"Their first level guys are as good as ours..."

[Flatlandcoug]

I disagree with that 9 FBS teams lost to FCS last year.

This year 3 have already gone down, and probably 6 others will lose games as well.

Sept. 17th - North Dakota State plays Iowa. Iowa went 12-2 last year. I will not be surprised if North Dakota State beats them.
Sept. 10tth - Jacksonville State vs LSU - Jacksonville State's only loss last year was to Auburn...in overtime.

Citadel last year beat South Carolina... the list goes ON and ON. It's not the same football world anymore.

How many FCS players do you think are in the NFL Biggs? 20? 40? 50? 100? 200?
Try 250.

In fact there are so many FCS players CURRENTLY in the NFL that the entire NFC west's rosters could be filled by them and you would STILL have enough players to almost make another team. That's how much NFL talent is lurking around out there in FCS land. 15% of active players in the NFL are FCS. So depending on the teams coaches, scheme, and the fact the team might have an NFL caliber player (which Kupp clearly is) then you most certainly can find yourself competing against tough competition.

There's no doubt that the college football world is compressing and that FCS teams are going to be more competitive. Still, the vast majority of wins by FCS teams are over bad teams or teams that are struggling with their own identity in some fashion. It doesn't excuse the way that we played on Saturday though. It's one thing to have a fluky loss in the rain with a team that didn't have much confidence (PSU last year). The concern from this game was that although bad luck kept us from tying the game, good luck kept us from losing by 17 points. We were fortunate to not get whipped by EWU. That is scary. And coming off of last year's loss, it borders on inexcusable.

It's early and it will be interesting to see how things turn out, but getting lumped in with Virginia and Iowa State is not a conversation that we want to be part of. Iowa State is 8-29 in the past 3+ seasons and may be on track for 9-39 by the end of this season.....a very Wulffian record. Virginia is on track for a 5th straight season without a bowl appearance. The good news is that I fully expect 2017 to be a great season.

 

[brettcraycraft51]

There's no doubt that the college football world is compressing and that FCS teams are going to be more competitive. Still, the vast majority of wins by FCS teams are over bad teams or teams that are struggling with their own identity in some fashion. It doesn't excuse the way that we played on Saturday though. It's one thing to have a fluky loss in the rain with a team that didn't have much confidence (PSU last year). The concern from this game was that although bad luck kept us from tying the game, good luck kept us from losing by 17 points. We were fortunate to not get whipped by EWU. That is scary. And coming off of last year's loss, it borders on inexcusable.

It's early and it will be interesting to see how things turn out, but getting lumped in with Virginia and Iowa State is not a conversation that we want to be part of. Iowa State is 8-29 in the past 3+ seasons and may be on track for 9-39 by the end of this season.....a very Wulffian record. Virginia is on track for a 5th straight season without a bowl appearance. The good news is that I fully expect 2017 to be a great season.

spot on with one minor correction: we were whipped by ewu. it just didn't show up in the final score (due in some part to good fortune).

 

[Fab5Coug]

There's no doubt that the college football world is compressing and that FCS teams are going to be more competitive. Still, the vast majority of wins by FCS teams are over bad teams or teams that are struggling with their own identity in some fashion. It doesn't excuse the way that we played on Saturday though. It's one thing to have a fluky loss in the rain with a team that didn't have much confidence (PSU last year). The concern from this game was that although bad luck kept us from tying the game, good luck kept us from losing by 17 points. We were fortunate to not get whipped by EWU. That is scary. And coming off of last year's loss, it borders on inexcusable.

It's early and it will be interesting to see how things turn out, but getting lumped in with Virginia and Iowa State is not a conversation that we want to be part of. Iowa State is 8-29 in the past 3+ seasons and may be on track for 9-39 by the end of this season.....a very Wulffian record. Virginia is on track for a 5th straight season without a bowl appearance. The good news is that I fully expect 2017 to be a great season.

How about getting lumped in with Steve Sarkisian's UW, Chris Peterson's UW, or Mike Riley's Oregon St?

Those are programs that have been, or very well could have been beaten by Beau Baldwin's EWU program.

 

[Cougatron]

you're just making a fool out of yourself at this point.

No the fools are the ones that cry cry and cry some more when we lost 1 game to a good fcs team. When just last year we lost to 1'still won 9 games and beat a power 5 former national champion in the sun bowl.

