25-11, 18-7 in the Pac-12 the last three years (so far)

[Brent H.]

Enjoy it Cougs. And the talent level that is coming in this year and from last are so far superior than Leach early years. This staff is reloading with talent and the best years are ahead of us. If Hiliinski can avoid going full 2nd half Conor Halliday against Oregon State in 2013 then we should win 7 games next year IMO.

And while we are critical of Luke Falk, the kid helped turn around the program. Let's never forget that.

 

[jarvis1981]

This is CML 6th year with the team and the 3rd year where the majority of his recruiting classes have been his own.
9-4
8-5
8 wins at least this year.

Many of the key players are young. At one point the Cougs had 3 freshmen (includes RS freshmen) at WR for a TD against Stanford. Solid recruiting at that position means there is a going to be a great rotation there for the next 3 to 4 years. The OL play has been good in general and the depth is there.
QB is always critical but Hilinski has the arm and mobility and now he will have to show that he has learned the system. Other QBs are right behind him should he falter including a 4 **** recruit.
Defense - LBs are young and weren't supposed to play this year but now they are a year ahead of schedule.
DL - Could be a problem if Hercules leaves early but they did recruit a number of DE types last year.

In Summary:
Winning now and without having the whole team be a group of seniors.
Cougar football has stepped up.

 

[froropmkr72]

I've got a rosier scenario where Hilinski gets most the reps in spring and fall, fully grasps the offense (check to run) and runs the offense more efficiently on a regular basis. I think he has a better repport with the receivers. It also depends on the defense continueing to do well. 9 wins might be the target.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Enjoy it Cougs. And the talent level that is coming in this year and from last are so far superior than Leach early years. This staff is reloading with talent and the best years are ahead of us. If Hiliinski can avoid going full 2nd half Conor Halliday against Oregon State in 2013 then we should win 7 games next year IMO.

And while we are critical of Luke Falk, the kid helped turn around the program. Let's never forget that.

It's a great time to be a WSU fan. My only concern is the lack of big bodies for the middle of the defensive line. Grinch has made things work with a smaller lineup, but I'd love to see another couple big bodies in the depth chart. I agree that Hilinski needs to clean up the turnovers, but if the younger OL players step up and we get a big body on the DL to replace Ekuale, I can see another 8+ win season for next year.

 

[Coug90]

Enjoy it Cougs. And the talent level that is coming in this year and from last are so far superior than Leach early years. This staff is reloading with talent and the best years are ahead of us. If Hiliinski can avoid going full 2nd half Conor Halliday against Oregon State in 2013 then we should win 7 games next year IMO.

And while we are critical of Luke Falk, the kid helped turn around the program. Let's never forget that.

Those that are critical aren’t not enjoying it or not appreciative of what Falk has done during his time here. Simply frustrated that this should be one of the truly “special” seasons when you see a generationally good defense, a really good OLine and three exceptional running backs...and somehow unexplainable inconsistency at QB may derail that. As we all know the primary goal is still out there, but something still needs to click better at QB1 for the Cougs to run the table and make this season that it should be.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Those that are critical aren’t not enjoying it or not appreciative of what Falk has done during his time here. Simply frustrated that this should be one of the truly “special” seasons when you see a generationally good defense, a really good OLine and three exceptional running backs...and somehow unexplainable inconsistency at QB may derail that. As we all know the primary goal is still out there, but something still needs to click better at QB1 for the Cougs to run the table and make this season that it should be.

Your comment about "unexplainable inconsistency at QB" is ignoring the fact that inconsistency at the QB position at the college level is one of the most likely things to happen. Darnold threw a pick six yesterday and was not good against us and has been ineffective at other times. Khalil Tate threw a crippling pick late and had another pass picked right after that. Almost every team in the Pac-12 has either benched their starting QB or lost them to injury. Most of the starting QB's in the conference have had a statistically terrible game at some point. We are so hung up on wanting Falk to be perfect that we fail to see how inconsistent and imperfect college QB's are in general.

Of course, it doesn't help that Falk was so consistently good early in his career that his current struggles seem worse.

