CougPatrol said:

The UCLA game is what I was referring to. Doba made the adjustment after 1 week and it worked. We know our defense is weak, and we know the New Mexico is run heavy. Why in the world did we stay in the 4-3 with the linebackers 5 yards off the LOS?

I hope you're not comparing Bill Doba to our current defensive coaches.

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We run a 4-2-5. But, again, what does it matter if we can't line up?

CougPatrol said:

Mateer is gone.

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I agree that he is likely not going to be here....but I'll hold off on definitive statements until he enters the portal. I think WSU coaches knew that he was likely to bail when they chose to sit Eckhaus in the blowout win over Hawaii. That kept Eckhaus' redshirt alive.

CougEd said:

Are you serious . Oregon in 2001 had two backs over 200 yards for a total of 446. He made no adjustments and because the wind was so strong Harrington couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

It was one week later we played UCLA and the leading rusher in the country in Foster. He finally made an adjustment where he went to 5 down lineman .

So I know people look way better over time, but they all seem slow to adjust.

And before you claim it is New Mexico, they run such an unconventional offense i would think people would understand it is a horrible match up on top of the DE not holding an edge.

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The UCLA game is what I was referring to. Doba made the adjustment after 1 week and it worked. We know our defense is weak, and we know the New Mexico is run heavy. Why in the world did we stay in the 4-3 with the linebackers 5 yards off the LOS?

I hope you're not comparing Bill Doba to our current defensive coaches.

dgibbons said:

Road games have been flat. Home games have been generally fine. SJSU appears be one of the better teams in the MWC.

It is worth remembering that we have a sophomore QB in his first season as starter. Parker is a true freshman. Pulalasi is a RS freshman. Schlenbaker is a RS sophomore. Consistency can be elusive. Keeping Mateer, the OL and RB units as intact is the key to next season, IMO. Pole is the only senior on the OL.

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Mateer is gone.

ttowncoug said:

Maybe not, but the fact is:
1. Team was up and defense played great vs. UW.
2. Team has been flat the post Apple Cup and to me it's consistency and discipline.

The Mike Leach reference was he'd be on his kids weekly to treat every game like a championship game. Same mentality that went into the Apple Cup win, goes into the New Mexico second half.

As for the offensive strategy, it wasn't until late in the 4th until they started to take what the defense was giving them. It was the quick hitters and taking "chunk yards." If we do that earlier in the 3rd, we are up by 7 points to win the game.

That said, our defense just isn't getting it done. Jake is a defensive coach. Same players that beat UW. What is different? Lines up with mentality, discipline and coaching style.

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Road games have been flat. Home games have been generally fine. SJSU appears be one of the better teams in the MWC.

It is worth remembering that we have a sophomore QB in his first season as starter. Parker is a true freshman. Pulalasi is a RS freshman. Schlenbaker is a RS sophomore. Consistency can be elusive. Keeping Mateer, the OL and RB units as intact is the key to next season, IMO. Pole is the only senior on the OL.

Coug90 said:

Jakes a defensive coach but he has a defensive coordinator on his staff to coordinate and call the defense. I would expect after that game he will make a change in the offseason. This is not Dickerts defense and I’m sure he’s more disgusted with the plan and execution than anyone here is.

Ultimately it falls on him so it will be up to him to find the right coaches to get back on track. There’s clearly a talent issue as well. Durant is a perfect example. How many times has he been caught flat footed and had receivers blow by him. You can scheme all you want, if your players look like that they shouldn’t be playing.

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I don't know what Dickert wants this defense to look like, other than that he wants to generate turnovers. That sounds like bend but don't break to me, with turnovers to mask the deficiencies. Given where WSU is, the expansion back to 105 scholarship players, and a $0.00 NIL budget, this at least in a broad sense is what we're going to see. It does not take any genius level intellect to see that speed, size, strength and athletic ability have been declining since Leach left. Durant's replacement, if there actually is someone better will be the same guy or marginally better. Just like Lockett's replacement was the same guy or marginally better.

