Where do we go ? Where do we go? Where do we goooOOO FROM HERE?!

If I could adequately convey wailing the line from UFO's Rock Bottom I would, but I think you get the point. This weekend the Cougars effectively brought the Cougar Nation to rock bottom with their 63-14 loss to the Oregon Ducks. So once again, us fans are left picking up the pieces of a busted season. One in which not much more than a couple of moral victories and some progress will likely be all we can show for all of the Cougars effort. This however does not mean that we as fans should all be filing out of the stadium downtrodden and unhappy with where this ship is headed. Yes there are problems with the players, yes there are problems with on field discipline, yes there are problems with coaching, but this is just the beginning of a ride that can and will end well.

As a fan first and foremost and a critical observer second, this is a hard pill to swallow, but Paul Wulff and his staff are not miracle workers. Bill Doba was and will continue to be the problem for this team for the rest of this year and next year. While it is a widely acknowledged fact that Doba himself was a classy, good guy, the same can not be said of his football team. Thanks to the Seattle Times a few months back we all got a little bit of insight into just how far downhill this program had gone since Doba took over. This is nothing personal against him, Lord knows he was distracted from it himself with his wife battling and succumbing to Cancer. However, the quality of recruits that were brought in during his tenure has caused an inestimable amount of damage to this program. Paul Wulff isn't walking into the same kind of situation Jim Tressel, Rich Rodriguez, or any of the coaches of their ilk have. He hasn't taken over a program loaded with untapped potential that just needed a good leader to bring out the best in the players. He has walked into a problem scenario in which players have been able to run the show free of consequence. Terrible attrition (most of the Texas recruits), bad seeds (Arkelon Hall), and a complete lack of accountability (previous coaching staff), have all led to this team effectively being on the verge of self destruction for years. The fact that they never quite did fully melt down is a testament to the on the field leaders like Alex Brink and Mkristo Bruce who kept giving all they had with the hopes the ship would right itself.

This is the year in which Paul Wulff and his staff are having to figure out whats left. They are effectively trying to piece together a puzzle with nothing but a couple of corner pieces and a half destroyed picture of what this team should look like. Coach Wulff has largely been able to get this team turned around in terms of academics and personal accountability which were both lacking severely under the previous regime. What he hasn't been able to do yet is get some of the guys left over to buy into his system and his on field mentality. It is as plain as day to see who is or isn't trying on the field each and every down. Guys like Xavier Hicks, who has made some mistakes, are obviously buying in as they are the ones flying around and trying to make something, anything, happen for the Cougs. Unfortunately for Wulff he doesn't have enough guys like that to make a starting 11 on either side of the ball and it shows. However, he is making progress as more and more there are guys who are clearly trying harder than they ever did under Doba. He and his staff are also making progress on the recruiting trail and, doubts about Ty Willinghams future at UW aside, making some amazing progress in the battle for Washington's top recruits. He has also made an unpopular move which makes sense for him and his coaches in redshirting JC defensive linemen Bernard Wolfgramm and Jesse Sanchez who will make a much bigger impact next year than they could have this year. Many fans have called this into question, but it has been made clear that the staff would rather have them in the system for a year learning the ins and outs while getting bigger and stronger in the weight room, than trying to go for a quick and dirty payoff this year after some tough on the job training. Keep an eye out next year as big things are expected of these guys.

Wulff has also made it clear that if he could, he would red shirt every true freshman and JC transfer coming into the program. In this case he is putting his money where his mouth is and is travelling a harder road for it. While the Cougars may have made some extra plays this year and come away with an extra win for it, that would still leave them at a whopping 2/3 record which would hurt just slightly less than 1/4 does now. Everything that has been done by this staff has been with an eye toward the future. Jumping ship now, while understandable, just makes us fans look like a bunch of fairweather ninnies who couldn't stick it out until the Cougars were good again. So it is, with an eye to the future, I encourage everyone to stick it out. Marshal Lobbestael looks like the quarterback of the future for the Cougars and it will be fun to watch him develop. The kid looks like he can lead the team, it will be the next couple of years that will determine just how it is he goes down in Cougar Football history, but it looks like he will be special. Watch him develop now and get the new no-huddle in place and in a couple years when guys like James Montgomery are in the backfield and they are both lighting up the scoreboard it will be good times in Pullman again. Couple that with a rebuilt defense bolstered by the likes of Wolfgramm, Sanchez, Montgomery's fellow Cal transfer Brandon Jones and recruits like Darren Markle, we can all be happy we toughed it out and be more proud of the Cougars than ever.

