That was some shootout last night in Texas, huh?  Victory Bell can't recall such an offensive performance, and it certainly was nothing like the last time a school from Washington took on Baylor down in San Antonio (WSU 10, Baylor 3, 1994 Alamo Bowl)....What is even more amazing is how that game absolutely played out like a typical NBA game - the "home" team comes out hot out of the gates and builds a big lead (Baylor, 21-7).  Then the visitors catch fire, exert everything they have and come roaring back to eventually take the lead (42-24).  Finally, the better home team gets it's act together, puts on a show to finish it out and, well, 67-56 later the Bears walk out winners while the Christian Caple's trudge out of the building feeling like they woulda-coulda-shoulda.

And I know we all love Marshawn Lynch in the great NW, but did YA SEE Terrance Ganaway of Baylor??  Chris Polk got the hype coming in as the best running back on the field, but Ganaway had more yards, yards per carry and TD's on the season compared to Polk.  A ripped 240 pound beast of power and speed, what a flippin' nightmare compliment to RGIII and what they can do in the air. 

It seemed like UW decided they simply were not going to let Baylor beat them deep and played the safeties and corners soft all night long, but that left a heck of a lot of room for Ganaway and others to rush for an embarrassing 482 rushing yards and EIGHT TD's!?!?  And what a night for Nick Holt, eh?  777 total yards allowed, 67 points, it just boggles the mind.  And where was Alameda Ta'Amu, wasn't he supposed to be the anchor of the defense or something?  Isn't that him in the background of the picture, about 30 yards behind the play and sucking wind??  The size of some of those holes that Ganaway and company got to exploit up front were just unreal.

That said.....Keith Price, WOW.  They said he was as healthy as he had been all season, and did he ever put on a show.  438 yards, and he just kept them moving all night long until the very end.  I know he'll only be a junior next year, but after what we've seen so far of him in 2011 and the way he ended the season, is there any doubt that he should at least show up on some preseason Heisman watch lists?  The conference will belong to Matt Barkley as far as QB's go next year, but even this old WSU Victory Bell can take off the crimson oversized novelty sunglasses and realize that Price is really, really, REALLY good.

But it also has to be said that both Baylor and the Caple's need to learn a thing or two about, you know, what's that word?  Oh yeah, DEFENSE.  As in how to cover, tackle, get off blocks, in other words stop the opposing team from getting the ball into the end zone.  While it was an offensive fireworks show the likes we've never seen in a BCS bowl game, neither team really showed much of a pulse on that side of the ball.  Yeesh.  But hey, everyone loves the Longball!  And we love points and touchdowns, especially out west.

I sincerely hope Mike Leach and the rest of the Coug coaches were watching every minute of that game last night.  I hope he finds a defensive coordinator that has a clue about how to slow down the opponent.  Offense is fun and puts butts in the seats, but when you score 56 points and lose by double digits, something is very wrong.  As a fan I sure don't want to be on the other end of losing shootout after shootout.  I mean offense is fun, but come on!

In other news, in another sport that saw absolutely no defense being played, the Cougs laid a major egg in Spokane last night, losing to the Quacks 92-75.  Oregon shot a riDUNKulous 69% or something, and never trailed in the easy conference opener.  Could be a LONG season on the hardwood folks.  I don't think I'll be doing much ringing this winter.

Happy New Year, and may there be plenty of chances for old VB to ring up on the hill after football wins next fall!

Spangle, WA (AP)- On a cold, crisp Wednesday morning at Liberty High School in Spangle, WA—a morning that reminded some of Barack Obama’s campaign announcement in Illinois four years prior—Vince Grippi stepped up to the microphone, his voice bellowing over the capacity crowd….

“Today,” said Grippi, “We stand before you to make the announcement we've all been waiting for….Because today, right here at the great high school that we drive by five or six times a week but have never stopped at before....We declare to each and every one of you that we are free at last! Thank god almighty, we are free at last!”

And, as the capacity crowd roared with approval, Mr. Grippi's Press Secretary, Brian Floyd, helped Mr. Grippi remove the corduroy blazer that Floyd reportedly gave him (as a Christmas gift) last week....

