Surprised we're not seeing more positivity here

[PeteTheChop]

• WSU is 2-1 and likely just 4 wins away from a second bowl game in three years.
• The victory over Rutgers ON THE ROAD was WSU's first non-conference win over a "Power 5" opponent since 2006 -- way back in the Bill Doba era. Rutgers — in case anyone's forgotten — was a bowl team last season and won its opener by 50 points!
• Even though Portland State was picked 12th in a 13-team league, the Vikings may turn out to be a surprise contender in what's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 Division I-AA conference in the country.
  
• More than a few people are comparing Luke Falk favorably to both Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday -- one who started in the NFL and the other who could be on an pro roster before season's end.

Seems like there are a lot of good things happening in Cougar football if someone just takes a little time to look.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

Yes, some good reasons for optimism. I actually thought we'd be 3-0 at this point so we could get to six wins for bowl eligibility. We still can get to 6, but it's going to take some big wins to get there.

 

[Coug1990]

Yes, some good reasons for optimism. I actually thought we'd be 3-0 at this point so we could get to six wins for bowl eligibility. We still can get to 6, but it's going to take some big wins to get there.

The Cougars need to improve as the season goes along. If they do, they can get to six wins. Of course, other teams will improve. But, I do think that the Cougars can improve more than most teams. It depends on how much Falk is able to mature as the QB because the Air Raid is and can be a very dynamic offense.

 

[Cougatron]

There are 9 opportunities to get 4 wins. I think we will do fine.

 

[LoneStarsGhost]

If we boatrace PSU like many thought, then we don't beat RU. So 2-1 is a good starting point. Four games in league? I agree with tron (on this issue) that there are enough chances out there to be had. Leach ball at times has me in a fetal position, then at times I feel like the team doesn't quit and wins games that other Wazzu coaches' teams would lose. Gimme W's and I don't care.

 

[LoneStarsGhost]

• WSU is 2-1 and likely just 4 wins away from a second bowl game in three years.
• The victory over Rutgers ON THE ROAD was WSU's first non-conference win over a "Power 5" opponent since 2006 -- way back in the Bill Doba era. Rutgers — in case anyone's forgotten — was a bowl team last season and won its opener by 50 points!
• Even though Portland State was picked 12th in a 13-team league, the Vikings may turn out to be a surprise contender in what's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 Division I-AA conference in the country.
  
• More than a few people are comparing Luke Falk favorably to both Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday -- one who started in the NFL and the other who could be on an pro roster before season's end.

Seems like there are a lot of good things happening in Cougar football if someone just takes a little time to look.

Pete, what you say is strong. Thank you.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

• WSU is 2-1 and likely just 4 wins away from a second bowl game in three years.
• The victory over Rutgers ON THE ROAD was WSU's first non-conference win over a "Power 5" opponent since 2006 -- way back in the Bill Doba era. Rutgers — in case anyone's forgotten — was a bowl team last season and won its opener by 50 points!
• Even though Portland State was picked 12th in a 13-team league, the Vikings may turn out to be a surprise contender in what's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 Division I-AA conference in the country.
  
• More than a few people are comparing Luke Falk favorably to both Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday -- one who started in the NFL and the other who could be on an pro roster before season's end.

Seems like there are a lot of good things happening in Cougar football if someone just takes a little time to look.

I agree. I'll be honest, I feel like this has been the most positive place online all year since the season kicked off.

EDIT: UCLA just lost Myles Jack for the season. BIG blow for them. Dude is a stud on the field. In light of the first bullet point, that's why you play the game. And teams get banged up along the way.

Also, I came across video of the 2003 Cal upset of No. 3 USC at Memorial. I remember watching that game live on FSN - again, that's why they play the game. You never know.

 

[PeteTheChop]

... that's why they play the game. You never know.

Good point.

Media and opposing fans mocked and ridiculed the Cougs throughout the 2008 season, but coaches and players found a way to rise up and pull off the upset in the Apple Cup.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

• WSU is 2-1 and likely just 4 wins away from a second bowl game in three years.
• The victory over Rutgers ON THE ROAD was WSU's first non-conference win over a "Power 5" opponent since 2006 -- way back in the Bill Doba era. Rutgers — in case anyone's forgotten — was a bowl team last season and won its opener by 50 points!
• Even though Portland State was picked 12th in a 13-team league, the Vikings may turn out to be a surprise contender in what's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 Division I-AA conference in the country.
  
• More than a few people are comparing Luke Falk favorably to both Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday -- one who started in the NFL and the other who could be on an pro roster before season's end.

Seems like there are a lot of good things happening in Cougar football if someone just takes a little time to look.