So where do we go from here? We go up. That is the only place the Cougars and we fans can go. This season may get worse, there again it will probably get better. The rest of the way through the Pac-10 is really only highlighted by USC and the Arizona schools. Aside from them there are some very winnable games, starting with UCLA next week. The Cougars may be the worst team in the Pac-10, but Paul Wulff hasn't given up and neither should us fans. They play the games to figure that stuff out, the battle to rise up out of the basement starts next week and its going to be a fun one to watch. At this point the season is about building momentum and confidence. UCLA, UW, and Hawaii should be tough close games the Cougars can win, and along the way who knows maybe they can upset one of the Arizona schools or maybe even USC. Of course it's a longshot, but who cares? If us fans can't have fun with some wild prognostication what's the point of watching? I guess in the end the best thing we could do is take a cue from the Head Coach who's going to lead our Cougars out of this mess and keep our heads up. Its a long road aho and its going to be plenty bumpy, but if we can work hard to support our Cougs, and the coaching staff can continue to work hard to get the team turned around, it has to pay off, and somewhat soon. Faith however hard it is to hold on to can and will be rewarded. That's all I have to say, so feel free to leave me some comments and I'll be back later in the week with a look at UCLA.

Until then... Laters and GO COUGS!

Make Way for the Lobster...

I have to say that despite last week's calamitous outcome I feel good about the Cougs moving forward from here. A kid from my hometown Marshall Lobbestael is now the guy leading the offense and if he can have a solid to good day on the field tomorrow I think we can win. If nothing else we have the USC-OSU debacle to give us Cougs hope that the boys in Crimson can find a way to win against a team with "superior talent." I said last week that this team would win because of the moves Paul Wulff made, and I think that by in large I was right. There are obviously still some kinks to iron out, but this season has gotten a lot more interesting in the last week, and I think that if this is a strong game for us we can actually make a decent run in the Pac-10.

