ADVERTISEMENT

Surprise ~ Oregon State picked # 5

M-I-Coug

Hall Of Fame
Oct 13, 2002
4,395
1,563
113
Scottsdale, AZ
We all know PRE-SEASON POLLS MEAN NOTHING. They sell newspapers and magazines.

That said....here is today's Pre-Season Pac-12 Media Poll:

Team (first place votes) | Total points

1. Utah (26) | 384

2. Oregon (2) | 345

3. USC (5) | 341

4. UCLA | 289

5. Oregon State | 246

6. Washington | 212

7. Washington State | 177

8. Stanford | 159

9. California | 154

10. Arizona State | 123

11. Arizona | 86

12. Colorado | 58
 
You could make a case for their 1-3. Numbers 4 - 8 will be a giant fur ball. You could shuffle those cards and deal them almost any way. My guess would be:

4 & 5 Flip a coin: UW and WSU
6 OSU
7 UCLA
8 Stanford
 
  • Like
Reactions: froropmkr72
I saw that Oregon State and Oregon voting is done by someone on 247. The OSU voter had the Beav's #3. The Oregon voter had the Duck's #2.

Maybe I should question the credibility but if its fan sites doing the voting it seems difficult to take too much away from it.
 
Well, OSU returns a lot this season. They beat UW last year and lost a close game to us on the road. I can understand their ranking.
 
Well, OSU returns a lot this season. They beat UW last year and lost a close game to us on the road. I can understand their ranking.
By that logic, wouldn't we be picked ahead of OSU? They beat the UW by 3 at home. We beat dub by 27 on the road. We beat OSU by more than OSU beat dub. I don't know the numbers for each program in terms of returning talent.

Seems like OSU has been the "trendy" pick for a few years. At some point they will break through. They always have a solid to very good run game (talented rbs) but that alone hasn't been enough. It doesn't seem like they are strong at QB but maybe QB and the defense put it together?

I have no problem with OSU other than for some reason some of their fans seem to believe we are inferior. That's ok, some just need someone else to kick. Still root for the Land Grants.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: froropmkr72
I agree the media seems to think they are trending up and have been a bit overhyped. They return much of their OL which was pretty good last year. Loose their stud RB, but had depth last year. QB returns and their 2020 initial starter QB who has been injured for over a year is back. WR are ok. Defense has new coordinator some returners and some decent transfers. Special teams are about the same. Media seems to like Smith.

That being said their pre-season ranking has as much to do with the other teams player and coaching changes as it does with their talent.
 
OSU has felt like they're a year away for a couple of years, they just haven't been able to quite turn the corner. If they can make some improvement on defense, they'd be dangerous.
 
By that logic, wouldn't we be picked ahead of OSU? They beat the UW by 3 at home. We beat dub by 27 on the road. We beat OSU by more than OSU beat dub. I don't know the numbers for each program in terms of returning talent.

Seems like OSU has been the "trendy" pick for a few years. At some point they will break through. They always have a solid to very good run game (talented rbs) but that alone hasn't been enough. It doesn't seem like they are strong at QB but maybe QB and the defense put it together?

I have no problem with OSU other than for some reason some of their fans seem to believe we are inferior. That's ok, some just need someone else to kick. Still root for the Land Grants.
Yea, it's a toss up, and that's kind of what the rankings reflect. OSU plays WSU at home, so maybe that's what they're going on?

Their INTERNET fans may think that we're inferior, but not their mainstream fans or their mainstream media. We frustrate the Hell out of them.
 
Cougs were ranked 7th in 1997, which was 25 years ago, that work out pretty well. I think this years defense has the potential to be better, if they can fill in the Oline to where they are above average, anything is possible with a great QB. WE will know what we have early, The Wisconsin will set the tone for the season. A win and it is 8 or more wins, a loss and we are looking at 6.
 
The Wisconsin game will set the tone for the season. A win and it is 8 or more wins, a loss and we are looking at 6.
Boy, that's a tough spectrum. Lose and we're .500, win and we go 8-4 or better?

Sure you don't want to put any guardrails on that? What if we lose a well played, competitive game? What if we win an ugly game where they fumble 5 times or have key players out with injury or suspension?

Not trying to pick on you here, but losing at Wisconsin in an early season game is about as forgivable of a loss as you can get.
 
Cougs were ranked 7th in 1997, which was 25 years ago, that work out pretty well. I think this years defense has the potential to be better, if they can fill in the Oline to where they are above average, anything is possible with a great QB. WE will know what we have early, The Wisconsin will set the tone for the season. A win and it is 8 or more wins, a loss and we are looking at 6.