With that said, we should be able to line up and if necessary call an audible ten games into the season. The defense has been glacially slow in that regard. Whatever system they are using to communicate needs to fixed like 9 games ago, or jettisoned in the offseason. I get that we're sticking new guys in all over the line up and will continue as long as there is a portal, but **** me it's pathetic to watch blown assignments game after game.

CougEd said:

Bronco Mendenhall is considered a very very good coach. New Mexico winning under him does not surprise me. Football is a game of matchups....

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I started this thread. Page 1, Post # 1 says:

"QB Devon Dampier, dual threat....has some great numbers.
Coach Bronco is 100% going to turn this program around.
Lobos are trending."

Go COUGS.

longtimecoug said:

Losing when we play solid hard nosed football doesnt bother me, i dont like it but there is no shame in putting out your best effort and losing to a better team. That didnt happen tonight

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Bronco Mendenhall is considered a very very good coach. New Mexico winning under him does not surprise me. Football is a game of matchups....

BiggsCoug said:

They cant do it. They aren’t strong enough to play knock back, physical football. Yelling and shaming won’t help them. They need coaches that can scheme it up.

They dont have those coaches.

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I'm figuring out more on your logic Biggs and you're more right than wrong.

WSU has had the greatest coaches ever in the past. Seriously... why measure short now when we have feasted at the table?

My argument back at you is that we're sitting in a new battlefield now and until we have a NIKE donor... we have to gamble and be penny conscious until Butch parts the Cougar sea.

We can't be an ounce of stupid when it comes to firing. If we get 10 wins this year... we'd look like idiots to chop our Dickert off.

You should be screaming for him to succeed and be great and stay or to be great and leave.

Sitting in a rocking chair in front of the house chanting "get off my lawn" doesn't score high on the smart chart

CougInSpain said:

That jet sweep killed us time and time again. Our LB's never did run up on the line to contain the edge. That and the run option they ran made our defense look like peewee football out there.

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Some poster said, "New Mexico is where you go when you're a "has been" coach.

That may be true to a degree, but not the case with Bronco Mendenhall. He has a very unique and different coaching style, and has an overall winning record. Bronco is arguably the best thing that's ever happened to Lobos football in decades.

95coug said:

I seriously question what we did in film study this week. NM kept running the same play, and we couldn’t recognize it. I could see it coming from my couch, but they couldn’t on the field.

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That jet sweep killed us time and time again. Our LB's never did run up on the line to contain the edge. That and the run option they ran made our defense look like peewee football out there.

WSU is not and never was a CFP team. There was a loss coming somewhere, just did not know where. The last couple games where it is better to be lucky than good. Well the luck ran out against New Mexico. NM found a soft spot and abused it, like any team should. Glad we can put this CFP story to rest.

ttowncoug said:

Maybe not, but the fact is:
1. Team was up and defense played great vs. UW.
2. Team has been flat the post Apple Cup and to me it's consistency and discipline.

The Mike Leach reference was he'd be on his kids weekly to treat every game like a championship game. Same mentality that went into the Apple Cup win, goes into the New Mexico second half.

As for the offensive strategy, it wasn't until late in the 4th until they started to take what the defense was giving them. It was the quick hitters and taking "chunk yards." If we do that earlier in the 3rd, we are up by 7 points to win the game.

That said, our defense just isn't getting it done. Jake is a defensive coach. Same players that beat UW. What is different? Lines up with mentality, discipline and coaching style.

Click to expand...

Jakes a defensive coach but he has a defensive coordinator on his staff to coordinate and call the defense. I would expect after that game he will make a change in the offseason. This is not Dickerts defense and I’m sure he’s more disgusted with the plan and execution than anyone here is.

Ultimately it falls on him so it will be up to him to find the right coaches to get back on track. There’s clearly a talent issue as well. Durant is a perfect example. How many times has he been caught flat footed and had receivers blow by him. You can scheme all you want, if your players look like that they shouldn’t be playing.

Loyal Coug1 said:

Not sure that using the Apple Cup and Mike Leach is a good analogy........

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Maybe not, but the fact is:
1. Team was up and defense played great vs. UW.
2. Team has been flat the post Apple Cup and to me it's consistency and discipline.

