Cougar Football, On and Off the Field

New Coach for the Cougars

2007-12-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

It seems the Cougars have found a replacement for Bill Doba. And no, its not former coach Mike Price. Instead, Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff will become the new WSU head man.

for full story, click here

2007-11-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else notice the scoreboard early during the Apple Cup? Apparently WSU had -24 rushing yards, 861 passing yards, and .99 total yards!

Doba Fired

2007-11-26T14:49:00.001-08:00

The Cougars let Bill Doba go today.

Read the full story
DOBA

Poll Question

2007-11-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Cougar Football 08' - 09'

2007-11-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

The Cougars are going to have a lot of rebuilding to do next year. For the most part they will have to completely re-establish the foundation of the football program. Not only are we loosing some key seniors, including our quarterback for the past 4 years, Alex Brink; but announced today was the decision to fire head coach Bill Doba.

On top of that, the recruiting game on our part has been horrible as we only have 3 committed players at this time - Dan Spitz, Tim Hodgdon, and Jared Karstetter - none of which are QB's.

If people thought the last two years were bad...

One Season Over, One Getting Rolling

2007-11-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Cougars football team finished the season 5-7 this year. Their were highlights such as the win in Seattle, beating Idaho and of course winning the apple cup. However, it is another season without a bowl game.

The basketball team on the other hand is just getting rolling. They are 6-0, after sweeping a Round Robin Tournament over the weekend in Spokane. The Cougars are now ranked #6 in the country in both the Ap and Espn/USA today polls. You can see the full polls here polls

Also here are recaps from this weekends games.
Friday over Montana
Saturday Over Mississippi Valley State (Amazing defensive performance)
Sunday over Air Force

Beautiful Day

2007-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a recap of a truly memorable Apple Cup.

The season may be forgettable when all is said and done, but this year's Apple Cup was absolutely one to remember. Records were broken left and right and the winning touchdown pass was from Brink to Gibson. It really couldn't have ended much prettier than that.

We need to bask in this moment while we can. Brink's four years are over and Doba's future is uncertain. Apparently, an announcement will be made on Monday in regards to Doba's future. Whatever the decision, the Cougs will begin a new era next season. Frankly, we need one. I won't be here to enjoy it, but I'd love to see highly ranked basketball and football programs at WSU.

Dad's Weekend a Good One

2007-11-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

I'd say this weekend was the best Dad's Weekend I have had in my four years at WSU. Being able to watch the ranked basketball team win Friday, the football team keep their bowl hopes alive on Saturday, and the Doobie Brothers on Saturday as well definetely made for a good weekend. The announcement that Elton John is coming for Mom's Weekend was also one of the highlights of the weekend. Last year my dad flew out from Korea to watch us lose to Arizona, so this years football game made his trip a litle more worth it. The only thing i was wondering is why Doba kept going for it on fourth down...

Some Youtube videos of the Cougs

2007-11-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Cowgill dunk against Oral Roberts in 2007 NCAA tournament

Aron Baynes dominating Oregon State

A tribute to the 2006-2007 team

A huge hit by Saftey Xaier Hicks

Good weekend for the Cougs

2007-11-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

The winning began on friday with the Cougar Basketball team easily defeating Eastern Washington. The Cougars were lead by Aron Baynes, who had 15 points and 3 rebounds. Robbie Cowgill and Derrick Low also contributed in double figures. Eastern was lead by Milan Stanojevic, who had 11 points. The final score was the Cougars 68 and the Eagles 41.

For more on the game, check these sites out.

Box Score

Recap

Then on Saturday afternoon the football team kept up the winning, beating Stanford 33-17. Senior Quarterback Alex Brink threw for 449 yards and a touchdown. The TD broke the WSU record for career touchdowns previously held by Jason Gesser.

The Cougs never trailed in the game, and ran away with it in the end. A 4th quarterback interception by Hussein Abdullah was returned for a touchdown to ice the game. To read more about the game, check these out.

Box Score

Recap

Also, the Womens soccer team won 1 of 2 games this weekend against nationally ranked opponents. They lost 2-0 on Friday to Number 1 ranked UCLA. They where able to come back on Sunday and defeat number 4 ranked USC 2-1. The win broke a 13-match losing streak against top 5 opponents for the Cougars. To read more about the games check these out.