I've been getting excited about our prospects this year. The only thing that I've not bought into was that our defense is going to be great. The Palouse Posse discussion last week featured one knucklehead on Facebook suggesting that our 2022 defense would be on par or better than that defense.....and that was clearly alcohol talking.

If we are good enough to take out Wisconsin on the road, I'm thinking 9+ wins. Idaho, CSU, Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, ASU, Arizona and UW are all teams that aren't as good as the badgers. Oregon, At USC and Utah are the three games that look tough to win even with a win over Wisconsin.

A close loss to Wisconsin could still mean 7-8 wins. A bad loss to Wisconsin could mean that WSU is sitting at 3-3 or worse heading into a road game against the Beavers. If that goes south........ugh. I like getting ASU in Pullman in mid November. I'll believe in Arizona when I see it and the game against the mutts will be winnable. Even if we hit a rough patch and start out 3-5, our last four games are still winnable. I think our ceiling for the regular season is realistically 9 wins. Floor is 4 wins.
 
I've been getting excited about our prospects this year. The only thing that I've not bought into was that our defense is going to be great. The Palouse Posse discussion last week featured one knucklehead on Facebook suggesting that our 2022 defense would be on par or better than that defense.....and that was clearly alcohol talking.

If we are good enough to take out Wisconsin on the road, I'm thinking 9+ wins. Idaho, CSU, Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, ASU, Arizona and UW are all teams that aren't as good as the badgers. Oregon, At USC and Utah are the three games that look tough to win even with a win over Wisconsin.

A close loss to Wisconsin could still mean 7-8 wins. A bad loss to Wisconsin could mean that WSU is sitting at 3-3 or worse heading into a road game against the Beavers. If that goes south........ugh. I like getting ASU in Pullman in mid November. I'll believe in Arizona when I see it and the game against the mutts will be winnable. Even if we hit a rough patch and start out 3-5, our last four games are still winnable. I think our ceiling for the regular season is realistically 9 wins. Floor is 4 wins.

Last time I checked, we are 14 point dogs vs Wisconsin. The Badgers are a top 20 team and are playing at home (the game should be at Gesa...have I said that before?). The conventional wisdom is we have a new QB and our d line won't hold up against UW's running game. Throw in a couple of Wazzu turnovers and it is easy to see how things could go south for us.

I don't really think this game, if it goes off the rails for us, will tell us much about how the season will play out. If we beat UW, however, that is a very positive sign for perhaps 9 wins.
 
Last time I checked, we are 14 point dogs vs Wisconsin. The Badgers are a top 20 team and are playing at home (the game should be at Gesa...have I said that before?). The conventional wisdom is we have a new QB and our d line won't hold up against UW's running game. Throw in a couple of Wazzu turnovers and it is easy to see how things could go south for us.

I don't really think this game, if it goes off the rails for us, will tell us much about how the season will play out. If we beat UW, however, that is a very positive sign for perhaps 9 wins.

A 28-14 loss to Wisconsin wouldn't be what I consider a bad loss. 45-14? Ouch. Of course, context matters. If the Cougs are down 21-14 midway through the 3rd quarter and we have a couple fluke turnovers that balloon the score, it might not mean much. If we are down 28-7 at the half and down 45-7 in the fourth quarter before we get a late score......we are likely in for a long season.

Important to remember that we play USC, Oregon and Utah in the first eight games. A thumping by Wisconsin and a bad game against the Beavs and we could be 3-5 (or worse) before we get back to games we can feel good about. Of course, it'll be a good barometer for our team and nothing more than that. If one early season loss meant anything absolute, 2015 and 2016 would have been terrible seasons.

I still feel optimistic about this season. Wisconsin is obviously a solid program, but they haven't been elite since 2017 and have lost plenty of games since then. A win doesn't mean that we should buy Rose Bowl tickets. :)
 
If we can consistently pick up 2-3 yards for a first down against Wisconsin and it is not automatic that we will throw it...

If we can consistently put Wisconsin into 3rd and 5 or more...or another way to look at it is if we can make them throw the ball...

Then we will beat the spread and have a good shot at winning the game.

I've got to admit that, barring some unforeseen injuries or batch of illnesses, 14 points looks attractive to me.
 
A 28-14 loss to Wisconsin wouldn't be what I consider a bad loss. 45-14? Ouch. Of course, context matters. If the Cougs are down 21-14 midway through the 3rd quarter and we have a couple fluke turnovers that balloon the score, it might not mean much. If we are down 28-7 at the half and down 45-7 in the fourth quarter before we get a late score......we are likely in for a long season.

Important to remember that we play USC, Oregon and Utah in the first eight games. A thumping by Wisconsin and a bad game against the Beavs and we could be 3-5 (or worse) before we get back to games we can feel good about. Of course, it'll be a good barometer for our team and nothing more than that. If one early season loss meant anything absolute, 2015 and 2016 would have been terrible seasons.

