Show me another school...

[BiggsCoug]

... that leaves as much meat on the table as WSU.

Is there one out there?

I know other schools can look back over their schedule and point to woulda coulda shoulda games. But is there one like WSU that can consistently do it as often for as long??? Blown chances to win. Sold out their non conference game to the highest bidder. Finished just out of bowl eligibility or finished bowl eligible but nowhere to go. Loses to FCS schools....

WSU pissed away an 11 win season this year.

Or maybe for the sake of argument this was Leach's best year coaching yet because it was a 4 win team that overproduced????

 

[Coug90]

I think it's easy to say that when it's the team you follow. Leach can certainly be maddening the way he can give away a win because of his stubborn bang his head against the wall approach, but it's not like there aren't other coaches and teams that snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[BiggsCoug]

I think it's easy to say that when it's the team you follow. Leach can certainly be maddening the way he can give away a win because of his stubborn bang his head against the wall approach, but it's not like there aren't other coaches and teams that snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Oh I know there are. Im just wondering who does it as well as WSU???

And it isn't just Leach. This goes back 100 years.

 

[CougPatrol]

Or maybe for the sake of argument this was Leach's best year coaching yet because it was a 4 win team that overproduced????

Not his best coaching job ever, but let's be clear about something. WSU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF a really down year in the P12. We didn't miss an opportunity, we backed into a good bowl game in a year that we weren't very good.

Usually, WSU is on the wrong end of that stuff, but this year was a real bonus. It could of, and probably should have, been a 6-6 season at best.

 

[YakiCoug]

I think it's easy to say that when it's the team you follow. Leach can certainly be maddening the way he can give away a win because of his stubborn bang his head against the wall approach, but it's not like there aren't other coaches and teams that snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Arkansas absolutely ripped defeat from the bowels of victory v. Virginia Tech yesterday. What a laugher.

 

[CougPatrol]

Arkansas absolutely ripped defeat from the bowels of victory v. Virginia Tech yesterday. What a laugher.

Or maybe that one can be attributed to the silly 5 week layoff these teams have to deal with. Arkansas started fast, but once VA Tech calmed down, they were the overwhelmingly better team.

It's early, but Georgia is currently losing to a very weak, 6-6 TCU team that hasn't been able to stop anyone all season. The SEC is looking bad thus far.

 

[Glad Cougar]

An interesting side note to the VA Tech-Arkansas game was the suspension prior to the game of the Hogs' best player, TE Jeremy Sprinkle, for shoplifting at a Belk Store (sponsor of the Bowl Game) when he already had a $450 gift card as part of the players' swag. Guess he just wanted to supplement that gift card with some bonus merchandise. The incredible audacity/stupidity of some athletes (and the general population) absolutely amazes me.

Glad Cougar

 

[cr8zyncalif]

The only game that we truly stumbled away was EWU. BSU was an even match up. I believe that we would have beaten CO with Cracraft, but without him we clearly were not the same team. We would have lost to UW this year anyway. We missed USC and Utah. We started slow, then accelerated, just like SC, but they didn't lose it at the end…I think that we would have lost that game (though it would have been close at the right point in the season). Utah? I put them in the same bucket with CO this year. With Cracraft, we probably could have won a close game. Without him, no way.

We had a good, not great season. We almost always do that when the O line stays healthy. I suspect that most teams do that when the O line stays healthy. But to get from "good" to something better requires both a consistently decent defense and some outstanding skill players on offense. Our D was pretty good in most games over the last 2/3 of the season, and I have to include the bowl in that. But we lacked enough outstanding skill position guys on offense. That should be a good recruiting tool, because the right kid could start as a FR at WR, and might even be able to get PT at RB.

There have been a lot of "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" seasons at WSU. This one doesn't even make my top 5. Maybe not even the top 10. Sounds like a good string to start during the slow period in late spring…?

 

[dgibbons]

... that leaves as much meat on the table as WSU.

Is there one out there?

I know other schools can look back over their schedule and point to woulda coulda shoulda games. But is there one like WSU that can consistently do it as often for as long??? Blown chances to win. Sold out their non conference game to the highest bidder. Finished just out of bowl eligibility or finished bowl eligible but nowhere to go. Loses to FCS schools....

WSU pissed away an 11 win season this year.

Or maybe for the sake of argument this was Leach's best year coaching yet because it was a 4 win team that overproduced????

Not sure what you mean by selling the nonconference schedule to the highest bidder. More like lowest bidders to get home games.

I agree that there were more than 8 wins on the schedule this year. But I'm not going to discount a Holiday Bowl season either.