WSU vs. UCLA

WSU vs. USC

Cougar Basketball wins First exhibition game

2007-11-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday WSU Defeated LCSC in an Exhibition Game, 80-42. The Cougars were led by Daven Harmeling's 17 points. Caleb Forrest chipped in 13, and Aron Baynes had 10. The #10 ranked Cougars were never challenged by an opponent who was outclassed. The Cougars first regular season game is Friday 10/9 against Eastern Washington. The game shouldn't be much of a challenge for the Cougs, especially since Eastern's star from last year, Rodney Stuckney, is now in the NBA.

For a complete recap of the game go here

Also, the boxscore can be seen here

Cougar Basketball is on the Rise

2007-11-04T17:19:00.000-08:00

I've been reading various polls and opinions around the Internet and all of them rank the Cougars in the Top 10 in the country. We're ahead of teams the likes of Duke, Gonzaga, and Kentucky. Remarkable. Last season, we came out of nowhere; this year, we will be on everyone's radar, and I think that is just how Tony Bennett wants it. This season will be one to remember. Click here for a good breakdown of every team in the Pac-10.

No Bowl game this year....

2007-11-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Cougars fell to the California Golden Bears Saturday night, 20-17. That dropped the Cougars to 3-6, and ensured once again they would not have a winning record. There were plenty of chances to win this game, but the team was forced to settle for field goals until a late touchdown with merely 30 seconds left in the game.

A complete recap can be found here

Not Cougar related, but definetly worth looking at!

2007-10-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Maybe the craziest college football play of all time. Little bit like the infamous Cal/Stanford play, but i think even more unreal.

Cougs over Bruins, 27-7

2007-10-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a recap from the much needed 27-7 Cougar victory over the Bruins on Saturday.

I can't even begin to describe how nice it was to see such a sound victory over a highly ranked team. After the quick touchdown by UCLA, I braced myself for another sound thrashing. However, WSU defense did not relent after that point. Holding UCLA to that single touchdown is hopefully a sign of things to come in terms of our defensive play. And Tardy put up a Harrisonesque performance with 214 rushing yards and two touchdowns. These game stats and others can be found here.

Saturday was a beautiful day on the Palouse. After the Oregon loss, we needed a shot in the arm, and I think this was just the kind of performance to do so. Whatever Doba and company figured out for this win, they better remember it for the rest of the season. Pullman wants a bowl game.

WSU vs. UCLA preview

2007-10-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

THis game is huge for the Cougars, as they need to win to remain bowl eligible. While it is a very unlikely the Cougars will make it to a bowl, it is still something to strive for. The game is also huge for UCLA, who is currently tied with ASU for first in the Pac-10 with a 4-0 conference record. The Bruins, who are 5-2 overall, have been playing their best against good teams this year.

Against two of their poorest opponents, Notre Dame and Utah, the Bruins where upset. Utah was winless when they played the Bruins, and went on to rout them, 44-6. UCLA was ranked in the top 25 at the time of that lost. Notre Dame was 0-5 when they went into California and stunned the Bruins 20-6. Notre Dame has since lost its next two games, including a 38-0 defeat at the hands of USC.

These two losses should give the Cougars hope, as bad competition has given the Bruins the most trouble. And right now, the Cougars would definetly be classified as bad competition.

WSU is coming off a bye week, so the Cougs should be rested and healthy. They will need to play much better than against Oregon if they hope to have a chance. Defensively, WSU can not give up 40 points in the first half and hope to have a chance. Offensively, the Cougars offense needs to score more than 7 points a game. Really basic stuff to be truthful.

Maybe the week off taught the Cougs how to play football again. We can only hope. And if not, Basketball season starts November 9, at 6:30 pm against Eastern Washington University, at Beasley Coliseum.

Pac-10 bottom feeders

2007-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Check This Out

Those are the current Pac-10 standings. Frankly, they are absolutely embarassing. In Pac-10 play the Cougars are winless in four games, but thats not the most troubling thing. They have been outsocred 171-61 or an average game of 42.75 to 15.25. Yeah, they are losing by 27+ points a game. So to win the Cougars would need a whooping 4 more touchdowns per game. Thats insane to think about.

The Cougars do have some company in last place however. The University of Washington is also 0-4 in the Pac-10, and have been outsocred 170-109. This entire state should be embarassed by its college football teams right now. The Apple Cup could pit a 2-9, 0-8 in Pac-10 Wazzu team against a 2-9, 0-8 in Pac-10 UW team. Wow. That would be the least entertaining and most meaningless Apple Cup game of all time.