I still feel optimistic about this season. Wisconsin is obviously a solid program, but they haven't been elite since 2017 and have lost plenty of games since then. A win doesn't mean that we should buy Rose Bowl tickets. :)

My primary point is that the Wisconsin game is not going to be all that telling to me. We still have a new coach and we just don't know about how well our new QB will perform in this environment. I'll be very interested in how our defensive line performs against their O line.
 
I've been getting excited about our prospects this year. The only thing that I've not bought into was that our defense is going to be great. The Palouse Posse discussion last week featured one knucklehead on Facebook suggesting that our 2022 defense would be on par or better than that defense.....and that was clearly alcohol talking.

If we are good enough to take out Wisconsin on the road, I'm thinking 9+ wins. Idaho, CSU, Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, ASU, Arizona and UW are all teams that aren't as good as the badgers. Oregon, At USC and Utah are the three games that look tough to win even with a win over Wisconsin.

A close loss to Wisconsin could still mean 7-8 wins. A bad loss to Wisconsin could mean that WSU is sitting at 3-3 or worse heading into a road game against the Beavers. If that goes south........ugh. I like getting ASU in Pullman in mid November. I'll believe in Arizona when I see it and the game against the mutts will be winnable. Even if we hit a rough patch and start out 3-5, our last four games are still winnable. I think our ceiling for the regular season is realistically 9 wins. Floor is 4 wins.
Agree with your take. One of the most important games, IMO, is Colorado St. Coming off the Wisconsin game, which will likely be a loss, we could very well get ambushed if we're not ready to play.

Jay Norvell, who many of our fans wanted us to hire, is the new coach at CSU. Like Utah State last season, Novell brought in a bunch of transfers, many of them from his former Nevada team, including starting QB Clay Millen. They open at Michigan, so they're not going to be overwhelmed mentally coming to Pullman.

This is my "better be careful" game in 2022.
 
My primary point is that the Wisconsin game is not going to be all that telling to me. We still have a new coach and we just don't know about how well our new QB will perform in this environment. I'll be very interested in how our defensive line performs against their O line.
Long ways away, but I expect the game to be competitive. I’d be surprised if it’s a 10 pt + spread.
 
I think the Wisconsin game will give a sense of how good Cam Ward is.

In 2018, from what I recall, it felt that Minshew was special pretty early on...if that's the case for Ward, it could be a fun season.
 
What if WSU beats Wisconsin, about 49 to 13 to 17 to 21, with 500 yards passing, 5 passing TD's, no Int's, 125 yards rushing, 2 rushing TD's, 7 TD's overall?

Tho it's not as likely, because of how good Wisconsin is, and because of the OL, we are talking about 1 of the best FCS QB's, that put up 4700 47 TD's vs only 10 int's, in only about 9,10 games(Imagine what would have done if had 12 games like FBS.)

And they could put Cam in Shotgun, and have quick hit pass plays designed to negate OL weakness.

And the TE can help block, and if everybody covered, could release from block go 3 yards down field, get a pass from cam for a 3,4+ yard gain, as a safety valve.

And Eric Morris is truly one of the best O coordinators in the country.

And Renard Bell, Ollie, Stribbling, and the rest of the WR corp, is very deep, good, again one of the best in the Pac 12, and are very fast, can get open, etc.

Tho the RB Corp is questionable, it can be easier to run ball when the passing game is doing good, and if the OL has problems blocking, you can have the TE help block, have the occasional play action run where you fake the pass, do a delayed hand off, pitch, and can do quick hitters between the guard and tackle when their is only 3,4,5 in the box, when they rush 3,4, and drop 7,8 back.

So the weaknesses of the OL, RB Corp can be negated by a TE, and a good O coordinator like Eric Morris.

And Wisconsin is weak against the passing game.

They prefer that you try to run at them, then they stuff, stop the run, then they run the ball down your throat, control the game, control time of possession.

But since the WSU defense will probably be ok, if the WSU defense stuffs the Wisconsin run game, and then doesn't 3 and out on offense, and at least gets a lot of yards, an or gets a FG, a occasional TD, and allows the defense to rest, then WSU can flip it on Wisconsin where their tired defense is always on the field, getting burned by the passing game, getting their run stuffed except for a rare, occasional FG, TD.

These factors can lead, contribute to a big WSU win, and Wisconsin could overlook WSU and get stunned, shocked.

I'm not saying it's likely, and not saying a big win will happen, but it's more then theoretically possible, and not improbable, impossible, etc.

It can happen. Will it happen? semi probably not, and don't know.

But if it happens don't be surprised, shocked as it's a real possibility.

This game should be the upset city game of the week for the so called experts, as that's how extremely dangerous WSU is or can be to Wisconsin.

