"Desperation is a stinky cologne, John."

I love it!

for better or worse, its time to let tuel start his reign. he is too physically talented to keep behind lobster and/or lopina.

.....Burn, burn, burn. Start the 7/31 fire sale. Trade all your vets, keep your prospects. Of course that's baseball and you can't flip Mattingly or Alfred to Oregon in exchange for a couple of redshirt frosh with potential...but maybe that could be a "fun" blog post for another time??

I love what we've heard of Tuel, but I saw that kid up close before the Stanford game. He needs some lbs, no question. And I hope he can take a pounding. Did you all see the kind of wild men USC ran out there on defense vs. Ohio State? Gulp.

And whether Marshall grabs the job or not, if Tuel plays I hope they 1) get him some soft landings, and 2) still get him to play enough to where it's worth it to burn the redshirt (See JT last year?). Desperate times.

the "Tuel Time" headlines are going to get played in a hurry.

damn, has the Lobster shown us anything this season?.....start Tuel against SMU for crying out loud....K-Lo and M-Lob have had their chances....let Tuel try now before we go into USC....I am not sure why some are negative about letting Tuel play - wasn't he the best QB during the summer??.....didn't he dazzle Grippi? heck why not get him the experience now.....USC is doing it with a freshman QB....and if he truly is our best QB, no better time then the present to get the 2nd coming of Drew Bledsoe in there, right?? Besides our school seems to always recruit decent QBs....we will good talent to take the reigns come 2013....go Tuel go!!!

Coug-a-sutra....

Your pithy rant was weak and unwarranted. If you hate Wulff, just come out and say it. Don't be a whiny little baby.

Playing Lobbestael makes no sense. This move is not desperation, it's OCD mind-changing from week-to-week insanity. Play Tuel if he is that much better, but don't bench Lopina for the sake of playing Lobbestael.

Lobbestael can't score any points. Lopina will score a few. Offensive switcharoos really don't matter if the defense doesn't do its job.

Playing Tuel (if he is that good) is the only move here that will make sense. Otherwise stick with Lopina the WHOLE game.

I see no suitable explanation other than what Sutra laid out in the post. Fire sale, give up on 2009, mature the younguns for 2010.

Just try not to get them killed like we nearly did last year.

I want to see Marshall start again. But don't dicker around. Give him the keys for the whole game and see what he can do. If they love him so much then show it. And before camp started didn't everyone and their babies think that he should be the guy all off-season? Lopina has been OK but it isn't like he has created this vast gap between himself.

Chris 04:

Not sure what Pithy rant you are referring? And the whining? HUH?

My only point in the above post was that by NOT playing K-Lo this week, we've pretty much compromised any chance that we had of winning this week, and by extension, the season.

So, in essence, by making the call to go young THIS WEEK, Wulff appears to be saying that the difference between being 1-11 and 0-12 is zilch. Again, not sure where you got the Wulff hating out of that.

Moreover, since I am THE GUY, who called for Tuel to start the opener before the season started, I actually think that this call in quite compelling, if not appropriate.

Now, if there's another pithy rant out there (the last 12 have appeared to me to be anything but pithy) that you take objection with, then let me know.

I don't like this move. Lopina has played well and hasn't warranted a benching. We fumbled balls away and couldn't tackle against Hawaii. Lopina led some good drives last Saturday. If you want Tuel to play, then let him take over Lobbestal's spot as back-up and bring him in late in games.

To me, there are signs that the program is improving. Wulff should let the offense continue to gel. Switching qbs doesn't do that.

Ripped straight from Fox Sports and their top 10 coaches hot seat story today.

Paul Wulff, Washington State
We didn't expect much after one 2-11 year, but we did expect Wulff's Cougars to be competitive against Hawaii. Why? For one, he said the Cougars will "be much more competitive" at Pac-10 Media Day. Second, Hawaii struggled at home before finally beating a presumably jet-lagged Central Arkansas team, 25-20. The scary part is that Central Arkansas held Hawaii to 25 points while Washington State gave up 38. An 0-12 season looks distinctly possible because last season's Pac-10 doormat, Washington, is already 1-1 and looking for revenge in the Apple Cup.