First up, the Offense. This was the most improved group on the field last week. While I realize that there has to be some worries as to the play on the O-Line this group looked much more in sync once they stumbled on to what may very well be the future of the program in Marshall Lobbestael. I won't annoint him the next Jason Gesser or Ryan Leaf or anything, but I think that as our QB's have gone this year he easily looked the most ready to step in and make a difference. Firstly he did the small things right like keep calm in the pocket without going nuts trying to break containment. He also made quick effective reads of the coverage and did not force the ball into double or triple coverage. Admittedly we didn't get to see much of the Lobster, but what we did see spoke volumes about what he brings to the table in terms of intangibles. Most young QBs when in that situation would have gotten a serious case of happy feet just from fear that they'd be taken down. Instead he stood tall in the pocket, made his reads, and delivered. If he can do that against Oregon tomorrow, then I have no doubt that this offense will put the ball in the endzone and do so in rythym. The rythym of the offense when he was in was finally solid, they may not have just been punching the ball boom, boom, boom, but they were running to the line and getting up field in a hurry, especially when you look at anything Lopina or Rogers was able to orchestrate earlier in the game or on the season thus far. This kid can will a team downfield and that is something which has sorely lacked since Gesser left or at least since the end of the Apple Cup last year. That having been said this is his first full start at the collegiate level and he will make some mistakes, but as long as he can be the example of unrestrained effort, this team will pick up on it. This of course would be great as it could be the last little bit of glue needed to get the offensive line to work cohesively as a single strong unit. The fact of the matter is that this team is trying to improve each week, win or lose, and right now Lobbestael injuries to Lopina or Rogers aside looks like the guy who will be the final piece of the equation in sparking this team. Guys who can lead, and who play 100% every down are the guys who inspire a team and elevate them beyond what they think they can do. They are the guys that the team plays off of when they are gassed and bruised in the fourth quarter when they just need one more push. Lobbestael looks like the kind of guy who can do that, he did it back in Oak Harbor when he took them to the State Title and he can and will do it here at WSU.
Aside from Lobbestael there was plenty of other encouraging things going on with the offense last week. The running game looked good and aside from Mitz's fumbles was great in gaining yards and protecting the ball. It was nice to see a few guys get time and all do well. The recieving corps was less improved, but that can also be attributed to some iffy QB play and the defenses ability to key in on Brandon Gibson until Lobbestael came in and started checking down on reads. I hate to just absolutely marginalize what Lopina and Rogers have brought to the table, but the fact is both of them were locking in on recievers, especially Gibson, way too much and just handing the defense the ball as a result. While I'm aware that Lobbestael probably won't make it through this game as cleanly as he did against PSU it has to be acknowledged that he was making things happen from snap 1 last Saturday. Gibson did have a drop or two however that were somewhat concerning as they were throws he got both hands on, even if he was hung out to dry for some mean hits over the middle. More encouraging last week was Jeshua Anderson finally getting some touches and showing why us Coug fans have been so high on him since the end of last year. He's obviously still recovering from his surgery, but his route running skills and speed have improved with each passing week. Finally, it was nice to see Devin Frischnekt get some touches, especially the big one over the middle when he was able to rumble for a TD. The kid has good hands and can take a hit and shed a few too, it will be interesting to see how often the Lobster calls his number as they hooked up a few times against PSU. This week the offense will be fully oriented towards what Lobbestael can do and all eys will be on him. In the end it will come down to just how much protection the maligned O-Line can give him against a nasty Oregon defensive front, and the decisions Lobbestael can make while trying to read bigger, badder, faster, coverage players and schemes.

The defense did not disappoint against PSU. Xavier Hicks as predicted was obviously the fire of the D last week and was leading the charge. He was all over the field and was seemingly in on every hit on a Viking player dumb enough to cross the line of scrimmage. Look for him to be out front again this week. He and Alfonso Jackson will be tasked with having to help plug the middle of the field against a good looking Oregon ground game, but will have to play some coverage too as Oregon is too loaded at the skill positions to just ignore the aerial attack. Either way, believe that whoever is dumb enough to come near either guy will get laid out in no short order. On defense Hicks appears to be the guy that his teammates can key in on when they are gassed. He is loud, hits big, and gets in the other teams face. When this team is in the trenches late he'll be the one the big guys look to for the final stop to seal the deal. That said, the Coug secondary doesn't look to match up well with Oregons recievers as they are all undersized comparitively. Keep an eye though on these guys though as they have already faced larger recievers back against the Cowboys in week 1 and they should be a little more prepared for it this time. What would also work to the advantage of the Cougs would be generating a significant pass rush. Unfortunately, even against PSU the pass rush just was not capable of generating a significant threat, and it is hard to believe that they will start to against a very experienced and sizeable Oregon O-Line. Still, the fact is that Oregon will be starting and rotating in some young QB's who will more than likely make some mistakes, especially if the Cougs come out fired up and hungry. The key this week will be getting the D off of the field and keeping them fresh, if the offense can sustain some drives and get points up on the board then the D should be able to keep Oregon honest enough to pull this one out.

Special teams last week looked fairly good. Reid Forrest is plenty healthy and will more than likely be needed in this one to keep Oregon subdued in the field position battle. We didn't punt much last week, but on kickoffs the guys did a pretty good job of keeping PSU on their side of the field with the exception of a couple of breaks in coverage late. The big question in the kicking game will be whether or not, with so many starters on coverage, the guys can keep up momentum and keep from getting gassed as the game wears on.