And if WSU does semi blow out Wisconsin, WSU could go 10-2 this year, and 11-1, 12-1, unbeaten the next year.

Not saying this, that would happen, but it's possible, and a better chance of then some people think.
 
I think the Wisconsin game will give a sense of how good Cam Ward is.

In 2018, from what I recall, it felt that Minshew was special pretty early on...if that's the case for Ward, it could be a fun season.
With regards to the post above, the poster was right that it's foolish to judge a QB that's new to the system early in a season. It was obvious by the end of September that Minshew was a ball player who was making the team better, but that first half against Wyoming in the season opener left a lot to be desired. We started out with a couple nice drives but 5 out of the next 6 drives were three and out. It was a close game until late in the fourth quarter. I know that midway through that game, there were plenty of people questioning Minshew's ability (prematurely of course).
 
And if WSU does semi blow out Wisconsin, WSU could go 10-2 this year, and 11-1, 12-1, unbeaten the next year.
If WSU does well this season, and Cam lights it up at QB, he will be off to the NFL for sure. There's no question about that.
 
Boy, that's a tough spectrum. Lose and we're .500, win and we go 8-4 or better?

Sure you don't want to put any guardrails on that? What if we lose a well played, competitive game? What if we win an ugly game where they fumble 5 times or have key players out with injury or suspension?

Not trying to pick on you here, but losing at Wisconsin in an early season game is about as forgivable of a loss as you can get.
There are 3 or 4 teams on our schedule that are probably better than Wisconsin, Utah, USC and Oregon, then there will be one or two other Pac schools that have good years. If you look at our schedule, the Wisconsin game maybe the 4th or 5th toughest game on the schedule. It will be difficult to win back there, but this year's Wisconsin team has a lot of starters to replace, their entire secondary and linebacking group are gone from last year's team. They defeated ASU 20-13 in the Vegas Bowl the last game of they year last year. This isn't a must win, but it is a winnable game. Plus outside of Michigan State, I want every Big 10 team to lose to the Pac
 
With regards to the post above, the poster was right that it's foolish to judge a QB that's new to the system early in a season. It was obvious by the end of September that Minshew was a ball player who was making the team better, but that first half against Wyoming in the season opener left a lot to be desired. We started out with a couple nice drives but 5 out of the next 6 drives were three and out. It was a close game until late in the fourth quarter. I know that midway through that game, there were plenty of people questioning Minshew's ability (prematurely of course).
Couple of things. I watched him in the spring game and he has a lightening quick release, and appeared to be pretty damn accurate on the short stuff. Long ball accuracy improves with more time working with receivers, which I’d assume this summer has given him.
Second thing, Dickerts thrown around some significant praise…he doesn’t strike me as the guy who will fluff someone unless he’s pretty damn certain.
I don’t see Wisconsin putting up 40 points on our defense. If Cam is as good as I think he’s going to be, Wisconsin won’t be shutting down our offense, those big10 defenses are built to stop the run. That said I see a close game in the 27-24 variety.
 
Minshew came in with little expectations (outside of his own). Zero pressure.
Ward comes in with very high expectations on a national level.
Big difference there for a 20-something kid. I hope he stays grounded and weathers the rough patches that are sure to come.
 
With regards to the post above, the poster was right that it's foolish to judge a QB that's new to the system early in a season. It was obvious by the end of September that Minshew was a ball player who was making the team better, but that first half against Wyoming in the season opener left a lot to be desired. We started out with a couple nice drives but 5 out of the next 6 drives were three and out. It was a close game until late in the fourth quarter. I know that midway through that game, there were plenty of people questioning Minshew's ability (prematurely of course).
Don't disagree and that's why I purposely said "early in the season" - by the USC game (game 4) I think it was apparent Minshew had some magic in him.
 
I guess but then why would him staying beyond 1 season matter? It's either a leased vehicle or they gave it to him. I guess some sort of contingency.

It was much simpler back in the day. Dickerson didn't have to give his Trans Am back to A&M.
 
I guess but then why would him staying beyond 1 season matter? It's either a leased vehicle or they gave it to him. I guess some sort of contingency.

It was much simpler back in the day. Dickerson didn't have to give his Trans Am back to A&M.
He should have cause he had a bad color
 
  • Like
Reactions: BiggsCoug
Minshew came in with little expectations (outside of his own). Zero pressure.
Ward comes in with very high expectations on a national level.
Big difference there for a 20-something kid. I hope he stays grounded and weathers the rough patches that are sure to come.
seems like a pretty humble kid with a solid football IQ. For someone making this transition to P5 and playing in places like Madison that’s a good start. Sure seems like the talent is there too.


 
  • Like
Reactions: 79COUG
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT