They put CML in their HOF, yet weren't they the school that got him blackballed from coaching, supported CJK5H allegations and basically threw him under the bus the backed up over him?

Yes, I realize it was boosters and CJK5H mostly, but the school sure as hell didn't come to his defense.

Am I remembering this correctly?

F-it, I'll link it below. Couple of takeaways:

• Article does mention Scott Barnes and Nick Daschel's conversation, but it isn't really anything new
• The comments slay me. Do these people follow anything Coug? X99163 (Pullman's zip code).
  "I haven't read where OSU/WSU actually ended up financially with the demise of the P12. Will the windfall pay off the football debt and buy the basketball practice facilities?"
  I mean really? Do you read at all?
• The main author/site Admin: "The MWC could've worked to make the relationship a lot more collaborative, synced and other corporate buzz words. It seems like they've been relatively adversarial from the jump because both WSU and OSU have said their goal is to rebuild the conference which leads me to
  2. They're being adversarial because they want to force WSU and OSU into what they want, which is a merger of some kind.
  
  It would appear, at least for now assuming a scheduling agreement with the Big 12/ACC or even AAC comes together, they've substantially over played their hand."
  
  
  Uh no the MWC hasn't been adversarial, they have a perfect right to be annoyed by our standoffishness and misplaced snobbiness, and not they haven't overplayed their hand. How could they do that when the Pac-2 doesn't even have a hand to play?
  
  And I thought this site was full of all the uninformed and delusional posters.
• 
  
• https://www.cougcenter.com/2024/9/2/24234631/pac-12-acc-big-12-mwc-wsu-cougars-osu-beavers
  
  
  

Realignment rumor mill has ‘some value’ for WSU and Oregon State, commissioner says​

Jon WilnerAug. 12, 2024 at 1:33 pm

Not a week goes by, it seems, without Washington State and Oregon State being the subject of realignment rumors. It could be as simple as a message board riff or a tweet on X. Maybe it’s an anonymous quote published by the mainstream media.

A few have morsels of credibility, while some are pure nonsense. But all are welcomed by Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, who’s working closely with the Cougars and Beavers as they plot a course forward.

“Part of that is not bad,” Gould told ‘Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast’ last week during a wide-ranging interview.

“All that buzz on social media and all that interest and the rumor mill and all of that, there certainly is some value in it from the perspective of, that means we have communities who care about what we’re doing …

“We want passionate fans across college sports that care about what we’re doing. From that perspective, it’s good.”

The Cougars and Beavers have until the summer of 2026 to find a permanent conference home and two fairly straightforward options available. They can rebuild the Pac-12 with schools from the Mountain West (and perhaps other Group of Five leagues), or they can join the Mountain West.

The roads back into the power conferences are vastly more complicated and far less certain. And occasionally, Gould said, the reports about behind-the-scenes machinations — either real or imagined — create messes that she must clean up.

“The rumors are challenging when they aren’t accurate and when there’s misinformation out there,” she said. “At times, it becomes difficult to manage relationships, expectations, anxieties and all these other things when there’s misinformation. It’s part of the world we’re living in now.

“The good news is I have really strong communication with (WSU and OSU), and they are kept well-briefed on what’s going on and what’s not going on.”

For the moment, Gould explained, she is “spending a lot of time” finalizing the 2025 football schedules for the Cougars and Beavers.

The scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West this season includes an option for next year if both sides agree, Gould said.

But earlier this month, the Hotline reported that WSU and OSU are in discussions with multiple conferences — in both the Power Four and the Group of Five — about strategic partnerships that could take effect as early as 2025.

Those discussions, an industry source said, aren’t specific to membership opportunities for WSU and OSU, although that option “definitely” has not been dismissed.

Instead, the conversations include possible scheduling alliances or “creative ways to work together” that could provide “a stepping stone to the future,” the source added. “It’s all at a very broad level.”

Gould declined to discuss specific options for the Cougars and Beavers. But eventual membership in the ACC, despite the geography — and despite speculation on X — might be more likely than an invitation to the Big 12.

If Clemson and Florida State win their lawsuits against the ACC and are free to join other leagues, North Carolina could follow them out the door.