This game is going to be everything I thought the Cal game would be. This is going to be a tough battle in the Pac-10 in Martin Stadium that's going to come down to who just plain wants it more. At home, emboldened by a win, and in front of a decent Homecoming crowd I take the Cougs in a close one.

Cougs 27 - Ducks 23

Laters and GO COUGS!!!

Paul Wulff has made his move, and I like it...

This team is going forward whether they like it or not. The sad thing is the Cougs are getting ready to play the most fluffy opponent they are going to get all year, and the commitment of at least half of this team has to be called into question. This is not the only game we will win this year if the moves Paul Wulff is making right now shake out. By opening up the positions to open competition, Coach Wulff is ensuring that the guys on the field are the ones who have decided they want to be there. This is the kind of move that can prove to be disastrous or nothing shy of genius. This will galvanize this team and hopefully make some of the guys still wishing for Doba's return realize that they better buy in or get out. The last two weeks the Cougs have gone out and straight up gotten their butts kicked. Why? Cal, as was proven by Maryland, and Baylor are not as good as they looked against the Cougs. So the question then has to be are the Cougs really that bad? I still believe they are capable of winning some games and were it a 12 game season this year maybe even pulling a very low tier bowl game. With it being a 13 game season this year the Cougs probably won't be able to make the cut. However, that does not mean they can't play spoiler to the bowl hopes of some other teams and start to make progress as the year moves on.

Like I said earlier Coach Wulff is doing this to try and galvanize this team into getting their act together. After losing to Baylor it sounded as though Coach Wulff was none too happy, in his team and in his coaches. No team should still be having problems in lining up properly on either side of the ball by week 3. That problem goes to coaching, and I have a hard time believing that Wulff will allow his coaches or himself a mulligan for the performance against Baylor. However, the delay of game penalties, the interceptions, and the overall lack of coordination on display by the offense has to fall on the player's shoulders as well. What neither Rogers nor Lopina have done is take their offense by the horns and grab their teammates and make them accountable. Brandon Gibson needs to get on it as well. The fact is that he and Rogers and Lopina are all upperclassmen and they need to grab the young guys and get them squared away out there on the field. Guys like Jason Gesser and Ryan Leaf did that and they were able to win games because of it. Right now Paul Wulff is having to play too many roles because his players are so ill equipped to deal with the new offense, and the adversity which comes with having to learn by doing. Coach Wulff is literally having to try to handle the plays, the players, and the mistakes because the players and the coaching staff can't seem to get on the same page. That's why I think opening up the positional battles again will be good for these guys. If they wanna play then they are going to have to learn how to play and work harder than they ever have before. Spring Ball, summer practice and fall training camp were just the start. There they may have had to work hard physically, but now the mental game is where they need to work to get better.

The mental side of football is just as important as the physical, and despite the great effort that went into all their training in the offseason, it would seem that most of the Cougs didn't bother to really take a look inside and try to find the place they are going to have to dig down to if they want to be successful this year. Forcing established veteran guys to have to fight it out with first and second year guys is going to force them to find that place within if they are going to get their jobs back. What it will also do is force the young guys to evaluate just how much they want to play and find what they need to force themselves to step it up and stand tall. Call the decision into question all you want, but as coaching moves go this one is darn good in my book. This team will not look like the team we fans have had to watch get their butts kicked when they come out this Saturday. This team will be playing with some fire, and if you think they are going to let a D II team come in and beat them in Martin then there's a problem. The Cougs are going to win this game, and it isn't going to be because Pac-10 guys are so much bigger and faster than a D II schools, but because they are going to be hungrier and a hell of a lot more fiery than they have been up to this point. If this move by Wulff works like I'm betting he thinks it will, then this weekend stand by to stand by because that defense that had some teeth against Oklahoma State is going to straight up maul the Vikings offense. Also keep an eye on the offense this week because I think this will be the game where Lopina and Rogers separate themselves from one another and we will finally know who is going to lead this team the rest of the year. Whichever guy it is just keep an eye out and see how much differently he and this unit react when they get the ball in this game. Coach Wulff has lit a fire under this team and his coaches, now just sit back and enjoy the show because I think the rest of this year is going to start looking a lot better than it has so far.