 

[YakiCoug]

The only game that we truly stumbled away was EWU. BSU was an even match up. I believe that we would have beaten CO with Cracraft, but without him we clearly were not the same team. We would have lost to UW this year anyway. We missed USC and Utah. We started slow, then accelerated, just like SC, but they didn't lose it at the end…I think that we would have lost that game (though it would have been close at the right point in the season). Utah? I put them in the same bucket with CO this year. With Cracraft, we probably could have won a close game. Without him, no way.

We had a good, not great season. We almost always do that when the O line stays healthy. I suspect that most teams do that when the O line stays healthy. But to get from "good" to something better requires both a consistently decent defense and some outstanding skill players on offense. Our D was pretty good in most games over the last 2/3 of the season, and I have to include the bowl in that. But we lacked enough outstanding skill position guys on offense. That should be a good recruiting tool, because the right kid could start as a FR at WR, and might even be able to get PT at RB.

There have been a lot of "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" seasons at WSU. This one doesn't even make my top 5. Maybe not even the top 10. Sounds like a good string to start during the slow period in late spring…?

Cracraft would have added or helped add 21 points for us in the AC.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Not sure what you mean by selling the nonconference schedule to the highest bidder. More like lowest bidders to get home games.

I agree that there were more than 8 wins on the schedule this year. But I'm not going to discount a Holiday Bowl season either.

What I mean by selling the non conference to the highest bidder is WSU's history of playing non conference away games against teams they have no business playing for money. Like Notre Dame in San Antonio...

 

[CougPatrol]

I agree that there were more than 8 wins on the schedule this year. But I'm not going to discount a Holiday Bowl season either.

More than 8 wins on the schedule? Perhaps, but on the other hand, a lot of things broke our way too. Facing UCLA without Rosen immediately following his injury, facing ASU without any of their QB healthy, facing Oregon State without any QB at all, and wiggling out of a huge early deficit, getting Stanford when we got them.

All in all, I think we'll look back at this season as somewhat of a bonus year. Yes, we could have done better, but we also had a lot of things break our way. No shame in saying that. Lord knows we've experienced the other side of that more than most programs have.

 

[YakiCoug]

More than 8 wins on the schedule? Perhaps, but on the other hand, a lot of things broke our way too. Facing UCLA without Rosen immediately following his injury, facing ASU without any of their QB healthy, facing Oregon State without any QB at all, and wiggling out of a huge early deficit, getting Stanford when we got them.

All in all, I think we'll look back at this season as somewhat of a bonus year. Yes, we could have done better, but we also had a lot of things break our way. No shame in saying that. Lord knows we've experienced the other side of that more than most programs have.

And, doggone it, Wulff was just a couple breaks away from 6-6....

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

The only game that we truly stumbled away was EWU. BSU was an even match up. I believe that we would have beaten CO with Cracraft, but without him we clearly were not the same team. We would have lost to UW this year anyway. We missed USC and Utah. We started slow, then accelerated, just like SC, but they didn't lose it at the end…I think that we would have lost that game (though it would have been close at the right point in the season). Utah? I put them in the same bucket with CO this year. With Cracraft, we probably could have won a close game. Without him, no way.

We had a good, not great season. We almost always do that when the O line stays healthy. I suspect that most teams do that when the O line stays healthy. But to get from "good" to something better requires both a consistently decent defense and some outstanding skill players on offense. Our D was pretty good in most games over the last 2/3 of the season, and I have to include the bowl in that. But we lacked enough outstanding skill position guys on offense. That should be a good recruiting tool, because the right kid could start as a FR at WR, and might even be able to get PT at RB.

There have been a lot of "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" seasons at WSU. This one doesn't even make my top 5. Maybe not even the top 10. Sounds like a good string to start during the slow period in late spring…?

I recall Cracraft getting injured pretty late in the game? Not convinced we would have won that game even with him 100% all the way. Colorado was the better team.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

What I mean by selling the non conference to the highest bidder is WSU's history of playing non conference away games against teams they have no business playing for money. Like Notre Dame in San Antonio...

But you know what? If we are going to lose to FCS teams (at home, no less!) then my view is perhaps it is better to play a very good program on the road for a large paycheck with only upside than the FCS home game with only downside. At least you get good visibility and more in your bank account with the loss on the road.

 

[BiggsCoug]

But you know what? If we are going to lose to FCS teams (at home, no less!) then my view is perhaps it is better to play a very good program on the road for a large paycheck with only upside than the FCS home game with only downside. At least you get good visibility and more in your bank account with the loss on the road.

Well, you're right. I've yet to see a team schedule losses and turn the corner into a winning program.

 

[Glad Cougar]

I recall Cracraft getting injured pretty late in the game? Not convinced we would have won that game even with him 100% all the way. Colorado was the better team.

I think Cracraft was hurt late in the Cal game and didn't play at all vs. Colorado.

Glad Cougar

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

I think Cracraft was hurt late in the Cal game and didn't play at all vs. Colorado.

Glad Cougar

Ok. Bad memory on my part.