Your main blog post screamed passive aggressive...

This makes me excited to see Tuel in action, but nervous about burning his shirt. I actually have a feeling that Lobbestael will play alright while starting...he seems to work well when he plays more, so we'll see. I do agree that we need to give Tuel lots of snaps, though, to make the burn worthwhile.

Chris: You've been around long enough to know that, while I may be many (negative)things to many peoples, being PASSIVE aggressive is not one of my primary attributes.

That said, the other point for people to comment on (and this too is NOT anti-Wulff) is how you think this all might play out in the locker room over the coming weeks..

One of the interesting points made by Ball at the end of the last game was his note that the primary challenge facing the coaches is to try to convince the players that they can win. Is that challenge made more difficult by this decision?

Personally, I think that the team knows exactly what time it is, and that they will continue to try and improve the best that they can irrespective of who is playing QB or any other position on the field. Those poor kids must be so darn sick of not being in games...

Here's something to think about. Do you think that it's possible June Jones and Greg McMackin MIGHT have a little chat this week? Maybe talk a little bit about what Hawaii did against WSU? Maybe, just maybe, Wulff knows that this might happen? And that this could be a parlor trick by Wulff to get SMU wondering what they are going to see this week? Hmmm. You know how it is in the good 'ol boy network, and McMackin and Jones are quite familiar with each other! Just saying.

Kinda makes me snicker/laugh a bit reading that....considering we just gave up close to 700yds total offense, I doubt SMU is worried about our offense regardless of which QB plays....the Ponies are salivating at the bit thinking of how many pts the can run up on our defense....I mean until we can score 3+tds in a game, I do not think any team really is gonna worry about our offense to be brutally honest....heck it is like a charity fest at WSU - they are wondering how many turnovers we will give them (and I don't mean cherry or apple)? And ya know SMU is thinking, if we can put 70, the nation will finally take notice of our program after being down for so many years....yeah, I think they are really looking forward to it...I just hope no matter who we start, we play with some fire and emotion and truly believe the end is not here, that we can still win.....and hawaii who??

But Lopina did not look good this last week. He over threw many open receivers. Really, I don't understand why Lobster didn't play more in that game then and if they just switched starters this week then fine. Burning Tuel's shirt seems strange to me unless he was going to start. I could see him getting time in this game, but when is he going to play again? Probably not against USC or Oregon on the road. So then Homecoming? Against a good Cal defense? Seems to be the next Levi experiment. I sure hope they can keep him healthy, Lobster has not been the same since his injury.

I'm not saying Wulff is flat-out lying here in an effort to deceive. I think he is being honest that Lobbestael will start and Tuel could play (and will play this year for sure now). But it may not be exactly cut-n-dry, that's all, when Wulff throws in "but Lopina is still in the mix" during the teleconference?

And billy, you don't think there is a good 'ol boy network among college coaches?!?! Every coach is looking for an edge man. Jones and McMackin have ties, hell, they run the same damn scheme. You don't think that there is sharing of information? I don't care if you are playing against AIR for gawdsakes, you at least check which way the wind is blowing.

I can't believe you guys are clamoring to save the job of a quarterback who has ONE TOUCHDOWN and 13 interceptions in his WSU career.

Lopina is a schmuck.

I love this move. Won't save Wulff's job, and probably won't make a huge difference on the season, but at least it's a big improvement.

if i was a student over there, at the next game i'd be yelling "des per ation" a la the "over rated" chant at Wulff when he comes out of the tunnel.

wonder who the next coach will be in 2010

I just don't understand why people want to burn Tuel's redshirt? I think this is a terrible move.

I have said since the beginning that the Cougs would not win a game this year, and starting Tuel does not change that fact. The team just lacks the talent AND depth to do anything in the Pac-10, AS A TEAM. There is some talent (Tuel, Simone, Long, Bland to name a few), but we don't have enough to compete.