At least UW has the excuse that they might play the hardest schedule in the country this year. WSU does not have that luxury. The team is simply bad, and getting worse from week to week. This week's bye gave the team team to heal from injuries, but is that really going to do anything? It may be time to start letting younger guys play more to see what we can do. Build around a core of Christian Ivory, Jeshua Anderson, Andy Mattingly and others. Give Kevin Lipona a shot at QB, because Brink is stinking up the joint. Sure, he has all kinds of WSU passing records, but his win percentage in the Pac-10 is awful over his four years.

Changes need to happen. WSU should not be the worst team in the Pac-10.

Fun In Eugene!...Kind Of.....

2007-10-16T21:53:00.001-07:00

I traveled eight hours to Eugene, Oregon this past weekend with seven of my closest friends with the expectation of a somewhat decent football game against the University Of Oregon on Saturday. A good game is not at all what I got.

First of all, the heckling wasn't even bad before the game as we donned our Cougar gear. It made me realize how brutal the heckling can be in Pullman if you are a fan of the visiting team. However, the heckling got bad at halftime when we left the game, since we were losing 40-0. People were making fun of us, and they had every right to. I had never been more embarrassed in my life.

After the game we went back to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter house at the University of Oregon, where we were staying, and changed out of our WSU clothes so that we could go walk around again. We went to several bars, including Taylors and Rennies, which are right on campus. The rest of the weekend was pretty fun, but not as fun as the weekends are in Pullman. All in all it was a pretty fun weekend with friends, but the game was unbelievably embarrassing. Hopefully they make some coaching staff changes pretty soon.

Embarassing.

2007-10-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Thats about the only word to describe how the Cougars played on Saturday. They trailed 40-0. At halftime. The final score was 53-7, but the Ducks could have easily scored more if they hadn't been playing their 5th stringers.
Espn Recap

The lone bright spot for the Cougars was Freshman Jeshua Anderson. He caught 4 passes for 127 yards, his first career 100 yard game. The running game, Quarterback, Defense and everyone else stunk the joint up. I don't know if the Cougars will win another game. 2-10 seems likely and that is acceptable.

Basketball practice started though, so at least we got something positive going on. Pre-season number 7 and an easy Non-Conference schedule. Cowgill, Weaver and crew give Cougar fans something to look forward to in the coming months.

WSU vs. U of O Game

2007-10-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

Couple of shots from gameday in Eugene... a day we should all probably forget.

The End of Doba?

2007-10-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

With the Cougars losing on Saturday to slip to 2-4, 0-3 in the Pac-10 we may be witnessing the end of an era. Well, is it still called an era when its year after year of losing? Anyways, the calls for Doba's head are getting louder and Athletic Director Jim Sterk may need to make a move. A group has formed on facebook about firing Bill Doba as well. Fire Bill Doba . Check it out if your not a Doba fan. And who is these days?

The question of who would replace him may be the biggest problem. Mike Price is a popular choice among the fans, but thats not gonna happen. After the way he parted and the scandal at Alabama, Sterk has made it clear he has no interest. WSU's remote location and small stadium make it hard to attract a top tier coach as well. The Cougars may be forced to pull a coach from a smaller school that is doing well(or better than the Cougs at least) or try and attract an NFL assistant.

WSU does not have the money to get a really big name like UW or USC could. We do have marketable assets however. A newly refurbished stadium will be completed in the coming years, and will help attract recruits. The Cougars need to find a coach who can lead the Cougars into a new era of excellence.

Heartbreaker

2007-10-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

We needed that win. We are now 0-3 in the Pac-10. A win against a ranked team would have done a great deal for our shaken confidence. Instead, a pulled field goal attempt with seconds left on the clock left a hopeful crowd utterly silent. I hate to be such a pessimist, but I don't see us rallying back from that one. A solid defensive outing was somewhat encouraging to see, but when we couldn't convert it into a 'W,' it's a bit of a moot point. Of course, we could have used those four points that were robbed from us on a 2nd quarter touchdown drive that sadly ended with a field goal. Boy those Pac-10 refs are real pros aren't they? Scumbags.

Click here for a game recap from Fox Sports.

Homecoming Weekend?

2007-10-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Is anybody else nervous about the game against Arizona State on Saturday? It normally woudln't be an issue for me, but seeing how we have played so far this season I feel like a lot of people might experience a dismal end to the homecoming week. I personally am making up for the potential sad weekend by having as much fun as possible this homecoming week. Tonight is games night, time to represent!!

