ADVERTISEMENT

Preseason mags don't have much love for the Cougs

TZCoug84

Redshirt
Sep 12, 2014
125
87
28
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.
 
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.

I think we will do okay, but there is a lot of turbulence this coming year on paper at least. had a team tragedy, will be having a new QB, loads of new assistants, lots of young talent that needs to step up.

It is basically as much of a "rebuilding year" as you can get aside from a total new hire. Fortunately we do have some experience, and we have some great hires who know how to coach, and a lot of exciting young talent. So there is room for optimism too.

I think we may be looking at a 6-6 / 7-5 year with a lot of ups and downs. If we have more ups we could hit 8/9 wins if we have more downs we could head to 4-5 wins.

I'm just looking forward to watch the Cougs and getting a read on what the next few years will look like. What I am most looking for is good future QB play, and some exciting defense skill players / offensive skill players. We get those experience and the ability to gel and we will be looking very good in 2019/2020
 
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.

Most of these publications have a scratch-the-surface mentality. They simply see WSU losing Luke Falk, Hercules Mata'afa, Cody O'Connell, Daniel Ekuale, and Cole Madison, and fall back on past assumptions that WSU can't maintain success when it loses this many key players.
I'd like to say they're wrong.
But in watching the replay of the Holiday Bowl, I wonder if they're right. Granted that Michigan State's O- and D-lines are better than most Pac-12 lines, I wonder how we'll stand up with four key pieces missing on the lines. Starting with the d-line, if Nick Begg and Taylor Comfort are Ekuale's and Mata'afa's replacements, we're possibly in significant trouble. MSU simply manhandled them both (Mata'afa sat out the first half). The only hope is that WSU can come up with a committee that holds up. This means newcomers such as Lolohea, Echevarria, Crowder, and Aiolupotea have to contribute immediately. Will Rodgers III and Dallas Hobbs also factor in, assuming their growth continues. One can always hope Hunter Mattox finally shows up. But it's safe to assume that not one of these guys, as an individual, matches the skill set of Mata'afa.
The O-line doesn't concern me as much - yet. The coaches nearly ripped Abraham Lucas' s redshirt off last year, and Robert Valencia is entering his third year with the program. I like Keenan Forbe's physical presence.
But there's a lot of proving to do here, and that's what the mags assume won't happen.
 
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.

Historically, this would definitely be a losing season for WSU and a 5th place finish would be right. I think that Leach has changed our culture enough where that is longer a given and I could definitely see us getting 6 wins if we can get past Wyoming in the opener. We can definitely beat OSU and I'm not sold that CU isn't going to be posting a losing record again. They lost a lot of experience from a team that wasn't all that good anyway. We'll have a puncher's chance against Cal, Arizona and Utah. I can't help but think that USC, Stanford, Oregon and UW are going to be tough for us to beat this year. Still, that does set us up for that 6 or 7 win season mentioned above. I won't be shocked if we end up 5-7 though. Hoping that Leach really has changed that.
 
Last edited:
If we get through the non-con schedule undefeated, we will have gelled enough to win at least 4 conference games. We have more experience than someone who is only looking at the conventional definition of returning starters would see....heck, just as one example, we probably play at least 8 WR's per game, and that means we never come into a season without a bunch of experienced WR's. We had 3 RB's last year who got significant time & touches, and they are not all gone this year. You could say something similar about D backs, and even D ends. All in all, if we were not starting from scratch at QB you would have to consider us to be in pretty good shape from an experience standpoint.

As for QB...CML has had seasons in the past when his starting QB had essentially no snaps the year before. If we get through the first couple of games I think we'll be OK.

Finally, the national gurus always drink the koolaid for both UCLA and Cal, then act surprised when/if they don't get it together. Stanford and Oregon both have significant issues to resolve. I think the PAC north is particularly hard to call. UW is at the top; OSU at the bottom; and the other 4 teams are each likely to beat at least one of the others. How it will all shake out is just as likely to be a function of which team has the worst injury situation as it is which team has the most returning starters for the first game.
 
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.
What # do you think we belong?
 
I flipped through a couple of the preseason prediction magazines yesterday. From what I saw, the experts have us pretty much pegged for #5 in the North, behind UW, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal and ahead of OSU. I hope Leach and the boys find a way to over-achieve again this year.

Does anyone remember when Jim Walden told one magazine his top returning running back was a guy named Keith Lincoln? Yes, it was published. Walden was the original master of FAKE NEWS!
 
Does anyone remember when Jim Walden told one magazine his top returning running back was a guy named Keith Lincoln? Yes, it was published. Walden was the original master of FAKE NEWS!
I'd like to at least see us mentioned a couple of times in fourth, but I really can't argue with fifth. We are generally overlooked and undervalued, and I hope that's the case this year too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BiggsCoug
Cal, WSU and Oregon are a coin flip, with Stanford only a nose ahead. I expect each team in this group to beat at least one other team from the group.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BiggsCoug
I hadn't looked at Massey yet this year and his ratings are backward looking and generally inaccurate before the season starts. That said, he has us finishing 9-3 (6-3) and 3rd in the north behind UW and Stanford. He has us pegged at #48 in the country.

Massey Ratings for WSU

He thinks that Wyoming plays us tough, we sneak by Utah at home, barely get by CU on the road but almost upset UW in the Apple Cup. He likes us against Oregon in Martin Stadium but then again, his formula is negative on Oregon an has them finishing 6-6.