Laters

GO COUGS!!!!!

At least the new scoreboard looked good

Unfortunately the Cal Golden Bears decided that they didn't exactly like the idea of keeping things close today. To try and single out the worst part of this game would be foolish because quite frankly there were just way too many miscues in just about every facet of this game for the Cougs. So just like the last couple weeks I guess I'll look at the offense, defense, and special teams and try to find what small silver linings there may have been that probably went unnoticed either because you left early or changed the channel.

The offense was atrocious. There was no real silver lining in this one folks, there was no running game and the passing game was still just terrible. The few small glimmers of hope that popped up were largely negated by a penalty of some sort. It was nice to see Jeshua Anderson back out on the field, but it became obvious quickly that he is rusty, and while this can be largely attributed to his injury and lack of reps, you have to wonder just how good he'd have been at this point anyway after training for the Olympics over the summer. That's not to lay blame on Anderson, the fact is that this offense has no rhythm whatsoever at this point, and it was probably unrealistic for anyone, myself included, to expect him to just come back and be the monster deep threat that he showed he could be at the end of last season. Still I gotta say I'm glad to see him out there and it does give me some hope against Baylor next week that this offense will be able to finally open up a bit and take flight. Aside from the return of Anderson there isn't much positive stuff to cover. Rogers most of the first half looked downright scared getting happy feet in the pocket which led to some costly mistakes that put the game out of reach very early. While I realize that Rogers is not the most mobile guy on the field, it was definitely disheartening to see him try to make things happen with his feet just to throw a pick or get sacked after trying so hard. Fortunately for Rogers his time in the fire would come to an end after the first half. The first couple of drives of the second half saw the Cougar debut of Kevin Lopina and I've gotta say, he definitely looked more comfortable running this offense than Rogers. When the pocket broke down Lopina was more comfortable breaking into a run with the ball and didn't look like he got the kind of happy feet that Rogers seems to get as he tries to make up his mind. Lopina also ran the QB keeper with much more confidence than Rogers has the few times they've called the play. Overall Lopina, who did make some mistakes trying to force the ball, looked like he might just be the way to go in lieu of Rogers if the Cougs want to try to make this offense a threat. "The Lobster" Marshal Lobbestael also saw some playing time, but his debut was about as rough as they come, throwing a pick on his first pass attempt and fumbling a snap on the first play of his second drive. Right now the offense needs something to provide a spark and it sounds like after the game Paul Wulff may just be thinking about making a move at QB.

On defense things looked marginally better than on offense. This group showed a tremendous amount of heart in forcing three straight 3 and outs after Cal went up 21 to nothing, but it was already too little too late. This time out the defense didn't quite seem to have the same fire in their belly as last week, but they did settle down after getting blown up by Cal in the first plays of the game. It was pretty awesome to see Cory Evans start making some noise as he was all over the place disrupting the pass and the run generally making it just a little more difficult for Tedford's boys to get into the endzone. What was very nice to see this week was some pretty darn solid passing defense. This is of course somewhat subjective, but for the second week in a row there was no great big throws that really hurt the Cougs, just a few shorter routes that were largely kept underneath the defense. It may just be the first time in recent memory where the Cougars have not had a game in which an opponent has just been able to go up and over the secondary. What was also nice to see was the lack of Pass interference calls, because as anyone who has watched the Cougs the last few years knows, if the corners had been beaten they either got torched or blatantly interfered and prayed they could get away with it. Thus far on defense, both in the front seven and the secondary, there has been an unheard of amount of discipline that has kept the Cougs from getting themselves into trouble. This unit is still the best looking group on the team even if they are still trying to find their legs a bit and given some more time I still think this could be a special group by the end of the year.