Coach poll

2007-10-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

Other Cougar Athletics

2007-10-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it took so long to get these up. What we call a football team has been taking up a lot of attention, with their abysmal defensive and mediocre offense how could it not though?

Womens Tennis
In late september the Cougar Women's tennis team hosted the Cougar Classic. WSU did very well in the tournament, sending multiple players into later rounds of the tournament. Ekaterina Burduli defeated Boise State's Bianca Jochimsen 6-0, 6-4 to capture the number 1 singles title. She has a preseason national rank of No. 113. Also, Freshman Marina Nicolas defeated Anna Gullickson of Portland on route to the No. 3 singles championship. Those were the only Cougar women to win singles championships.

Burduli also played in the All-American Championship on October, 2. Unfortunately she was defeated in the first round by Duke's Tory Zawacki 6-3, 6-0. The Cougars are next in action Oct. 6-8 at the USTA NTC Women's College Tennis Invitational, held at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York.

Women's Volleyball
The volleyball team began play in late August, and started very quickly. They won their first 6 matches, and 8 of their first 9. Unfortunately, their luck has turned as of late. The Cougar women dropped 4 straight matches heading into Pac-10 play, and then were defeated by Oregon State, Oregon and Washington to extend their losing streak to 7. This dropped their overall record to 9-9. This Thursday and Friday the Cougars will play against Arizona and Arizona State, and hopefully turn their luck around.

Women's Soccer
The women's soccer team has gotten off to a hot start. They are current 7-1-2, and have held a national top 25 ranking. The one loss was a heart breaking 1-0 loss on the road to UNLV. They Cougars have one more non-conference game, a second meeting with Idaho, before they begin Pac-10 play on Oct. 12 at Arizona. The game against Idaho is Friday Oct. 5 in Moscow at Guy Wicks Field. Their is no charge to attend this game.

Currently Buzz Magazine ranks the team 30th nationally and 8th in the West region. NSCAA national rankings mirror those of Buzz Magazine.

Men's Golf
The men's golf team began their season in mid September at the Cobb/Ferrell Mean Green Classic. As a team the Cougars took 5th place, with individuals Austin Hust and Kevin Tucker both tying for 14th place among individuals.

They also played in the Giustina Memorial Class on Spetember 17th and 18th. Against stiffer competition including Pac-10 schools Oregon and Oregon State, the Cougars took 6th place. Nick Grigsby was the top individual finisher, taking 8th place.

The final event which they played in was the Husky Invitational, which was shortened due to weather. The Cougars did not fair as well in this tournmanet, finishing in 13th place. hust was the top finisher once again, tying for 31st place.

That is just a quick recap of some of the sports which WSU is participating in. So go ahead and support all Cougars athletics, even though football is not doing well. Also, basketball practice starts in less than 2 weeks. At least we have one sport too look forward too.

Doba Fans... not really

2007-09-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a recap of the abismal game against Arizona last Saturday. Make sure to read member comments at the bottom of the page. Doba is not exactly the most popular cat on the block. Frustration is seriously mounting in Cougar football country and axing Doba may relieve some frustration for next season. I don't know what kind of contract he has, but it's time for a fresh start. I desperately wanted a 9 or 10 win season during my WSU tenure and it looks like there's no way that's going to happen. Time to wipe the slate clean.

It's Game Time!

2007-09-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday's game against Arizona will be at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. Buy your Busch Light early.

WSU Sports and Comm School Links

2007-09-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Poll Question

2007-09-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

Trojans crush Cougs....Near the end for Bill Doba?

2007-09-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday was not a good day to be a Coug. We flew down to Southern California, and Played a quarter of football. Then we got run over for three straight quarters and ended up losing 47-14. The Cougars scored on their first drive of the game, then only once again. USC Quarterback John David Booty led the Trojan charge, throwing for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns, before giving way to backup Mark Sanchez in the fourth quarter. Each Trojan quarterback was intercepted once.Neither Alex Brink or Gary Rogers was very effective for the Cougars, as combined they went 21 for 43 for 183 and 2 touchdowns. Brink also threw an interception.

The Trojans running game was dominant as well. Eight different players carried the ball 37 times for the Trojans, amassing 207 yards. The Cougars on the other hand had only 64 yards on 27 carriers. Dwighty Tardy was praticularly ineffective, averaging only 2.5 yards a carry.