The Mike Leach reference was he'd be on his kids weekly to treat every game like a championship game. Same mentality that went into the Apple Cup win, goes into the New Mexico second half.

As for the offensive strategy, it wasn't until late in the 4th until they started to take what the defense was giving them. It was the quick hitters and taking "chunk yards." If we do that earlier in the 3rd, we are up by 7 points to win the game.

That said, our defense just isn't getting it done. Jake is a defensive coach. Same players that beat UW. What is different? Lines up with mentality, discipline and coaching style.

The problem is we can't recruit

ttowncoug said:

This what is clearly lacking. We are good at times but we lack consistency. This is on Jake and how they coach. Too emotional on the good wins. See Apple cup. Doesn’t leave me thinking performances like SDSU are not acceptable.

Leach was much better in this area

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Not sure that using the Apple Cup and Mike Leach is a good analogy........

ATACFD said:

Palouse Pussies? That's sadly appropriate. Honestly, someone needs to post that in the locker room and let everyone on D stare at it for 10 minutes. The coordinators for 30 minutes. Maybe that will make a difference. Of course, I'm older and come from a time where a coach could use shame as a motivator for improvement.....

As for the timeout debate there is no general rule. It's very situation specific. You have to take into account all factors. I agree with 90 and others that given that the defense was shiite, and odds were high NM would score, we need to have as much time left as possible. If we have a minute left there's a good chance we score. One factor that hasn't been mentioned is that NM still had 2 time outs themselves under a minute if I recall correctly. So us NOT calling a time out with the hopes that they would run out of time is just dumb. There's other nuances to that but I don't feel like writing a longer novel....

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They cant do it. They aren’t strong enough to play knock back, physical football. Yelling and shaming won’t help them. They need coaches that can scheme it up.

They dont have those coaches.

The CoftRW drinks the rat poison like Jonestown koolaid.

UberCougars said:

Great teams win. This team lost.

Cinderella has left the stadium.

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This is just lack of focus and discipline.


They thought they won at half time and were out coached and out played.

Great teams win. This team lost.

Cinderella has left the stadium.

M-I-Coug said:

They are a blast and convenient for football games. Lot's or work though. Fun work, but they are work.

Actually, we had so many great memories. Favorite state park is Steamboat Rock.

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Either be handy or wealthy because there is always something. Lots of small stuff. My biggest gripe is the $2500/yr for storage.

Stretch 74 said:

Realizing that WSU was playing with the Palouse Pussies in the second half and not the Palouse Posse..........

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Palouse Pussies? That's sadly appropriate. Honestly, someone needs to post that in the locker room and let everyone on D stare at it for 10 minutes. The coordinators for 30 minutes. Maybe that will make a difference. Of course, I'm older and come from a time where a coach could use shame as a motivator for improvement.....

As for the timeout debate there is no general rule. It's very situation specific. You have to take into account all factors. I agree with 90 and others that given that the defense was shiite, and odds were high NM would score, we need to have as much time left as possible. If we have a minute left there's a good chance we score. One factor that hasn't been mentioned is that NM still had 2 time outs themselves under a minute if I recall correctly. So us NOT calling a time out with the hopes that they would run out of time is just dumb. There's other nuances to that but I don't feel like writing a longer novel....

LoveJeffersonFanClub said:

My parents bought an rv years ago. Got another one later. I've learned that I'm never getting an rv.

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They are a blast and convenient for football games. Lot's or work though. Fun work, but they are work.

Actually, we had so many great memories. Favorite state park is Steamboat Rock.

95coug said:

Until last night, I thought we had an offense that maybe belonged in the top 25, and a defense firmly entrenched in the bottom 10.

But, a top 25 offense doesn’t get shut down like that by a bad UNM offense, which by the way had half its secondary banged up.

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Yup, the D sucked but I don’t watch those games and blame the defense. We knew the D sucked going into the game. We knew the D sucked at halftime. Our offense did whatever they wanted to in the first half and should have been fully capable of driving down to start the third quarter and effectively ending the game. But they F’d around and couldn’t get it back on track.