At that point, the depleted conference might seek to fortify its membership. WSU and OSU would offer quality football brands, create additional Pacific Time Zone kickoff windows and ease the bicoastal travel for Cal and Stanford, the only ACC schools west of the Rockies.

For now, the Cougars and Beavers are watching the situation play out.

“Moving forward, regardless of what that scenario is — and there are a lot of different iterations or scenarios out there — we’ll continue to overturn every stone we know of, and try to create some stones we don’t know of, to figure out what scenarios are possible,” Gould said.

“I don’t think there is a foregone conclusion about what is best, because we’re still evaluating what is possible.”

Jon Wilner

Looking solid at the half. Getting tons of time to throw.

I read our game vs. Portland State wasn't on in the SE (Florida). Overall, the numbers seem respectable in comparison to the comps. I think as the season goes, the "late window games" (namely if we are ranked) will get good TV draws.


"In the debut of “Pac-2” football on CW, Idaho State-Oregon State averaged 381,000, preceded by Portland State-Washington State at 223,000."

In terms of other "comps"....
"Over on FS1, North Dakota-Iowa State drew 315,000, Wyoming-Arizona State 253,000, UNLV-Houston 172,000 and UConn-Maryland 133,000."

"Over on BTN, regional action topped the Saturday slate with 594,000 viewers, followed by 425,000 for Idaho-Oregon and 306,000 for Weber State-Washington. FS1 drew 253,000 for Wyoming-Arizona State."

I know Texas Tech scored a bunch and gave up a bunch to Abilene Christian last Saturday. The ACU quarterback threw for 500 yards so that would seem to be a good sign for our offense which moved the ball at will against Portland St. On the other hand Texas Tech put on its own offensive display and our D didn't look real convincing against PSU. I liked the way Mateer looked downfield and got a lot big plays. We also showed some signs of a running game. Hopefully the D can get some pressure on the Texas Tech QB. Perhaps somebody with a more technical understanding of defense than I have can explain to me why our defensive ends constantly crash down on any play action. If they insist on doing that we should at least have a linebacker or corner back ready to close that side off. The number of times the PSU QB made a simple play action fake to one side and then easily got outside on the other side was rather disconcerting. It seems to me we have been vulnerable to this for years.

Kinda thinking they will drop a little bit in the polls? Smacked around by BC at home. ranked 10th and now 0-2. But hey, everyone wants them to jump leagues. Maybe the MW Conference will take them.

Anyone know anything about CW sports? Their website said to just download the app on my Samsung TV, but I did that…and there’s not even a listing for sports.

I kid

Kinda.

Go Cougs

Alibene Christian, (ACU), 52-51 OT in Lubbock.

Hanging with the ducks late in the 3rd. Closer than I thought it would be.
Strong program in Moscow these days.

Looked improved, running straight ahead instead of laterally. The backs looked capable as well

This kid plays for Robert Morris. Unbelievable athleticism

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WSU Cougars drop 70 points in blowout season-opening win over Portland State | The Seattle Times​

Greg Woods
Aug. 31, 2024 at 4:04 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Sometime on Saturday night, a Washington State player might fire up their Xbox and start a game of College Football 25. They’ll play as the Cougars. They’ll open up the playbook and toy with an overmatched opponent.

Even then, they might have trouble replicating what happened in the real game on Saturday afternoon, the way WSU opened its season with a 70-30 thrashing of FCS Portland State.

“Game one, we accomplished the mission of what we wanted to do,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “I just told the team that we went 1-0. We didn’t have a score expectation, and we got the job done.”

That’s how easily the Cougars took care of business, which is exactly how they needed to handle this game against the Vikings, projected to be one of the Big Sky’s worst teams this season. They needed to build confidence for quarterback John Mateer in his first start. They needed to establish an effective rushing attack, and they needed their defense to create turnovers.

WSU (1-0) went 3-for-3 in those departments. Mateer completed 11 of 17 passes for 352 yards and 5 touchdowns, plus two carries for 55 yards and a score. True freshman running back Wayshawn Parker carried eight times for 96 yards and two total touchdowns, and fellow running back Leo Pulalasi added eight carries for 54 yards. Late in the second quarter, cornerback Steve Hall returned an interception some 102 yards for an interception, helping the Cougs cruise into halftime with a 49-17 cushion.