This game looked like it might be a 2 way, high scoring affair for the first part of the game. However, it seemed as if the Cougs were completely outmanned by the Trojan defense after their first drive. That coupled with the Cougars defense failing to force the Trojans to punt for an entire game lead to this blowout.

Bill Doba was definetly outmatched on the coaching portion of the game by Pete Carroll. Carroll seemed to know what plays Doba was gonna run before Doba himself did. Doba is not known for inventive play calling, but rather more for his defensive prowess. However since he has been coach the Cougars defense has gotten worse every year. This year, they look like they have no idea what they are doing. Idaho scored 28 points against them 2 weeks ago. Idaho.

If the Cougars defense does not step it up the Cougars are once again looking at a mediocre season. With challenging games remaining against UCLA, CAL, Oregon and Arizona State the Cougars better pick it up quickly. Even the University of Washington will likely be favored when the play the Cougs due to the game being in Seattle and the emergence of Jake Locker. if the defense keeps playing as it is now, 6-6 seems like a stretch even. A 4-8 record with once again no bowl game may be what lies ahead for the Cougs. If this is the case, Bill Doba can not be brought back for another season. The Cougars need a coach who will improve the team, not make them worse as Doba has.

Player of the Game: John David Booty

Next game 9/29 at Arizona

Digg This!

Fan Profile

2007-09-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

Name: Dan D.
Hometown: Federal Way, WA
Role: The "!" in "Go Cougs!"
Quote: "Last year we painted our chests to say "cougs" against USC, and when we first got in we lined up out of order and it said "Go USC" and people were actually booing us."

2007-09-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool highlight reel of Cougar football from last season posted by kapoleicoug on YouTube.

Ouch

2007-09-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well that was a brutal game against USC. If you're at all interested in a recap, check this out from Fox Sports on MSN... but I wouldn't recommend it. No place to go but up from here, Cougs.

USC Unstoppable?

2007-09-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well there's 5 minutes left in the first quarter and so far the Cougs actually aren't looking to shabby. It's surprising to see considering our own coach was quoted saying that "[USC] would kill Wisconsin," a team which we played earlier in the season with a less than shabby performance on our part. Against those odds, I am slightly reluctant to cheer with optimism BUT so far the Cougs are making my crimson blood proud. I mean after all we beat Idaho too...

Based on what I've seen so far, if the Cougs can develop some sort of defensive presence, and if Brink can keep getting off quick passes to our eager receivers, Doba might be a little more confident at our next pres conference.

Cougars destroy Vandals at Martin Stadium

2007-09-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Washington State played its first game in the great city of Pullman, and shellacked the Idaho Vandals 45-28. Alex Brink had another huge day at Quarterback, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns. This was the 90th meeting of these two teams from the Palouse, and the Cougars have controlled the series, going 70-17-3.

Along with Brink's big day, Running Back Dwight Tardy was able to eclipse the 100 yard mark once again, while scoring 2 rushing TD's. Micheal Bumpus lead all wide receivers with 8 catches for 118 yards and 2 scores.

This game was close for a half, as the Vandals actually jumped out to 14-7 lead, and the game was tied at 21. However the Cougars scored 10 straight to end the first half, and the game was never in doubt during the second half. Much of this can be accredited to the Cougar defense, who intercepted 4 passes and recovered a fumble.

The attendance for the game of two rivals who call their home a mere eight miles apart was 32,048. Not quite a sellout, but very close to capacity in Martin Stadium. The Cougars have not lost to the Vandals in a while, and that streak seems likely to continue. The series goes on an indefinite break starting next year.

Player of the Game: Alex Brink, who became the Cougars all-time leader in pass completions with 624. He passed Coug great Jason gesser, who held the record before with 611.

So far this season the Cougars offense has been quite prolific, with many players in the top 30 in the country in many stats. Here is a list of some of their current standings:

Alex Brink: 10th in passing yards, 8th in passes completed, 5th in completion percentage, t-8th in td's, and 12th in quarterback rating

Brandon Gibson: 25th in receiving yards and t-5th for recieving touchdowns

Micheal Bumpus: 29th in receiving yards

Dwight Tardy: 30th in rushing yards and t-17th in rushing touchdowns

Also the Cougar offense is tied for 26th in points per game, averaging 37

The Cougars offense will need to continue to play like for the rest of the season if they hope to make a bowl game.