Why waste a year of Tuel's eligibility on a winless season? I'd rather have him for a (my projections, and they could be WAY off) 3-4 win season in 2010 as a freshman, a .500 team in 2011, and then maybe a Pac-10 contender in 2012 and 2013? At least that was my 4-year plan for the Cougs and CPW. Why burn one of those years in 2009, which was going to be dreadful from the start.

Soze: you make some great points here about burning a redshirt for a meaningless year--if we're defining "meaningless" in terms of wins and losses.

I think the rub that everyone is dealing with (see BH's post as well) is whether or not we can recruit talent into the program without showing progress.

Now granted, we are better than last year, although on the continuum of awful, we have moved only from "Putty" to "Bone" over the past year (with a slight chance of "Cream" in the forecast for 2010...)

So, I think it is reasonable to question at this point about whether or not a QB change can help make the change/improvement barometer wiggle a bit more, not only for this year, but for NEXT year as well.

Again, right now, this is NOT about improving our performance on the field this year or maybe even next year. Its about giving ourselves a chance to recruit high level kids into the program. And one good way to do that is to provide lots of evidence that they'll play right away...

Hawk, yes I know there is a network of coaches who talk week-in/week-out regarding mutual opponents (a lot of them know each other) but I just do not think if this conversation is happening, that they are talking about how to stop our offense or which QB to prepare for (considering we have not scored over 20pts in any game)?...they are more talking about how to put up 70+pts on our arses and getting some free national attention/publicity/recruiting etc. at our expense ....."damn, what is the record for most pts given up" they perhaps may be chuckling and can we get it this week? They probably are also not talking about playing/home field advantage in Pullman since Hawaii has really never played us there.....

I disagree on this being a waste of Tuel's redshirt....he will get some good experience - otherwise he would be going through all the growing pains next year in weeks 1-4.....what is the difference really?....lets be competitive now - not the laughing stock of the nation...if he is the best QB, play him period....and damn if he is, being as young as he is, he will only get better and better.....I am afraid K-Lo has peaked with his 1td pass (this is as good as he is gonna be folks) and M-Lob probably needs another season to heal or just will never be the same? Anyway, I am all for being more exciting and at least having the potential for scoring 3+tds in a game - I mean can you even remember the last time we had 3+ td passes in a game??.....was it in Brink era??


BB

Billy:

The last time we had three touches through the air was Portland State last year.

BB: I'd rather him go through growing pains next season, when we still won't be relevant in the Pac-10, and also have him play in 2013 when hopefully the Cougs are challenging for a decent bowl bid after some years of decent recruiting. There is NO WAY that Tuel makes us "competitive" and not the "laughing stock of the nation." This isn't basketball, one player doesn't make that big of a difference.

Coug-A-Sutra: I honestly overlooked the point of "playing early" being a selling point for incoming freshman; I still don't agree with burning the redshirt, though. Unless we've got a plan for a QB after Tuel, because we could be decent in 2012 and beyond.

There are a number of factors in play here. Yes, I'm sure Wulff is feeling some pressure, if only because he has put it on himself even if no one else has. That said, a QB change can work to make an ENTIRE team better.

Guys like Gesser got to play with great defenses but those D's weren't just great because of talent, coaching, and hard work (though they were definitely a part). They were great because they had a quarterback that left everything on the field and was out there playing as hard as possible, every down of every game. When a guy goes out there and does that he inspires not just his offense, but his defense as well, because those guys want to go out and protect the lead for their leader and give him a chance to do even more. The switch to Lobster, and frankly to Tuel, at some point, will hopefully be the catalyst this team needs to quit playing flat. Tuel looks like the kind of guy that will go out and make things happen, with his feet, his arm, or both. When a guy can do that, and does do that it inspires in the team around him the willingness to do what he has done, laying everything out there on the field.

Right now our Cougs don't have the team speed or "talent" to compete straight up with most of our schedule. That's a sad truth, but next year there are 7-8 guys that are RSing right now that will come in with size, strength, and athleticism and a year in the system. Those guys, despite their youth, will be an upgrade, as well as the others like Washington and Atofau that are RSing as well. This is how Price blue-printed his success. There is going to be a huge influx of speed and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball next year and that will help.

