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!!!!!