Cougs Really Do Bleed Crimson

2007-09-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Not far from my seat at the Cougar victory over University of Idaho on Saturday, a police officer began to walk up the stairs towards me. As countless numbers of flasks and bottles were being stuffed in coats and down the crotches of pants, he stopped to my right and motioned for a fan to come out of the stands who was standing across the aisle from me. Naturally I thought this young man wasn't able to dispose of his alcohol discretely enough, but in actuality he was bleeding... from his thumb. I was obviously curious so I kept my ears open the best I could and tried to listen to the conversation between the officer and the young man. Apparently, the fan got into a verbal altercation and somehow his thumb ended up in someone's mouth. The rogue biter subsequently tried to crowd surf down the stands to make his escape, but was intercepted by police at the bottom. The questioning between the officer and the victim went something like this:

Officer: Do you know why he bit you?
Victim: I have no idea... he was probably a Huskie.

Laughter then ensued.

The digitally challenged Coug then left with the police officer to give a formal statement. He later returned to the stands to enjoy the rest of the game. Now that's Cougar football.

The First Home Game

2007-09-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

For many students, the Friday before the Cougar game in Seattle was a day to skip classes and get an early start on the drive across the state. On Saturday the Cougars played San Diego State University at Qwest Field for the annual Cougar Gridiron Classic football game. This game is a great opportunity for students to get out of Pullman and enjoy the weekend with thousands of other fans in Seattle.

For freshmen like Bryant Smick and Cantlon Ryan, it was especially exciting considering it was their first football game as WSU students.

“My dad went to WSU, and he always told me about football games when I was younger so I was really excited to go to watch my first game in the student section,” Smick said.

The two freshmen roommates left Pullman bound for Ryan’s home in Kent on Friday afternoon, where they would stay before the game on Saturday.

On Saturday, they drove to Seattle to meet up with friends and family at Qwest Field to tailgate before the game. “We got there about four hours early and just hung out with a bunch of other fans and barbequed,” Ryan said. “It definitely pumped me up for the game.”

“It was pretty awesome how all the parking lots around Qwest Field were filled with other Cougars,” Smick said. “We just took over the city.”

Kickoff was scheduled for 4:00 PM, but many students, including Ryan and Smick, were still trying to get into the stadium. “We thought we went to the entrance early enough, but we didn’t get seats until about halfway through the first quarter,” Ryan said. “The amount of people going to this game kind of caught me off guard.”

“There are typically around six to eight thousand students at this game,” said Jason Sheppard, from the Washington State Athletics ticket office. “That’s not including all of the other fans who purchased tickets, so it can be crazy for someone who’s never been to a game before.”

The Cougars ended up beating San Diego State University by a score of 45-17, causing fans to leave the game happy.

“The atmosphere after the game was so upbeat,” Smick said. “Everybody was giving high fives to each other and yelling out ‘go cougs.’”

“With everyone being so happy I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like after a loss at home,” Ryan said. “Hopefully I don’t have to experience that for the rest of the season.”

The two freshmen drove back to Pullman early Sunday morning along with many other students. “It was a huge caravan of cars all the way back,” Smick said.

“The only bad part of the weekend was the drive home,” Ryan said. “We knew that we had to go back to school on Monday.”

“This was definitely one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time, Smick said. “The drive to Seattle was totally worth it.”

National Rankings

2007-09-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to national college football rankings from MSN/Fox Sports. The site lists rankings from 1 to 119. Washington State is ranked at a dismal #50. I was somewhat surprsied by this, but I suppose I shouldn't be this early on in the season. With quarterback Alex Brink's remarkable performance last weekend however, WSU should be moving steadily up the list. We may not be able to trounce USC or UCLA, but hopefully we'll steal games from teams like Arizona State and Oregon and sprint towards a long overdue showing at a bowl game.

WSU Beats Down San Diego State

2007-09-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Seattle, WA- The Cougars decided that they didn't want to start their season off 2-0, and overcame a sluggish start to beat the Aztecs 45-17. Quarterback Alex Brink had a huge game, throwing for over 400 yards and setting a school record with 38 completions. He also threw for 5 touchdowns with only 1 interception.