 

[Coug90]

Your comment about "unexplainable inconsistency at QB" is ignoring the fact that inconsistency at the QB position at the college level is one of the most likely things to happen. Darnold threw a pick six yesterday and was not good against us and has been ineffective at other times. Khalil Tate threw a crippling pick late and had another pass picked right after that. Almost every team in the Pac-12 has either benched their starting QB or lost them to injury. Most of the starting QB's in the conference have had a statistically terrible game at some point. We are so hung up on wanting Falk to be perfect that we fail to see how inconsistent and imperfect college QB's are in general.

Of course, it doesn't help that Falk was so consistently good early in his career that his current struggles seem worse.

Maybe inconsistency wasn't the right word for BSU, Cal, and AZ. And that's not one game, that's a third of the season so far, not counting other very mediocre performances scattered throughout. If you are being honest with yourself, what's happened with Falk isn't your typical rough game or rough patch from a QB. It's a full season+ of wildly inconsistent play/inability to excecute the offense, from a guy that had previously been pretty consistently good in his first 20+ games as a starter. I've never seen anything like it on the college or pro level (with the exception of a guy like Peyton Manning that just got too old and played one year too many).

 

[cr8zyncalif]

This is CML 6th year with the team and the 3rd year where the majority of his recruiting classes have been his own.
9-4
8-5
8 wins at least this year.

Many of the key players are young. At one point the Cougs had 3 freshmen (includes RS freshmen) at WR for a TD against Stanford. Solid recruiting at that position means there is a going to be a great rotation there for the next 3 to 4 years. The OL play has been good in general and the depth is there.
QB is always critical but Hilinski has the arm and mobility and now he will have to show that he has learned the system. Other QBs are right behind him should he falter including a 4 **** recruit.
Defense - LBs are young and weren't supposed to play this year but now they are a year ahead of schedule.
DL - Could be a problem if Hercules leaves early but they did recruit a number of DE types last year.

In Summary:
Winning now and without having the whole team be a group of seniors.
Cougar football has stepped up.

Jarvis, this is post of the week. Everything you say is right on. We are not perfect and we are probably not as good as we will eventually be, but we've steadily gotten better and along the way we've developed a consistency that has been lacking since the early Y2K years. The happiest aspect for me is that this appears to be sustainable, and that has been my wish for almost 5 decades of eating, living and breathing Cougar football.

 

[fingerdisco]

Your comment about "unexplainable inconsistency at QB" is ignoring the fact that inconsistency at the QB position at the college level is one of the most likely things to happen. Darnold threw a pick six yesterday and was not good against us and has been ineffective at other times. Khalil Tate threw a crippling pick late and had another pass picked right after that. Almost every team in the Pac-12 has either benched their starting QB or lost them to injury. Most of the starting QB's in the conference have had a statistically terrible game at some point. We are so hung up on wanting Falk to be perfect that we fail to see how inconsistent and imperfect college QB's are in general.

Of course, it doesn't help that Falk was so consistently good early in his career that his current struggles seem worse.

Name me a senior QB with the number of games under his belt that Luke has that’s been benched...just once, doesn’t even have to be multiple games like Luke.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Name me a senior QB with the number of games under his belt that Luke has that’s been benched...just once, doesn’t even have to be multiple games like Luke.

I'm going with Leach here.....I don't need to to waste my time trying to justify things to you. Sorry.

 

[fingerdisco]

I'm going with Leach here.....I don't need to to waste my time trying to justify things to you. Sorry.

No, you’re just going to throw out unsubstantiated statements and weasel out when called on them.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

No, you’re just going to throw out unsubstantiated statements and weasel out when called on them.

Sure.....whatever. If you want to take a dump on one of the best QB's in school history.....do it. As mentioned by others, you can start bitching about Hilinski as soon as he's the starter too.

 

[fingerdisco]

Sure.....whatever. If you want to take a dump on one of the best QB's in school history.....do it. As mentioned by others, you can start bitching about Hilinski as soon as he's the starter too.

Actually, I was thinking of taking up bitching about how opposing team’s football players assaulting our students is OK because they have it coming if they go on the field.

 

[BiggsCoug]

This is the golden era of WSU football. Never before has there been so many wins and bowls. It's only going to get better.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Actually, I was thinking of taking up bitching about how opposing team’s football players assaulting our students is OK because they have it coming if they go on the field.

What's obvious is that you don't really care about WSU......you just want to be a smartass who attacks other posters (and our players).