EDIT: Even though I understand the concerns about Wyoming, their schedule was crap last year and they only went 7-5 in the regular season. They played 7 teams with losing records and managed to lose to a 2-11 team in their regular season finale. Good defense or no, we should win that game.
 
Last edited:
Do they ever? Maybe three or four seasons out of the past 100 have the Cougs ever been expected to do great things by the preseason magazines. So much the better on those occasions when they do actually deliver on the field.
 
Do they ever? Maybe three or four seasons out of the past 100 have the Cougs ever been expected to do great things by the preseason magazines. So much the better on those occasions when they do actually deliver on the field.

The only time that I remember WSU being hyped up in the pre-season was 2002. As I recall, we were in the Top 15 to start the season and stayed there all season and finished #10 in both polls.
 
The only time that I remember WSU being hyped up in the pre-season was 2002. As I recall, we were in the Top 15 to start the season and stayed there all season and finished #10 in both polls.
Amazing how starting so high in the polls keeps you in the polls all year, isn't it? But shhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell the B11, SEC, or ACC...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flatlandcoug
There next time Kal lives up to any expectation will be the first.
2003 was the last time Cal exceeded expectations I believe. There's 4 coach-killer programs in the Pac currently: WSU, for the reasons discussed ad nauseum here, Oregon St, for very similar reasons, and then there's ASU and Cal. ASU just seems determined to chew through coaches until they find one that wins 9 games every year, and they generally don't hire well. Cal has expectations and population base but starve its athletic dept. It's probably the worst job in the conference now. If Wilcox wins there long enough to get another job, good for him. Then they'll probably be right back where they were. At least if Leach sticks around here another few years we could probably say that barring a Wulffesque replacement the program will be better off long term. UCLA is seems similar to ASU, but the advantages are greater. If Chip gets it going there everyone's job will get harder. The Cougs have feasted on UCLA (relatively speaking) since that big upset in '88.
 
If you look at the P12N objectively, predicting us 4th makes sense. Stanford and UW are the clear favorites, and Oregon still has residual Oregon “wow” accompanying their name, not to mention a highly regarded QB.

WSU has big holes to fill on the o-line, replacing Falk, Herc, Morrow, and Martin at WR. Then there’s the tragic loss of Hilinski.

I’m picking us 4th right now too, but it wouldn’t shock me if we finished t3 or even ahead of Oregon. Stanford and UW look too strong though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cr8zyncalif
If you look at the P12N objectively, predicting us 4th makes sense. Stanford and UW are the clear favorites, and Oregon still has residual Oregon “wow” accompanying their name, not to mention a highly regarded QB.

WSU has big holes to fill on the o-line, replacing Falk, Herc, Morrow, and Martin at WR. Then there’s the tragic loss of Hilinski.

I’m picking us 4th right now too, but it wouldn’t shock me if we finished t3 or even ahead of Oregon. Stanford and UW look too strong though.
I'm a Stanford skeptic. Their QB play needs to be better for me to call them more than a spoiler. I think they'll handle the bottom 3 in the division (us, Cal, OSU) but I'm less sure about how they'll do against the Ducks and Fuskies.
 
The media looked at us as a team built around Falk. Now that he’s gone, we are back to where they thought we’d be. It’s going to take us winning 6+ PAC 12 games again this year to change their perspective. What they don’t understand is that we are reloading each year. We’re young, but a hell of a lot is coming back. We competed for the north title 3 years in a row. I don’t see that changing with a new QB. Falk was a great player for us, but he was a manager. We won because we made less mistakes in the X’s and the O’s and didn’t rely purely on the Jimmy’s and Joe’s. The great equalizer for WSU is a niche system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cr8zyncalif
I agree mostly with Patrol. We are a logical 4th, but there are a lot of question marks around Oregon. If we win our first three convincingly the Oregon game could be a good one. As for Random being a Stanford skeptic, I have to agree this year. Betting right now I'd take the Trees over us, but it is not hard to see how I might change my mind about that depending upon how the season goes.
 
Not sure what there is to be skeptical about regarding Stanford finishing 2nd in the P12N. They’ve got the best RB in the Nation behind the best o-line in the league. Costello was a highly regarded prospect, and they’re always fairly strong on defense.

Who should be picked ahead of them that isn’t? Oregon? Cal? WSU? No way. Not at this point.
 
Last edited:
The Pac-12 media poll seems about right, for media types.

Oregon St is in the toilet, easy 6th.
WSU lost a lot, 5th
Cal might be on the upswing, 4th
Oregon is talented, year 2 of an improving defense, favorable schedule, 3rd
Stanford best back in conference, promising QB and always good on D. 2nd.
UW best group on paper, 1st.

I'd personally put Stanford as my favorite in the division. Bryce Love's explosiveness is a game changer. If they can get early leads, this defense should hold them. I'd put us above Cal, too.
 
Stanford has the pieces to look good on O. They look weaker than normal on D, and in particular don't look to have much on the D line to either provide a pass rush or be particularly potent against the run. It is easy to see them having to win a lot of games in a shootout, and if they come up against a possession team that grinds it out with multiple short gain plays (and that is not just a ground attack; the air raid has also looked a lot like that for quite a while), that D is likely to run out of gas in the 4th quarter. They had better have a great offense, because they will probably need it.

The trees are the logical 2nd place choice, but among Stanford, Oregon, WSU and Cal I still expect each to beat at least one of the others, and most if not all will pick up an upset from the others in that group.
 
ADVERTISEMENT