“Because today, citizens of Spangle," Grippi cried, "I’m here to tell you that you no longer have to abide by the petty, meaningless, Leftist ideology of mainstream newspapers and media.  Because today, dear citizens of Spangle, we will make history!.... Because today, we leave our full-time jobs in pursuit of the University of California, Irvine Hall of Fame!” 

(read on)

"Bridgeport: The Simon to Huddy's Garfunkel" 

Good morning and happy hump day, Cougs! It's the last hump day of 2011 and it's been quite a year. For me personally, this week marks an anniversary of sorts. It was at this time a year ago that I was waiting to hear back from the Blogfathers as to whether or not they would be welcoming to the team. (SPOILER ALERT -- they said yes) Since the good news came, I've enjoyed the challenge of writing on This Here Blog, even if it's been about disappointing results on the various fields of play much of the time. In the spirit of year-end sentimentality, I want to once again thank my cohorts on the site and send a huge thank you to all the readers who make this gig so much fun. Also in the spirit of year-end sentimentality (and as mandated by internet protocol), I considered making this a Best/Worst of 2011 post. Besides, as the site's Senior Recent History Analyst, it seemed a natural fit. You may or may not be asking what qualifies me as a Senior Recent History Analyst. Well, it's a combination of exhaustive research and in depth statistical analysis. As I started thinking about 2011, though, I realized it might be fairly depressing to relive much of what happened with the Cougs. It would have turned into one big Worst of 2011 list and would surely jeopardize my title as the WSU Football Blog Senior VP of Optimism. Fortunately for you readers, I am also the blog's Senior Current Events Analyst so you will have some reading material as you all embark on your holiday meal induced #2's. So let's take a quick whip around Cougar Nation and maybe a couple other places, not so quick hit style....but first, Tonto!jump on it, jump on it. Kemosabi! jump on it, jump on it.

Happy Tuesday Cougar Fans!

It's been a while since you heard from us, and for that we apologize. I'm not even sure that I have visited this site since last Wednesday, with all of the holiday hoopla and a long, four day weekend.

But truly, what's more important than spending time with your family during the Holidays? Whether you celebrate Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanza, Hanukkah or Festivus, I hope 2011 was a great one for you.

Not much has changed for Wazzu in the last week or so, other than the b-ball team continung their six game roll to finish out-of-conference play, with a ho-hum win over Pepperdine last Thursday at Key Arena. This weekend, the Cougs will head north to the Lilac City to take on the Oregon schools to pen up our inaugural season of Pac 12 play. Click the jump for a few more thoughts. no comments

Alex Jackson probably didn't get tackled here.

Hey, Cougs! It's me, Huddy, again. It's still Hump Day and I've got more to say! Don't worry, though. There will be no caroling this time. If you happened to check out Cougfan today and it didn't happen to destroy your hard drive, you'd have seen that Mike Leach and his band of merry coaches have picked up three verbal commitments. The first, Feddie Davey, a DB from Florida looked like more of the same recruiting news to which we've grown accustomed, insofar as we had beaten out the likes of Florida Atlantic and Southern University for his services. Unless he's also a musician, beating out Southern University, is not noteworthy. I will say, though, that the kid appears to have some swagger and the Florida thing has been working out pretty well so I was being open-minded. Then within a matter of hours, verbal commitments from a couple three star kids at Michael Bumpus' alma mater rolled in. Boom and Pow. Alex Jackson, a really fast looking wide receiver and Khalil Pettway, a really badass looking linebacker have both pledged their services to the Cougs.  

Did the fun times stop there? Well, no. No did they not. I hopped on the Twitter (shameless plug: follow me @Huddlestron) for more news and ran across the news that Gabe Marks has de-committed from SMU. Where is Gabe Marks visiting very soon? If you guessed, Washington State, you're a big winnner. For the star gazers out there, Mr. Marks comes with four of them. Of course, the good news wasn't done yet. The lovely Laken Litman, also tweeted that Gabe's teammate Robert Lewis may soon follow suit and decommit. Lewis appears to also be very much in play for Coach Leach. I love you, Laken Litman.

The story of the 2012 recuriting class figures to have plenty of twists and turns between now and February, but it's pretty clear that the new staff has hit the ground running. For the first time that I can remember, we may be the beneficiary of late changes of heart from some kids.

While the Marks and Lewis situations are far from done deals, this is all still pretty damn exciting. I'm gonna have a mini celebration now. How you ask? Duh.

Go Cougs.