The game looked like it might be close in the first quarter, as San Diego State was able to move the ball throughout the first quarter and actually held a 10-7 lead. However, the COugar defense stiffened after this, and the offense took over. Brink was virtually unstppable throughout the game, other than one underthrown pass that got picked off near the endzone near the end of the first half. Also, Brink set a school record was his fourth game throwing for over 400 yards, and his 469 yards were the 3rd most ever by a Cougar, trailing only his 500 yard against Oregon State a few years ago, and a performance by Drew Bledsoe in the 90's.

Some other Cougars had big days, as 4 different recievers caught touchdown passes, with Brandon Gibson catching two. Also, the Cougars had three receivers, Gibson, Micheal Bumpus and Charles Dillon all go over 100 yards receiving. This was first time the Cougars had done this since the 2003 season. Another positive note for the Cougar Wr's was the emergence of true freshgman Jeshua Anderson, who flew by the Aztec defensive for a 39 yard touchdown in the first half. Anderson set a national high school record last year in the 300 meter hurdles. The Cougar coaching staff believes he may be the fastest Wr they have ever coached.

The Cougars were also able to run the ball, finishing with 185 yards on 35 carries. They were led by Dwight Tardy who had 16 carries for 99 and a touchdown. Christian Ivory and Kevin McCall were also successful running the ball.

On Defense, the Cougars did not play well in the first quarter. In the end, they gave up nearly 300 yards passing and a touchdown. However, they were able to intercept one of Aztec quarterbacks Kevin O'Connell passes. They were able to hold them to only 114 yards rushing. The Aztec offense was praticularly ineffective during the 2nd and 3rd quarters, where the Cougars were able to shut them out.

Play of the Game: Cougar WR Jeshua Anderson sprinted past the Aztec defense and ran under a perfectly thrown Alex Brink for a 39 yard touchdown that put the COugars comfortably ahead during the second quarter. It was Anderson's first career catch.

Players of the Game: WSU WR's/TE's- Combined for 5 td's and made many extraordinary catches.

Next up for the Cougars is a game Saturday vs. Idaho at 7pm in Pullman.

This weekend was not only good for the Cougars, but for almost all of the Pac-10. THe conference went 7-1, with Oregon State being the only team to lose. These wins included a huge upset by the University of Washington over 22nd ranked Boise State. Huskies fan have hope for the first time in years, thanks to freshman sensation quarterback Jake Locker.

Also, the Seattle Seahawks won their season opener in Seattle against the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The final score was 20-6, and the Buc's were unable to score after the first quarter. The Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander who had 27 carries for 105 yards and a TD>

WSU vs Wisconsin recap

2007-09-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the Cougars did not have the season opening game we all hoped for. The Cougars stayed close with Wisconsin for a quarter, but in the end did not have the firepower on offense to keep up with Badgers. The final score was Wisconsin 42-WSU 21. On offense, their were a few bright spots for the Cougars.

Quarterback Alex Brink started strong, and had a pretty good game. He was 17 for 27 passing for 171 yards and a touchdown. He also had a career best 27 yard scramble. Running backs Christian Ivory and Dwight Tardy combined for over 100 yards and 2 td's, but were not verye ffective in the second half. Much of this was due to the Cougars trailing and being forced to pass.
Wide Reciever Brandon Gibson led the Cougars with 6 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. It was a good start for the junior who is expected to be a breakout star for the Cougars this year, filling the void left by Jason Hill.

Defensively, the Cougars did a good containing the Badgers high powered running game. P.J Hill was held to 84 yards rushing, but did score 2 rushing touchdowns. Unfortunately the Badgers passing attack was able to move the ball with ease throughout most of the game. Quarterback Tyler Donovan had a huge game, throwing for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns. His number 1 target was Luke Swan, who had career highs in catches with 8, recieving yards with 170 and touchdowns, with 2.

Play(s) of the Game: On the first drive of the game the Cougars were forced to punt. Darryl Blunt had his kick blocked, but was able to pick it up on one hop and rush for an 11 yard gain and a first down. The next play Alex Brink connected on a deep pass to Brandon Gibson, setting up the Cougars first score.

Players of the Game: Wisconsin WR Luke Swan and WSU RB Dwight Tardy

For more info about the game, check out these links
Espn
AP

Next week: WSU vs. San Diego State in Seattle

Is Basketball the New Football?

2007-09-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Will basketball ever overtake football as the premiere sport at WSU?

The Cougars basketball team went 24-6 last season before going to the NCAA tournament. Most importantly for Pullman, we were 13-2 at home. Basketball season was a beautiful time to be a Coug last year. Cougar fans needed some good roundball to wash the bitter taste out of their mouths left by last year's football season.