FCS opponent or not, there may be no overstating the importance of the Cougs’ success on the ground, where they totaled 224 yards in this win. Far and away, it was their biggest weakness last season, big enough to lead to six straight losses and a missed bowl game. If they want to capitalize on this unique season, capitalize on playing eight Mountain West opponents, they have to be better running the ball.

“When you can run the ball, it’s going to open up lanes for the (run-pass-option) game,” Dickert said. “We didn’t even get much to the play-action pass game today, but I thought John did a really good job of settling in.”

In the program’s first time scoring 70 points since 1997, WSU got touchdowns up and down the roster, from a diving catch by Oregon transfer Kris Hutson to a pair of long receptions from senior wideout Kyle Williams. It all looked pretty easy for the Cougs, which was always to be expected, but that’s the thing about good teams: They take care of business.

It might be too early to get a real read on this Washington State team, not after a beatdown of an FCS foe, but the Cougars don’t have time to ease into this season. Next week, they’ll host the Big 12’s Texas Tech, and a week after that, they’ll head west to take on rival Washington in the first nonconference Apple Cup at Lumen Field. It profiles as the Cougs’ toughest stretch of schedule this fall.

That’s why it was important for WSU to dispatch Portland State quickly and efficiently. The Cougs succeeded on both of those fronts.

“I thought the offensive guys did a tremendous job,” Dickert said. “Everyone ate today. I mean, you saw skill sets across the board that we’ve been talking about. It’s been great to finally see it really applied to the field. I thought our run after the catch today was phenomenal, and we’re gonna need that as we continue to go throughout this season.”

The Cougars should really be encouraged by what they saw from Mateer, a two-year backup making his first start in Saturday’s game. His team looked a little shaky to start, going three-and-out on its first series. Mateer completed just one of his first six passes. Wide receiver Josh Meredith dropped one of those first few throws.

From there, all Mateer did was torch the Vikings’ defense, the kind of showing he can draw on for confidence when the games get a lot tougher. Pick your favorite play: His 30-yard touchdown pass to Hutson? His laser to Tre Shackelford for a score? Maybe his dime of a deep ball to Williams, who finished off a 58-yard touchdown strike?

You can’t really go wrong, which says a lot about how efficient Mateer was in this one. He didn’t just show off his cannon of an arm, a key reason he won the starting role this season. He also did well to trust his playmakers, from Hutson to Shackelford to true freshman running back Wayshawn Parker, another trend that might make or break these next several games.

Mateer did make some sterling individual plays — he shook a couple tackles en route to a 40-yard touchdown rush, and he couldn’t have placed that touchdown pass to Williams in much of a better spot — but he also let his teammates do their thing. It was clear he wasn’t pressing. He simplified things. Let it happen naturally.

Perhaps most telling: After starting just 1-for-6 through the air, he finished the game completing 10 of 11 passes, which covered 336 yards.

“I think it’s our style of offense — to get the ball out on time and on rhythm,” Dickert said. “And when you do that, you allow these guys space to go out there and make plays. We did feel coming into the game that we could (run) the football after we caught it. It’s good to see that get applied.”

“Coming up in the week, I was like, nah, I’m good, I’m good,” Mateer said of his nerves. “I was confident going into the week. These coaches prepare me really well, and the players around me helped me succeed. So no, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be, and I’ve been here for a while, and I think I’m mature enough to understand I’m good enough to play this level.”

For WSU, if there’s any concern about the way this one unfolded, it came on defense. For one, the Vikings racked up 30 points, the most they’ve scored against an FBS opponent since 2021 in a loss to Hawaii. They also burned the Cougs for 235 yards through the air and 215 more on the ground, churning out 4.5 yards per rush.

A couple caveats there: WSU’s starting defenders weren’t playing the snap counts they will the rest of the season. That’s the nature of blowouts like these. It was also really hot during this one, over 90 degrees for much of the game, and the Cougs likely won’t play in those kinds of conditions again this season. Maybe they still shouldn’t be allowing an FCS opponent to score that much — Portland State QB Dante Chachere completed touchdown passes of 40 and 11 yards — but in any case, this wasn’t a normal outing from WSU’s defense.