All I can say about the special teams is Wow! What a difference a week and a key injury make. This week saw the return of Punter Reid Forrest and man oh man did he perform. Two punts for 58 yards each and two punts downed within the 5 yard line. While I don't think this kid can be compared to Kyle Basler yet, he's definitely the best looking punter we've had since Basler graduated. Although I gotta ask just what the hell the coaches were thinking last year having him do those rugby style punts, because he has a pretty darn good leg. The field goal kicking unit was a pleasant surprise as Nico Grasu was able to hit one and do so with confidence. While he had his second attempt blocked because of a low kick it was still nice to see a kicker going out there with some confidence and to be quite frank, from where I was sitting it looked like the line collapsed back pretty far to allow those hands to go up and block that kick. So, the punting was good, the field goal unit looked a little better than last week, but how did the coverage look? Firstly, the kicks that had to be covered looked a lot more solid than last week and there was a couple of touchbacks that brought a smile to my face. When Cal did go ahead and return the ball there was none of the dischord that led to some of the problems last week. Guys were staying in their lanes and when they made contact they made it count. There werent any huge hits that led to a fumble or anything, but the coverage unit went out there and actually covered this week which as we all know is a drastic improvement. The best part of the kicking and coverage this week was that they didn't set the defense up in bad situations like last week, and had they been able to come out as capably as they did today, last week may have looked very different. This week the Special Teams has to be a lock for most improved unit on the team no questions asked.

Like last week this game was a disappointment, but once again like last week there was a bit of a silver lining to the drubbing the Cougs took. It may not seem like it now, but this is a team that is actually starting, if only somewhat, to find itself. The offense definitely didn't come out and tear it up like I both predicted and hoped they would, but next week they'll finally get a tune-up game to get moving and in a rhythm. The big question will be who will start the game under center as Lopina, despite some issues, actually made a fairly solid case for why he should start instead of Rogers. That said, there's no real quarterback controversy, but one could be brewing if Lopina starts, or has to come in against Baylor to try and spark the Cougars on offense. The defense took some steps and had to play against a tougher opponent in Cal than they did against the Pokes. The pass coverage, while the stat-line may not show it, was pretty solid and didn't get beat deep. The pass rush this week looked better than it did against the Pokes and if they keep progressing, especially with the return of Ahmu for the entire game next week to help anchor the D-line, they should start making some noise in the Baylor Bears backfield. The next couple of weeks will be very interesting for the Cougs as they will be getting some defensive help back in Xavier Hicks, and the guys who have battled back like Jeshua Anderson should progress and get back to full speed. Keep an eye on these guys Coug fans this season is still very much alive and in the next couple of weeks should start coming together, there's no such thing as an easy game with a team as young and inexperienced as this, but that doesn't mean they can't win and get tuned up for the brunt of the Pac-10 schedule. It's going to be a tough year, but that doesn't mean that it can't still be something special.

Laters... GO COUGS!

Two Things: I think we take down Cal and...

If Coach Paul Wulff had heard as many people as I have this week say "We Couged it!" against the Pokes last week, I'm pretty sure he'd have stared and burned a hole right through them (his stare is just that intense). Here's a fun fact kids, last week was an aberration. It was week one. The Pokes aren't as good as they looked and the Cougs aren't as bad. The big killer was the porous special teams and while I realize that were it not for the Huskies secondary looking so bad our special teams would officially be the worst singular unit in the Pac-10, the Cougs are still not that bad. This will not be another game in which we cough up 200+ yards of kick return yardage to the bad guys while they go untouched into the endzone all day. In short, quit whining, we'll be fine.

