| 29 September 2009
Good morning Cougs. Hope you are all off to a good start this week. And we hope you enjoyed Tuel's video debut yesterday. Hopefully we'll have more opportunities to do that the rest of the year.....of course, the team has to actually BE ON TV for that to happen! And good news there, by the way. If you have it as part of your Comcast subscription, you can get the Oregon game this weekend. In the Seattle/Puget Sound area, it is set to go on channel 179. Also good news to hear rumblings about the ASU game on 10/10 also showing up on TV? Fingers crossed!
Now that the free world is reporting that young Mr. Tuel will be starting, I sure can't wait to see him get the call from the start of the game. But what about the guys he will be throwing to? We know there were some good things from Tuel on Saturday, but how about the young wide receivers stepping up and doing their thing? Well, really ONE young wide receiver had a fantastic game, and that was none other than #1, Gino Simone. Eight catches for 83 yards, all career-best numbers for the true frosh. Granted, the USC defense was playing off a bit with a 27-0 lead throughout the fourth quarter, and there wasn't much press, physical coverage he had to overcome when he made the majority of his catches. But still, he has bounced back nicely from the concussion vs. Hawaii and has showed some good hands, with a knack for getting open. Maybe Simone and Tuel have built a nice little rapport, since both guys have come in as true frosh? Maybe Simone is already emerging as Tuel's "security blanket", and/or the go-to-guy when the chips are down? Simone sure looks like he has that strong, possession-type look about him, doesn't he? Nothing fancy or flash-n-dash, just a good player who knows how to get open and is a reliable pass-catcher. All good teams need guys like Simone, and who knows, maybe in a couple of years he'll be starring for a bowl team?
Whatever the case, Tuel sure looked for him quite a bit down the stretch. We would have liked to have seen more out of Jared Karstetter (1 catch, 8 yards), but I'm not real worried about him. He has played really well early in the season, and I'm betting he'll be just fine going forward. And Daniel Blackledge played OK with three catches and nearly scored on that final drive. Anyway, the future isn't just bright at QB, it looks good at wide receiver as well with Simone, Karstetter and Blackledge clearly the nucleus of that position for today and tomorrow.
So far this year, the young WR's have been producing, per ESPN:
Now that the free world is reporting that young Mr. Tuel will be starting, I sure can't wait to see him get the call from the start of the game. But what about the guys he will be throwing to? We know there were some good things from Tuel on Saturday, but how about the young wide receivers stepping up and doing their thing? Well, really ONE young wide receiver had a fantastic game, and that was none other than #1, Gino Simone. Eight catches for 83 yards, all career-best numbers for the true frosh. Granted, the USC defense was playing off a bit with a 27-0 lead throughout the fourth quarter, and there wasn't much press, physical coverage he had to overcome when he made the majority of his catches. But still, he has bounced back nicely from the concussion vs. Hawaii and has showed some good hands, with a knack for getting open. Maybe Simone and Tuel have built a nice little rapport, since both guys have come in as true frosh? Maybe Simone is already emerging as Tuel's "security blanket", and/or the go-to-guy when the chips are down? Simone sure looks like he has that strong, possession-type look about him, doesn't he? Nothing fancy or flash-n-dash, just a good player who knows how to get open and is a reliable pass-catcher. All good teams need guys like Simone, and who knows, maybe in a couple of years he'll be starring for a bowl team?
Whatever the case, Tuel sure looked for him quite a bit down the stretch. We would have liked to have seen more out of Jared Karstetter (1 catch, 8 yards), but I'm not real worried about him. He has played really well early in the season, and I'm betting he'll be just fine going forward. And Daniel Blackledge played OK with three catches and nearly scored on that final drive. Anyway, the future isn't just bright at QB, it looks good at wide receiver as well with Simone, Karstetter and Blackledge clearly the nucleus of that position for today and tomorrow.
So far this year, the young WR's have been producing, per ESPN:
| Receiving Statistics | ||||||||
| NAME | REC | YDS | YPR | LONG | TD | |||
| Jared Karstetter | 12 | 194 | 16.2 | 47 | 2 | |||
| Daniel Blackledge | 14 | 147 | 10.5 | 24 | 1 | |||
| Jeffrey Solomon | 11 | 128 | 11.6 | 25 | 0 | |||
| Gino Simone | 12 | 107 | 8.9 | 16 | 0 | |||
All younger guys, all in double-digits in catches, as Blackledge and Solomon are the "elder statesmen" as juniors. But it's even better when you look back at last year. Brandon Gibson led the team with 57 balls, and Jeshua Anderson had 33. But the next WR in the receiving corps who did anything? Try Kevin Norrell with ELEVEN catches. Heck, Karstetter has already doubled his 2008 output of six catches, and we're only 1/3rd of the way into the year.
I really, really like this group. But that said......Kevin Norrell, what happened? They sure as hell could have used you on this team, THIS YEAR. I hope it all works out for Norrell, and we see him back on the team and in with this group next season. He could give them a nice boost, no doubt about it. And who knows about Forzani, the young speedster. He might emerge as he gets some more experience. But wow, you start to think about the depth at WR, and it's impressive. Especially when you consider that they are ALL BACK next year! Karstetter, Simone, Blackledge, Solomon, Forzani, maybe Norrell, that's a nice group to work with in 2010.
Moving on, the weekly blog poll ballot has been submitted. You'll find our selections here in a moment. Sutra took the reins and made the picks this week, and some good movement in his view. Feel free to weigh in, complain, whatever, but it's a good ballot. More after the read more.....
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Alabama |  1 |
| 3 | Texas |  1 |
| 4 | LSU | 3 |
| 5 | Boise State | 8 |
| 6 | Virginia Tech | 6 |
| 7 | Oregon | |
| 8 | Cincinnati | |
| 9 | Houston | 13 |
| 10 | Iowa | |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 1 |
| 12 | TCU | 1 |
| 13 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 14 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 15 | Oklahoma State | 3 |
| 16 | Miami (Florida) | 7 |
| 17 | Penn State | 11 |
| 18 | Kansas | 1 |
| 19 | Michigan | 2 |
| 20 | Brigham Young | |
| 21 | Mississippi | 16 |
| 22 | Georgia | 6 |
| 23 | South Carolina | |
| 24 | Stanford | |
| 25 | California | 21 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: North Carolina (#19), Missouri (#20), Nebraska (#23), Florida State (#24), Washington (#25).
Cal sure took a tumble, but when you lose 42-3, that's what happens. No, I'm no longer patting myself on the back for picking them to win the conference. Sheesh that was TERRIBLE!
And overall, what a wild start to the PAC-10 season. Who would have thunk it, even just after week one, that 1) Oregon would have rallied after their meltdown vs. Boise State, 2) USC and Cal would both have one loss, 3) UCLA would be unbeaten, and 4) Stanford would be some phantom penalties vs. Wake Forest from being 4-0. Crazy month of September in the PAC-10!
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your day, and as always, GO COUGS!
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