One thing is for sure, though: Washington State will need to be far better on defense in these next two games. Not every game is like a video game.

“We gotta get better from this tape,” Dickert said. “There’s some communication issues, there’s tackling issues. Here’s what I know about that squad: They’re gonna come back to practice with their hair on fire and ready to go. We’ll see where we’re at next week.”

Our new "Voice of the Cougars".

Interesting to hear how Chris will sound on radio ~ play by play.

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The Ducks are going to get their teeth kicked in during B1G play.

Nothing would make me happier.

FWIW, their qb isn't up to the hype either.

WSU 49 PSU 17

Comcast. The company that people love to hate.

I’ve told you my opinion for decades. DISH Network has the Best DVR Technology and linear platform in the world.

Read how Seattle and Portland won't be able to watch their B1G Opener....

From Seattle Times readers:

"Comcast is so eff'd up on so many levels. After their tech support, which are poorly-trained contractors in the Philippines that are paid 87¢ an hour, went 0 for 13 on helping me resolve anything... I dumped them. If you think Comcast cares about you at all, you can put that thought to rest, because you won't be watching any Dawgs or Ducks this year.”

"I would go beyond that and say their tech is completely screwed up, particularly their website and email. And yes, I dumped them too, but part of the reason I did was the extra charges they added for sports programming, even if you didn't subscribe to anything in that area.”

"Get DISH Network and DISH Anywhere and use it wherever you want. You'll still get financially hosed by Comcast for Xfinity internet but at least you can watch what you want.”

The latest on Comcast, Big Ten Network dispute on eve of UW opener​

Jon WilnerAug. 30, 2024 at 4:20 pm

The Big Ten Network and Comcast remained locked in a dispute Friday afternoon that could prevent Comcast subscribers throughout the region from viewing Saturday’s Washington and Oregon football season openers.

“(Friday) is a big day in this negotiation,” Bob Thompson, the retired president of Fox Sports, noted on Twitter/X.
“Yes, there are a couple of games on Saturday but more importantly it is a holiday weekend. I can guarantee you that neither party wants to be on one endless zoom call!”

The Big Ten Network (BTN), which is owned by Fox, wants to be moved onto Comcast’s expanded basic tier on systems along the West Coast now that UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington have entered the conference.
Thus far, Comcast hasn’t budged.

As a result, even subscribers who have paid for BTN on a Comcast sports tier are unable to watch live events involving the four West Coast schools.

If the stalemate continues into Saturday, Comcast subscribers in Portland, for example, would have access to the Purdue-Indiana State game on BTN but not Oregon’s opener against Idaho at 4:30 p.m.

And subscribers in Seattle wouldn’t be able to watch the first game of the Jedd Fisch era as the Huskies host Weber State at 8 p.m.
If there is no deal by kickoff in Eugene, both games likely will be blacked out — and the dispute could continue for days, if not weeks.
There are two games scheduled for Sept. 7 on BTN involving members of the West Coast quartet: Eastern Michigan at Washington and Utah State at USC.

Earlier this week, the Big Ten Network released the following statement:
“The Big Ten Network is proud to present an expanded slate of live sporting events featuring the newest members of the B1G conference, however most Comcast subscribers will not see these games.

As the one distribution partner that declined to expand along with us, Comcast Xfinity viewers in many areas will not have access to live broadcasts of the highly anticipated inaugural B1G season games for Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

22.1 KSKN

No talk about the upcoming season on the board? Sounds like many would rather be on Gilligan's Island.

Any thoughts, predictions on the upcoming season? For me there are so many unknowns, weird schedule, not sure what to expect from this team, the QB situation could be shaky at best. I fear a long season.

(Sold, not actual- assuming 7-9 wins)
PSU - 23,000
TT - 29,500 (unfortunately not a sellout).
Uw - 61000 (70% uw fans)
SJSU - 24,600 (parents weekend but a Friday night).
Hawaii - 25,500
Utah State - 25,000
Wyoming - 19,000

In season of change, optimism reigns for WSU football: ‘Always us, never them’​

Scott Hanson
Aug. 29, 2024 at 7:00 am Updated Aug. 29, 2024 at 7:00 am
By
Seattle Times staff reporter
PULLMAN — In a season in which so much will be different for Washington State football, starting with the teams it will be playing, things seemed no different at fall football camp.