The only problem right now is that at the start of the season, I felt that we needed to go 4-2 in the front half of the season to have a chance at the bowl game and I don't see us beating Oregon. That means we have to beat Cal and OSU which isn't a layup. I don't see us having a realistic chance of beating UCLA. We haven't beat Stanford since 2007 and given the way that they whipped USC, my confidence level has dropped. Arizona on the road has me concerned. So, even if we find a way to 4-2 in the front half, I see us needing to get 2 out of 3 against ASU, CU and UW. ASU has looked a bit underwhelming but then again, they boatraced us the last time they came to Pullman. CU is very vulnerable and there's a very good chance that they will be 4-7 when we face them. I like our chances there.

Our best case scenario heading into the Apple Cup against the mutts with us sitting at 5-6. UW's entire season rests on this weekend's game against Cal. They lose that game and you can expect the wheels to come off the wagon pretty fast. They face #19 USC, #13 Oregon, #21 Stanford, #16 Arizona and #18 Utah. Given UW's play in the past two years, they are not going to beat any of those teams. They should be 3-6 at best when they face ASU. If the wheels do fall off, a team with a 2nd year head coach that is struggling is a perfect candidate for a train wreck. There are still opportunities for this team, but losing to PSU makes a few games even more critical than they might have been. OSU is an absolute must win and Cal is bordering on it.

 

[Coug1990]

The only problem right now is that at the start of the season, I felt that we needed to go 4-2 in the front half of the season to have a chance at the bowl game and I don't see us beating Oregon. That means we have to beat Cal and OSU which isn't a layup. I don't see us having a realistic chance of beating UCLA. We haven't beat Stanford since 2007 and given the way that they whipped USC, my confidence level has dropped. Arizona on the road has me concerned. So, even if we find a way to 4-2 in the front half, I see us needing to get 2 out of 3 against ASU, CU and UW. ASU has looked a bit underwhelming but then again, they boatraced us the last time they came to Pullman. CU is very vulnerable and there's a very good chance that they will be 4-7 when we face them. I like our chances there.

Our best case scenario heading into the Apple Cup against the mutts with us sitting at 5-6. UW's entire season rests on this weekend's game against Cal. They lose that game and you can expect the wheels to come off the wagon pretty fast. They face #19 USC, #13 Oregon, #21 Stanford, #16 Arizona and #18 Utah. Given UW's play in the past two years, they are not going to beat any of those teams. They should be 3-6 at best when they face ASU. If the wheels do fall off, a team with a 2nd year head coach that is struggling is a perfect candidate for a train wreck. There are still opportunities for this team, but losing to PSU makes a few games even more critical than they might have been. OSU is an absolute must win and Cal is bordering on it.

Good thoughts Flat. I think I will be hoping CAL wins this game. I would love to hear the uw fans react to losing 4-5 or more games in a row. Listening to talk radio in this market would be very fun and interesting.

It will also make winning the CAL game that much sweeter for WSU if they can pull it off.

 

[95coug]

... that's why they play the game. You never know.

Good point.

Media and opposing fans mocked and ridiculed the Cougs throughout the 2008 season, but coaches and players found a way to rise up and pull off the upset in the Apple Cup.

I'm hoping that's sarcasm. The Huskies were winless in 2012, and the fact that the Cougs' win was still a mild upset indicates just how bad WSU was that year.

 

[95coug]

• WSU is 2-1 and likely just 4 wins away from a second bowl game in three years.
• The victory over Rutgers ON THE ROAD was WSU's first non-conference win over a "Power 5" opponent since 2006 -- way back in the Bill Doba era. Rutgers — in case anyone's forgotten — was a bowl team last season and won its opener by 50 points!
• Even though Portland State was picked 12th in a 13-team league, the Vikings may turn out to be a surprise contender in what's arguably one of the top 2 or 3 Division I-AA conference in the country.
  
• More than a few people are comparing Luke Falk favorably to both Jeff Tuel and Connor Halliday -- one who started in the NFL and the other who could be on an pro roster before season's end.

Seems like there are a lot of good things happening in Cougar football if someone just takes a little time to look.

Again...a very crimson-colored outlook.

We're 2-1, with a loss to a low-level FCS team, and a not particularly impressive win over a mediocre Mt. West team, in which we gave up over 400 yards of offense.

Yes, we beat Rutgers on the road. But Rutgers was missing most of its secondary, playing with a new QB, and made a lot of mistakes - without which, there's no way we win. Yes, Rutgers won a bowl game last year (which is pretty much completely irrelevant to this year), and won its first game handily...against Norfolk State - a team picked to finish 7th in their (FCS) conference. Kind of like what we should have done against PSU.

PSU is still an FCS team. Even if they're in the upper tier, a Pac-12 team should beat them.

Falk is a sophomore and will make sophomore mistakes. Doesn't matter who he's being compared to, and what they are or are not doing in the NFL.

What matters is that this offense is sluggish, and they're not scoring points - even against what should be weak competition. The defense is slow, doesn't tackle well, and doesn't contain well. And we still cover kicks poorly. This team still has a long way to go to be Pac-12 ready...and they have 2 weeks. So, really...I'm not quite seeing what we should be so optimistic about.