Thought it would be fun to do the old EA "Super Sim" feature for the Stanford - WSU game with NCAA '10, just to see what might happen. It played out in a semi-realistic manner too, not bad for a videogame. Of course, the wrong team won, but whatever. The game was played entirely as a simulation, where the plays were called and players controlled CPU vs. CPU style. However to simulate the two-QB system that we will see tomorrow, I did go in and substitute the WSU QB's, each for a different quarter of play.
Stanford got out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, including a shocking, 75-yard TD pass to Ryan Whalen who got behind the secondary on the second play of the game, 7-0 Cardinal. After a three-and-out by WSU, Stanford would churn out a long scoring drive, highlighted by short TD run by backup running back Jeremy Stewart, 14-0 Cardinal.
Meanwhile, Kevin Lopina started and played the entire first quarter, but struggled without leading the team on a scoring drive before giving way to Marshall Lobbestael in the 2nd. Lobbestael immediately led the team on a TD drive, marching the Cougs 80 yards on nine plays, as James Montgomery took one in from seven yards out to cut it to 14-7. Stanford would then come right back down the field themselves, converting several 3rd-and-short plays, and finally scoring a TD as Toby Gerhart dove over from the one with 25 seconds left in the half. 21-7 Stanford at the intermission.
Lopina back in to start the third quarter, and right out of the chute, led the team to a TD. The highlight of the drive was a 57-yard pass to Dwight Tardy out of the backfield, setting up first-and-goal. Tardy would score on the next play, 21-14. Check the vid:
From there, both defenses stepped up at that point, and it was a battle back and forth the rest of the way. Just when you thought Kevin Lopina was solidifying the QB job by getting something done, he came out at the end of the third quarter with a shoulder injury, so it was Lobbestael the rest of the game. Marshall struggled however, as you'll see from the final stats below, getting the team past midfield just once in four fourth-quarter possessions. Stanford kicked a field goal late after a 13-play, clock-sucking drive which featured several Toby Gerhart conversions on third and short. 24-14 is your final.
Stanford QB Andrew Luck didn't play very well, but did just enough to stay out of trouble. But none of the QB's did much of anything, sort of a sloppy affair reminiscent of the Oregon - Boise State game last night? Defensively, Bernard Wolfgramm announced his Cougar presence with authority, racking up some tackles for loss and a couple of sacks. Welcome to the PAC-10 Bernard!
Kinda hard to talk about the Cougs right out of that gates, given the fact that the season started off with such a trainwreck of a game in Boise last night. WOW! Personally, I'm not sure what was worse, the performance by Oregon on the field, Blount's behavior after the game, or the assault on my eyes, just looking at those two teams on that turf. It looked like Leroy Neiman got drunk at the county fair and decided to do some spin art.
There has been much debate over exactly who invented the game of "Gridiron" Football, but I think it's a safe bet that whomever it was, did not have THAT in mind when they did it.
So...thank you, LaGarrette Blount for giving us plenty to discuss today...
If you haven't seen it yet.....ESPN.com already had the video taken down. But there is this pic:
Sutra said it online last night, "This is a real defining moment in the Kelly program. Lose Blount and you may lose the season, but you save the program. Keep Blount and the dismantling of Oregon has just begun."
Hellllloooooo Coug Fans. Yep, another year, ready for take-off. And another Football Friday (only on Thursday). We did our best last year to keep up the collective Crimson Chins of all of you as the season wore on, death march-style. No, it wasn't easy, for any of us. But hey, we survived. It's a new day, and everyone's unbeaten (at least until later tonight)! We're all still alive! So let's get going on week I of XII, Football Friday on Thursday, where you'll get the thoughts on this week's game from the WSU Football Blog roster.
The Harbaugh's come to town, and it's what we've been waiting for all year long. Finally, the chance of chances to wash that horrific taste out of the collective mouths of Cougar Nation. So many bitter pills swallowed last fall, week after week, and now, finally, a chance to turn it all around. But all that big-picture philosophical stuff, that's for another day. Today, we look at Stanford Cardinal....
To me, there's three key things for this week's game, and here they are: (but first, a side-note. You'll likely find these so-called "keys to the game" pretty much EVERYWHERE else on these here world wide webs. We aren't reinventing the wheel. Most of this is pretty obvious what WSU has to do to try and win this game??)
HOLY TOLEDO it's another year of radio show recaps. Where exactly did the summer go again? Just amazing. Anyone notice time goes faster and faster the older you get? Anywho, if you are new to our little site, you might not know that we (as in me) did a written recap of Paul Wulff's weekly radio call-in show last year. We even recapped Doba's shows before that. It's kind of a thing we do, mainly for the out-of-towners who can't hear the show and they don't stream the show online. And there's always some good nuggets to take from the show. But I have to admit that it's kind of fun to hear Wulff talk about the prior week and focus on the upcoming game, what's going on with the team, a few anecdotes here and there, etc. I like to listen to the tone of his voice, the emotion, to try and get a read on what's going through his mind. It's hard to do that just reading what he says all the time. But the radio show, I guess it's your basic fireside chat with coach Wulff. Oh yeah, and we aren't big-n-fancy "credentialed media", so we don't get direct access to coach Wulff. So this is our only chance to hear his words.
This year I'm going to do my best to keep it short as I can. We'll go with a "Top Ten" things to take from the show. So, with that, here we go:
Just some afternoon quick-stuff to carry you through the day.
1) Many have seen it already, but this week's release is up. I don't think anyone is too shocked by what we see? Other than perhaps Jason Stripling starting at weakside linebacker in place of a still-healing Louis Bland? Here's hoping Louis can get back soon. But Stripling was an intriguing guy when he first appeared in Pullman, one of the Texas kids who looked awfully promising on the recruiting tapes and such. Injuries have derailed him a bit, but hey, he's back, bigger than ever (225 lbs now as a converted safety) and it's his last chance as a senior. Who knows, maybe he'll play well? It's been a while.
They still have that pesky "OR" next to the QB names, even though the world knows Lopina will start. Maybe it's a pretty strong reminder that while Lopina trots out under center for the first snap of the season Saturday afternoon, Marshall will be getting loose on the sidelines. I think we see both of these kids, quite a bit actually, through the first few games.
2) A decent highlight of Stanford's spring scrimmage is available. The reason I show it here is to see some video of Andrew Luck at QB throwing some nice balls.
You can see he can move too. Look around the 40-second mark of the tape as he moves to his left and then flicks his wrist to a wide-open WR down the middle. I know there has been talk about Luck being young, and has a big arm, but there is also word that the kid has some great feet. 6-4, 225, and runs a reported 4.7 40, we'll see for sure in a few days.
3) NFL rosters are being trimmed this week, and of course, next week's final cut will happen as the LEAGUE gets ready for 2009. Michael Bumpus, who barely got on the field this preseason, was cut today by the Hawks, per Ian at KJR. Too bad. I thought he was a nice story last year, where he made the team as an undrafted free agent and even caught at TD pass early in the year. But that was about it. Maybe he'll land back on the practice squad and he can have another year of learning how to be a pro wide receiver? Good luck Bump, we'll always love you around here!
That's about it for now. Enjoy the rest of your day, and GO COUGS!
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The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 