It was business as usual on the practice field, enthusiasm around the city for the start of the season certainly doesn’t appear to have diminished and players said they are unfazed that the majority of their opponents will now be from the Mountain West Conference and not from the Pac-12.

Rather than focusing on what is new, Washington State coach Jake Dickert brought up some things that hadn’t changed.

“The head coach is back, so is the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator, the special teams coordinator and the head strength coach,” Dickert said. “I bet we’re one of maybe 10 FBS programs in the whole country that has that type of consistency, and I think that matters to player retention. We had some guys seek other opportunities to play. But for the most part, to maintain this roster the way we did, is a proud moment for our staff, because I think it takes everybody. But it also means that they’re sharing in our vision.”


Dickert pointed out that among WSU’s 12 opponents, nine have new coaches this season.

That could be an advantage for the Cougars.

They are certainly looking forward to flipping the page on the 2023 season, which started with four straight wins, including two over ranked teams, but ended with losses in seven of their final eight games.

Dickert has spent plenty of time reflecting on the Cougars’ slide after rising to No. 13 in the national rankings, intent on learning from not only the good times but also the bad.

“It’s one of those things where you have got to learn from it, but you can’t dwell on it,” Dickert said. “I’ve learned a lot about success adversity. Everyone talks about how hard it is when things go bad. Well, we faced success, and I don’t know if we handled it the best way that we could have.

“It was one of those things where we won some great games early, but we went into a stretch of some really powerful football teams, and then the hard part was not getting out of that [slide] when we had an opportunity to go out and win some games late. We had the ball four times with under three minutes to go to win football games and didn’t do it one time.”

Dickert said because of that, the focus has been on finishing.

“The focus is on those moments, feeling like we’ve been there a million times and practiced those situations so we know exactly who we can count on,” Dickert said.

What will the coach do differently if the Cougars get off to another great start?

“I think everyone follows me — and I wasn’t distracted by it — but I think I tried to take on too much, you know, the Cougs versus everybody with what was happening to us in the conference,” Dickert said. “It was a lot and I tried to be the rallying cry for not just the community and the campus, but for everyone who didn’t have a voice. So it would be just staying focused on us, staying focused on the daily, knowing that each game deserves our absolute best, and the ownership that we all have in that.”

The Cougars lost 27 players to the transfer portal, most notably two-year starting quarterback Cam Ward (to Miami) and receiver Josh Kelly (to Texas Tech), but the vast majority of those electing to transfer were players who saw little or no action last season at WSU.


Washington State quarterback John Mateer runs a play during fall football camp, Aug. 13, 2024 in Pullman. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
Job one for Washington State was selecting its quarterback. Redshirt sophomore John Mateer prevailed in a battle with Zevi Eckhaus, who transferred to WSU after three prolific seasons at FCS Bryant.

Dickert said he has confidence in both quarterbacks, but he believes in picking one person for that job and said Mateer has great potential.

For Mateer to reach that potential, the offensive line will need to perform better than it did last season. The Cougars struggled to run all season and Ward was often under duress.

But Dickert is bullish on that unit, with four players back who started at least eight games (Brock Dieu, Fa’alili Fa’amoe, Christian Hilborn and Esa Pole) and another who started twice (Rodrick Tialavea).


Washington State offensive lineman Fa’alili Fa’amoe (79), during fall football camp, Aug. 13, 2024, in Pullman. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
“It’s been the No. 1 thing we’ve invested in since I’ve been the head coach,” Dickert said. “I think we took over a difficult situation in that position, and it’s the one position where you just can’t fix immediately. These guys go on the slow cooker. But now it is Year 3, and I think they can be the foundation of our offense.”

Dickert said he is confident that the offense will be productive overall.

“That is because of my belief in the offensive line, in our quarterbacks and what they can do in [offensive coordinator Ben] Arbuckle’s offense, and his vision for how we want to play football,” he said, “But it starts with running the ball, and we struggled with that mightily last season. And it just opens up all the doors.