Football fans thought a bowl game appearance was in the bag last season, but no such luck. The problem is, the Cougs are already showing signs of last year's lackluster 6-6 performance.

They were blown out of the water the first game by Auburn last year. This year against Wisconsin was no different. I know these are highly nationally ranked teams, but WSU is a football school and Pullman is a football town. We need to be able to stand up against these types of ball clubs. Cougar fans can't take another .500 season.

What they are primed for however is more basketball. Coach Tony Bennett will undoubtedly be hungry after his amazing season and praise that flooded in from around the country. He surely does not want the '06-'07 season remembered as a fluke and will be looking to take his team to tournament back to back.

Of course Derrick Low (13.7 ppg last season) and Kyle Weaver (11.2 ppg last season) will be back as seniors, arguably the best backcourt in the Pac-10. They've tasted what it's like to win and to have the fans behind them now. There's no way they will give that up their last year at WSU.

So will football fall to the wayside? No, we love our Cougar football and always will. The great thing is, we now have a basketball program that in short order has brought together a school who has had little to cheer about during the fall.

(Statistics used in this article were found here)

Cougar Season Opener Vs. Wisconsin

2007-08-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Cougars kick off the 2007 season Saturday, Sept 1 against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Cougars come into the game as heavy underdogs to the Badgers, who are ranked 7th in both the AP and USA Today polls. The Cougars are coming off a disappointing end to last season, as they ended with 3 consecutive defeats, including ending the season with an embarrassing loss to the University of Washington in the Apple Cup. The motivation from this loss should help the Cougars come out fired up, and give the badgers a run for their money.

On offense, the Cougars return 7 starters including 2nd team all Pac-10 Quarterback Alex Brink. Brink can throw the ball to an array of wide receivers, including potential superstar Brandon Gibson, Michael Bumpus, Charles Dillon and others. However, they did lose Jason Hill who is now on the San Francisco 49er's The trouble may be the offense line, which last year did a poor job protecting Brink. This line was also unable to open many running lanes for the back, as the leading rusher was Dwight Tardy with only 667 yards and 4 touchdowns. The year before Jerome Harrison had led the team, and was among the national leaders with 1900 yards and 16 td's. They will need Tardy to put up Harrison like numbers to compete against Wisconsin and the rest of their tough 2007 schedule. Kicker is another position of problem, as Loren Langley made less than 55% of his field goal attempts last year. Although he is returning for his senior year, he has been replaced by Romeen Abdollmohammadi, who the Cougars hope can be a more effective weapon.

The Cougar defense was not exactly solid last year, and lost many key players. Defensive stars Mkristo Brice and Eric Frampton both graduated and moved onto the NFL. This year's defensive will need to be much better if they hope to be competitive. Wisconsin is starting a new quarterback this year, and getting pressure on him will be key to the Cougars pulling off a huge upset.

Wisconsin is coming off a very successful season, which included 9 consecutive wins to end the season. They defeated Arkansas in a bowl game to conclude the year. Their offense was led by running back P.J Hill and quarterback John Stocco(graduated). Tyler Donovan will replace him, and his play should dictate much of the game. If the cougars can contain Hill and make Donovan beat them, this will give them an actual chance to win.

My prediction is the Cougars will put up a valiant fight and keep the game close at halftime. However, Wisconsin's running game will eventually wear out the Cougar Defense, and this will be the difference in the game.
Wisconsin 38-WSU 24

Links to other previews
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?gameId=272440275&confId=9
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/gamecenter/preview/NCAAF_20070901_WAST@WI
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/preview?gid=200709010036

2007 Cougar Football Schedule

2007-08-29T11:33:00.001-07:00

Here is the 2007 football schedule for the Cougars.

Key home games include the home opener against Idaho on September 15th, Pac-10 opener against Arizona State on October 6th, and a key game against 14 ranked UCLA on October 27.

The Cougars kick off their season this Saturday against the #7 Wisconsin Badgers, in Madison, Wisc. The Cougars are heavy underdogs, and will be looking to pull a huge upset. Last season the Cougars started their season on the road against highly ranked Auburn, but were defeated handily 40-14. Let's hope this season is different and the Cougs can start it off with a bang.

2007 Cougar Football Roster

2007-08-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Click here for the complete roster for the upcoming Cougar season.