Now, on to the prediction for this weekend. I think the Cougs stand a chance in this game and can pull it out if some issues have at least been dealt with enough to prevent the big gainers we saw against the Pokes. Special Teams as I was saying earlier did look terrible last week, but after having seen Paul Wulff on the sideline and having seen what he might have done to those guys because he wasn't happy I very much doubt that we'll see that bad a performance again. Especially now with Andy Mattingly on special teams leading the charge down the field. Were I capable of feeling anything other than pure burning hatred for a conference opponent dumb enough to stumble into Martin on a Saturday I'd almost feel sorry for the players he is going to absolutely destroy. That said I realize that one guy can't do it all alone (cough, Huskies, cough), but with a guy like Mattingly ready to get out there and take people out, you have to know that the Special Teams unit will be playing with some life this week.

This week also marks the first time Paul Wulff will take the field at Martin as head coach of the Cougs and I think he'll have the team fired up and ready to defend theirs and his turf. This is a man who knows how to motivate as was made clear by the defense especially and the Cougs overall effort against the Pokes at Qwest field. For the first time maybe ever I didn't see the Cougs just give up and roll over. The big difference this week is that the offense will be just as fired up as the defense. This isn't going to be another game with just 52 total yards of offense in the first half and only 190 for the whole game. Gary Rogers has something to prove now, he got a mulligan for last week because it was his first start ever, but if things don't start turning around you can bet that the student section will be letting him know this week just what they think of him. At the same time Brandon Gibson has said he was very disappointed in his game against the Pokes. Going against what looks to be possibly the third worst secondary in the Pac-10, behind the Huskies and Stanford, Gibson is going to have all the open field he could ever want and his first game yips, or dropitis, will be cured. I will freely admit that I didn't get to see the entire Cal game last week, but what I did see led me to believe that Rogers and Gibson will be more than able to put up some of the yardage we're accustomed to seeing out of our Cougs. What's also good is that if Cal decides to just sit down on Gibson and the passing game, then we have a running game that can capably move the ball and put the team on its back for a while. Like I said in my post game review from Saturday, there's plenty of upside and I honestly believe that there is enough there that we can reasonably expect to take down Cal.

The defense, aside from being the best looking part of this team last week, has something more going for it. The Cougs this past off season brought two new members into the fold and both of them used to wear the yellow and blue of Cal. While they can only really tell us what they ran last year the good thing is that Cal didn't exactly go out and overhaul their entire offense after last season. They have made changes I'm sure, but they haven't gone from a pro set to a spread option read, or even to a hurry up no huddle or anything. In general the formations and plays are more or less the same with some new twists to keep things fresh. So after getting Montgomery on the offensive side of the ball, and Brandon Jones on the defensive side of the ball, I'd be willing to bet that our heavy hitters have gotten a pretty good look at what Cal will be bringing to Martin come Saturday. This game will be hard fought and the Cougs won't be another Michigan State. When Cal walks out of Martin on Saturday they'll know that they just played someone with a problem, and that they were that problem. Last week this defense swarmed to the ball and was largely able to contain the run and restrained the Pokes passing game. If the secondary can keep up playing solidly and keep from getting beat out deep by Cal's speed then the Cougs D will keep this game close.

Finally I want to address the kicking game. It looks as though Punter Reid Forrest will be back in action and I just want to say Thank God. This won't be a repeat of last weeks field position woes and you can bet that will definitely help the D out. Meanwhile, the field goal situation doesn't seem to be fully resolved so all I can say is feel free to break out your Rosary and start praying like you used to when Peanut was kicking the ball and maybe just maybe as a crowd we can will it through the uprights for our Cougs. There again, who knows, maybe this is the unit that surprises, right alongside the other special teams for most improved this week.

So there you have it, my broad strokes look at the upside of the Cougs and why they can beat Cal. Just in case your not a believer yet just keep this in mind, in the last 25 years Cal has only beaten the Cougs in Martin once, maybe twice. For whatever reason Martin has not treated the Bears kindly and that's a good thing. So, get out there on Saturday, get loud and rowdy, and get ready for some real Cougar Football.
WSU 27 - Cal 24

Laters, and as always GO COUGS!