“Once you can run the football, the physicality piece, they have to respect it, and you’re no longer getting drop eight [in pass coverage], and then everything else opens back up. So it will still start from that standpoint. That doesn’t mean we’re going to run it 40 times a game. But when we do, we have got to be extremely effective and, occasionally, explosive.”

When it comes to defense, Dickert said the strength of that unit has changed.

“The core of our defense is way better, and that’s interior defense, at tackle and linebacker,” he said. “It’s kind of flipped. We were a perimeter defense last year, and I think we struggled in the core.”

Kyle Thornton, a sixth-year senior who led the Cougars in tackles last season, leads the linebackers. They will play behind three defensive tackles — David Gusta, Khalil Laufau and Ansel Din-Mbuh — that Dickert said are the best since he arrived at WSU five years ago.

“So the core is much better. We love the athletes of the edges, which are very unproven,” Dickert said. “But being young won’t be an excuse. Those guys got to be ready to play. And it starts with communication and having confidence in their abilities.”

The Cougars open with a game they will be expected to win against Portland State, but then come much tougher tests against Texas Tech and Washington.

“The last two years, we played Wisconsin in Game 2 [WSU won both], and Game 4 was Oregon in 2022 and Game 4 was Oregon State last year,” Dickert said. “So we’re used to playing good opponents early. We have played good football early in September, so I’m fired up about it.”

The Apple Cup will have a hard time living up to last season’s game when Washington needed a win to earn a spot into the College Football Playoff and the Cougars needed a win to become bowl eligible.

Washington State played perhaps its best game of the season against the undefeated Huskies, with UW prevailing 24-21 at Husky Stadium with a field goal on the final play of the game.

It certainly will feel different with the game in September and at Lumen Field instead of one of the two campuses.

“I’m interested to see the environment of the game,” Dickert said. “Because every Apple Cup I’ve been in has been with the coolest environments I’ve ever been in.

“I talked a lot about last year’s game to recruits and families, saying I’ve never seen anything like it. What was on the line for both sides, the crowd, the game and how it ended up being. It was one for the ages. I know we fell short, but that’s what we need to have early in September. And anything short of that isn’t good enough for either side.”

Much of the rest of the schedule is against Mountain West opponents, who might not have the reputation of last year’s Pac-12 foes but won’t necessarily be easy to beat.

“We have a few teams in the Mountain West who could beat a lot of teams in the Pac-12,” said Gusta, a starting defensive tackle. “I don’t think it matters much. We’re all Division I players.”

Dickert was an assistant coach at Mountain West school Wyoming for three seasons.

“I know the target we will have on our back playing those teams,” Dickert said. “When we got an opportunity to play Power Five teams when I was at Wyoming, it was a big deal. Not comparing teams, but the environment, and it’s tougher to play in Boise than it is at Stanford. It’s tougher to play in Fresno than it is at Cal.”

Washington State will play at both Boise State and Fresno State this season. Those games will be challenging, but Dickert, who likes to break down the schedule into 12 one-game seasons, said the Cougars are good enough to go 1-0 each week.

“Our motto this year is, ‘Always us, never them,’” he said. “The outside noise doesn’t matter. The things we can’t control do not matter. It’s just about what we do and how we perform on those 12 given Saturdays.”

Scott Hanson: shanson@seattletimes.com;

Looks like we have another waning of the spambots. As I have said, report them then ignore them. Cleans things up a lot as Rivals continues to address the issue.

So I started this thread on the non-cheapskate board, but those 8 guys all seem to be asleep. Here we go.

There have been a couple of recent articles (NY Times, Salt Lake Tribune) about waining interest in a Pac-2/Mtn West merger, but they are behind paywalls. Link below is the one "free" article I found. Looks pretty bleak to me. What I envision now is the Pac-2 futzing around waiting for the never-to-happen phone call from the Big-12 or ACC, then having to beg the Mtn West to take us in on July 1, 2026, thus losing about $30M in future NCAA BB allocations. Which we would lose anyway if we went somewhere else.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ot...th-pac-12-drama/ar-BB1quP65?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Cougs get 2 out of 39....the Mike Price inclusion is not fair, but I guess it was his Destiny.