Getting Tuel in there now will give this team a chance to see what he can do with the offense, and hopefully inspire those on the field to play with the fire needed to win. If nothing else, those guys on the sideline this year will know who they are going into the fight with and be just as willing as he is to lay it on the line and get out there and compete. We fans may see a nice little upset or two this year if he can get the Cougs going in his playing time. There again we could also witness 0-12, at which point he will have taken some licks, gotten through some of the young guy growing pains, and at least inspired hope for what could be if this team just plays up next year. Better times are coming, and next year will be the first HUGE step in the right direction with the influx of talent and youth coming to this team along with the experience gained by those out there now.

I'm for keeping the shirt on, but the decision is made and the best thing we can do as fans and supporters of the COUGS and not just single players or coaches is to get out there and root for these guys and hope that they can get their stuff together by the end of the year. Young Mr. Tuel looks to be the real deal, especially if you've seen him up close, I don't think our chances for 1-3 wins have gone down, but up because he has the ability to do something special and surprise every last one of us. Lets get out there and get behind these guys and 0-12 or 3-9 give them the support needed to keep their heads up so that next year none of us have to suffer as much as last year or this year.

Didn't we hear all last season about the redshirt's who would appear and make us so much more athletic this season?

I'm just sayin'.

Lobbestael sucks. He makes Lopina look like Gesser.

Schmuck (pejorative), an insulting term for a stupid person or dimwitted fool or an unwanted guest

Hey now, Lopey ain't a schmuck. Unwanted guest, maybe at least at QB, but he's no schmuck. He's OK, but not a star not anything super-special at the PAC-10 level. But don't call him a schmuck. There's no need for that.

Let's see how this plays out on the field. Maybe Lobbestael thrives if given the keys from play one? He had his moments last year on an awful team. Someone brought something up though, can't remember who, but they said you can see that Lobbestael just isn't the same post knee injury. Not that many are the same player after an injury like that, but I get what they are saying there. While he didn't set the world on fire, he seemed a little more sure of himself last year. He's just been so wild high, it makes you wonder if he's too jacked up to do well with the open competition? Now maybe he'll settle down.

And Tuel, wow, I am still torn. Part of me likes the idea of the excitement he could bring around town, you know? And what if he really does live up to the highlight reel-type plays we've seen out of him? But the other side says caution with young talent like this, that one false move and he could be ruined in a lost year (ala Lobbestael's knee injury last year?).

Coaches show might be interesting tonight?? We'll recap it as usual. But I'm sure we'll hear about it pretty much everywhere.

I don't think this is a desperate move, I think it's a wise move. If CPW really thinks Tuel is most likely the starter next year (I don't think Lobs is), then get him in the trenches and give him some real experience. I also like creating a gap between Tuel and Halliday. We've seen both the L QBs play and they are unimpressive. Let's give Tuel a shot. I think the Lobs starting thing will not last long. We'll either be with Tuel or back to Lopina.

We're not going to win games until the D improves, in the meantime, let's develop the future of our O, maybe score a few TDs and complete a few nice long bombs.

In the meantime, this gives us all a new reason to pay attention to the games.

I've had enough of the excuses about the team not having "proper nutrition" and the team purportedly now eating right, and some of the players working out "getting stronger."

To put it simply, what does this assume the other teams are doing? Don't you think that the other teams' players are also working out and getting stronger?

I'm not saying that they shouldn't do all they can to improve the strength and speed of the players and to get them eating right. That's one of the few things (along with game planning and motivation) that they can do to try to win some games with the players they have.

But to think that the focus on "proper nutrition" and working out is somehow going to magically cause our players to become significantly faster and stronger than their counterparts at other schools (who are also, presumably, eating right and working out) is nonsense.

The biggest problem we have is a lack of team speed, as some of the authors here have noted. Strength training can improve sprint times, true, but it's not going to turn a plodder into a burner, especially when we're talking about BCS-level athletes who have been lifting and training since junior high.

