 per game, fourth in the conference, absolutely we'd take that!
But the turnovers are still an issue with a conference-high five INT's, and overall we are a minus-2 in TD/INT ratio throwing the ball (5 picks, 3 TD's). So while the yardage is a vast improvement over last year's paltry 146 yards per game, there is still a lot of work to be done in taking care of the ball. Five INT's in three games is just too high for an offense that wants to try and be a balanced attack. Which leads us to point number two.....
2) The running game is a disappointment. With the depth at running back with Dwight Tardy, James Montgomery and Logwone Mitz, and some good game experience back on the offensive line, I thought we'd see a run-heavy offense. But what do you know, three games in and WSU is DEAD LAST in the conference at running the ball, averaging just 105 yards per game! But believe it or not, that is still better than last year, where the team averaged 95 yards per game on the ground. Also, yards per carry is up to 3.5, from a decade-worst 2.7 yards per carry last year. But the team is also last in the conference in rushing TD's, with just two so far. Now, of course, the rushing numbers might be skewed a bit given the absolute fact of the slow starts this team has dealt with thus far, as well as the injuries up front on the offensive line. Remember, we've seen this team down multiple TD's by halftime in all three games so far. It's hard to stick with the run when you are down big with just 30 minutes of game clock left. Should they figure out how to start faster going forward, I would imagine the rushing numbers will get better. But so far, this isn't exactly what we expected from this offense, when everyone and their dog predicted we would run, run, run some more in 2009!
Overall, offensively the team is also last in the conference in scoring offense at 21 points per game. Still better than last year's abysmal 12.7 points per game (wow!). The defensive TD's vs. SMU have helped, but still, they are doing better compared to last year. At least we have that going for us??
3) Defensively? A LONG way to go. Injuries to some key guys have hurt this defense, no doubt about it. Kevin Kooyman's injury has thrown some young kids right into the fire, and as a result, the pass rush has lacked some experience and ability. Injuries to Andy Mattingly and Louis Bland have at least slowed them down a little bit, even though both guys have played through it and gotten on the field. And the secondary has taken their lumps, given some more injuries as well as defections that occurred before the team even broke camp.
It's been a tough go of it on that side of the ball, and the numbers reflect that.
How bad is it? Let's see, last in the PAC-10 in:
1) Rushing defense, 168.3 yards per game, 5.3 yards per carry, 6 TD runs allowed.
2) Passing defense, a dreary 368.7 yards per game on 9.4 yards per passing attempt and a conference-high six TD's allowed. They aren't even close to even being number nine in the conference, with Oregon State allowing 278 yards per game. But it's more than just yards. They are also last in pass efficiency defense, allowing a passer rating of 154.8. Numbers like that put QB's in the Heisman race.
3)Total defense, predictibly, last in the conference in allowing a whopping 537 yards per game. Oregon is ninth with 369 yards per game. It's not even close.
And, in case you are wondering, the 537 yards per game is worse than last year's 443 yards per game allowed, worst in the decade.
Anyway, overall, I'd say we are a little below where I thought we'd be anyway. I thought we would be 2-1 right now, not 1-2 and the one win by the hair on their chin. But I think the good news is that they are making some strides offensively, and they are addressing an area they believed needed improvement, QB. Whether it's Marshall who grabs the job or they have to go to Tuel, hey, they aren't sitting still and letting all this stuff wash right over them. They ARE trying to change things for the better. But with so much youth, and so many injuries just three games in, these growing pains are expected. At least we know Wulff has these guys on the same page, and they have shown so far that while the starts are slow, they are not quitting! That's a stat that you can't measure on paper or whatever else, it's an intangible that you know every week these kids are going to fight for every inch. Could we say that about 2008? I think you know the answer....
So what do you think? Are they where you thought they would be, three games into the '09 season? Better? Worse? Feel free to share your thoughts.
That's it for now. ENJOY YOUR DAY, and check out the presser at 2:30 today. GO COUGS!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