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Finger, though I am too lazy to look up the specific games, my TT buddy tells me that Leach has a long and storied career of benching his first string QB when he thinks that he is not executing properly. Apparently he did it more than once at Tech. And I'm told that it seems to be an effective way of getting his point across.

 

[fingerdisco]

What's obvious is that you don't really care about WSU......you just want to be a smartass who attacks other posters (and our players).

Take your hero suit off, It doesn’t fit you. I guess you don’t care much about WSU students getting assaulted.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Take your hero suit off, It doesn’t fit you. I guess you don’t care much about WSU students getting assaulted.

Somebody brought up strawman earlier.....congratulations.....you are the strawman king.

 

[fingerdisco]

Finger, though I am too lazy to look up the specific games, my TT buddy tells me that Leach has a long and storied career of benching his first string QB when he thinks that he is not executing properly. Apparently he did it more than once at Tech. And I'm told that it seems to be an effective way of getting his point across.

I have no doubt he’s done it before. I’m just curious about this apparent common occurrence of experienced starters getting benched for inconsistent play that makes Falk’s inconsistency something that should be swept under the rug, because I’m just not seeing the Baker Mayfields, Matt Leinerts, Sean Mannions, etc., getting benched left and right.

 

[fingerdisco]

Somebody brought up strawman earlier.....congratulations.....you are the strawman king.

Hey good for you, you really hit that one out of the park. I’m the no-caring, player bashing strawman king, as appointed by the drama queen himself.

 

[Brent H.]

I have no doubt he’s done it before. I’m just curious about this apparent common occurrence of experienced starters getting benched for inconsistent play that makes Falk’s inconsistency something that should be swept under the rug, because I’m just not seeing the Baker Mayfields, Matt Leinerts, Sean Mannions, etc., getting benched left and right.

BSU he needed to sit. And Arizona was the day after his Grandpa died and maybe Leach was protecting him because he just wasn’t in the game mentally.

 

[Cougatron]

I love Luke, he's been incredible, but he has his share of faults (although very few).

Leach has done the right thing, pulling him and letting him watch another person play the position and watch what is going on and learn in a live situation.

It actually shows maturity from Falk, and from Leach on doing what is best for the team, and the program.

Falk has things to improve on, and protecting / coddling him will never let him develop.

Outside of your comfort zone is where you grow. It's the only place where growth actually is. If it was in your comfort zone it wouldn't be called growth.

I saw Falk today make some commanding throws, and he still kept his game management composure. It's what he needs to really fine tune and develop his game. (Which already is pretty amazing), but taking that final step for him is big. It elevates him and the team even higher. It makes the whole team better, and it makes Falk better too.

Remember Falk is a guy who had never won a season opener as a starter until THIS year. He still had growth to develop. He's taking those steps, and Leach wanted to make sure that Falk didn't just mail it in and get too comfortable. He always has to be improving, smoothing out the final wrinkles.

His decisiveness always needed to be sharpened. His passiveness always needed to be lessened and his assertiveness accentuated.

He's getting there. I saw a guy who wanted to lead, command and assert himself. Falk is a great coug, but still he's learning, he's growing. I'll miss him and I'm proud of him.

 

[Fab5Coug]

I'm going with Leach here.....I don't need to to waste my time trying to justify things to you. Sorry.

That's such a lazy reply. Why even post in the thread if you're just going to default to "cuz coach said so"?

 

[fingerdisco]

BSU he needed to sit. And Arizona was the day after his Grandpa died and maybe Leach was protecting him because he just wasn’t in the game mentally.

Well I agree with Leach, sometimes if a player isn’t on top of his game then he needs to sit. I had this debate last year after the Crapple Cup, and was told in no uncertain terms that you never, ever pull your starting QB—as it turns out, CML doesn’t subscribe to that line of thought.

 

[avabob11]

I can see why people would be concerned with Falk's performance against BSU, Cal, and AZ. However when people start complaining about his performance in other games I am befuddled. Colorado game may be one of the most under appreciated QB performances I have seen given the conditions. Great performance against Stanford and people focus on two bad possessions in 3rd qtr.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

That's such a lazy reply. Why even post in the thread if you're just going to default to "cuz coach said so"?

I know it's a lazy reply but what do we have to gain bitching about Hilinski vs Falk?