You said it yourself, Jenkins... "Other teams are doing it". So we have to too and we weren't.

It is no canard that strength, conditioning and nutrition were an issue when this staff showed up. That is how big of a rebuilding effort this was. They had to start with fundamentals like that. Div 1 athletes have special meals called training tables that are like a buffetgasm for the ages. Believe it or not, the players weren't even showing up for that.

If we burn his redshirt, Tuel better start at least half of the games we have left. I'm okay with the idea of giving him game experience right now, but Wulff better ACTUALLY GIVE him a lot of real game experience. I can already see how this is going to go...Tuel will end up playing this Saturday and then he'll only play a series or two each game and it will be a waste of an ENTIRE year of eligibility on just a few series of real game experience...

Jimmy Mac,

I'm so afraid I agree with you. I'm afraid this year is going to turn into the Lobster show, with just a few spot performances in fourth quarter mop up time against the third string for Tuel. Complete waste.

IF they play him start him NOW.

NorCalCoug,

Good point about spacing out Tuel and Halliday.

KoprovicaHater,

Don't EVER hate on Lopina. I don't care if he's a bit short on D-1 talent at the QB. Lopina is a MAN. He's play with a broken back and no O-line man. He's a I'm not quitting when everyone else is man. He's an 'I'll bust my butt and prove you all wrong' and improve tremendously in the off-season and start man. He's the I'll take this team on my back even if I'm not as good as some and take it somewhere (like not rolling over in the Apple Cup).

Imagine last year WITHOUT the win over the Huskies. Without Lopina, that's what you have. That is the only thing we could glory in all last year. And that was Lopina.

I'm a teacher, not a businessman, but if I were, I would hire Lopina. Don't ever hate on him.

We need some leadership,we have talent.We need leaders on our coaching staff.Excuses will not cut it.We lack D1 coaching experence.We Need a Defence.We have no leadership there,we set a record for must points last year.We need special teams coach,we need a offence cordinator with D1 know how.Putting Tuel in now is a move that will get him hurt.This was a experiment that is going bad, bringing these coaches in.That might have work at eastern but this is the big leagues,there in over there head,a person going under water takes all with him

And you apparently lack a spacebar.

there where very nice people and had a lot to say about the program and WSU in general. In all they said they believe in Wulff. Right off the bat the coaching staff told Lopina that they where sorry and that we would be playing for a losing effort and he understood the situation. His parents even understood the situation and felt that it will take a few more years, that the situation was so bad coming in that there was no way anyone could win. Lopina's father was adamant that this was a 4 year process, that Wulff needed to build depth and have Juniors and Seniors playing. People need to remember that this is not the NFL, you cannot just change overnight. Kids need to grow and develop. If you look at come of the upper end programs you will see that it took years for the coaching staff to get things on track. Look at Virginia Tech. Not sure but I believe it took Beamer 4 or 5 years before they started winning. I too am frustrated but give it time. No coach would win right now with what we have. If Lopina's parents understand this, maybe we should as well.

" From up above, it was easy to understand what Wulff was talking about when he mentioned stuff left on the field. By that, he meant there were possible big plays that were missed by Kevin Lopina. We’ll tell you of one. After Lopina found Jeshua Anderson on a go-route for 44 yards, the Cougars called a pass play on the other side of the field. Daniel Blackledge was running down a seam in the middle, Tony Thompson just to the outside of him and Jeshua Anderson down the sideline. The reads are, in order, Blackledge, Thompson, and then Anderson. Because a safety bit on the play fake, Blackledge was open, wide open. Thompson was open, though there was a safety between him and Anderson. For some reason, Lopina ignored Blackledge and Thompson and tried to hit Anderson again. He was the only one of the three the safety could recover and defend. He did and the pass fell incomplete. … One other thing. Talking with some of the players, I’ve heard over and over about Marshall Lobbestael and Jeff Tuel and the extra hours they spend in the film room, doing everything they possibly can to get ready for the game. That’s earned their peers’ respect. I haven’t heard that about anyone else"