Talking about toughness about the team all you want but I see a lot of pussy crybaby fans here that just reeks of hypocrisy

 

[Fab5Coug]

There is not a debate on that one. The question should be framed a bit differently. Is he a good coach and fit here?

In my opinion- yes. Here is the downside to Leach, that he does lose to FCS teams at home. How does the program build momentum? How do they reward a home opening crowd against PSU and Eastern? Not only that how do you get your arms around giving up 600 plus yards to eastern and their QB is starting for the first time. Therein lies the problem.

Not the first time EWU has hung yards & points up on a Pac 12 program. They put 42 and almost 550 on Oregon last year and 52 & nearly 575 up on a pretty good UW defense the year prior.

I'm in the camp that this is not THAT bad, nor THAT surprising of a loss, and not something that makes me question the overall culture or direction of the program.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

How about getting lumped in with Steve Sarkisian's UW, Chris Peterson's UW, or Mike Riley's Oregon St?

Those are programs that have been, or very well could have been beaten by Beau Baldwin's EWU program.

AND, those were all crap programs. That's who you've lumped us with, crap programs. And most of those teams won their games - we didn't. Do the math.

 

[Fab5Coug]

AND, those were all crap programs. That's who you've lumped us with, crap programs. And most of those teams won their games - we didn't. Do the math.

No. They really weren't.

 

[BiggsCoug]

So, tar and feather him after an FCS loss. What do you do when he beats SC, Oregon or UCLA? Build a statue in front of the stadium?

Is he a good coach or not? 9-4 says he is. 12 bowls in 14 years says he is.

Fab, for a loss this bad, to a team that has nowhere near the resources, yes you tar and feather him. For beating other league teams, he gets paid what? North of $2,000,000 per year? So no statue. Just a paycheck that is life course changing, generational wealth creating, top 1% in the nation in size.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Except for 9 game days last year, I guess.

Fab, not all 9 games WSU showed up like Clubber Lang ready to beat up Rocky. So you're wrong.

 

[BiggsCoug]

And he beats teams he has no business beating. He has no advantage over Oregon, UCLA or USC.

Fab, what he does have is a more level playing field against those teams. The scholarship size in particular.

For the record, I do believe in BCS football there is a point where more money doesn't win you more games. But it does stretch the distance between you and your peers. You may start with better ingredients, you can still burn the food. See WSU's wins over SC in 71 tries.

 

[BiggsCoug]

No the fools are the ones that cry cry and cry some more when we lost 1 game to a good fcs team. When just last year we lost to 1'still won 9 games and beat a power 5 former national champion in the sun bowl.

Talking about toughness about the team all you want but I see a lot of pussy crybaby fans here that just reeks of hypocrisy

I expect more from Leach and the kids than losing to a 1AA team.

You're a loser. And your loser mentality of apple slices and string cheese is bad for WSU.

WSU is better off without loser mentality fans like you. Please go cheer for another university.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Not the first time EWU has hung yards & points up on a Pac 12 program. They put 42 and almost 550 on Oregon last year and 52 & nearly 575 up on a pretty good UW defense the year prior.

I'm in the camp that this is not THAT bad, nor THAT surprising of a loss, and not something that makes me question the overall culture or direction of the program.

Fab, would Boise State putting up 56 on WSU this weekend change your mind?

 

[Fab5Coug]

Fab, would Boise State putting up 56 on WSU this weekend change your mind?

I don't know, maybe.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

How about getting lumped in with Steve Sarkisian's UW, Chris Peterson's UW, or Mike Riley's Oregon St?

Those are programs that have been, or very well could have been beaten by Beau Baldwin's EWU program.

FWIW, UW beat EWU both times they played. A win is different than a loss no matter how ugly. You would hear far fewer complaints if we had won ugly. As far as OSU goes, they went 0-5 against Pac-12 teams that had winning records the year that they lost to EWU. If not for an epic meltdown by Halliday in the third quarter, they would have stayed home for the holidays. They did not have a good team. The good news in that comparison is that OSU recovered from that EWU loss and beat a decent 8-5 SDSU squad and did sneak into a bowl game. So certainly, all hope is not lost.

Looking at our schedule, Stanford, UCLA, ASU, Oregon, and UW are all teams that could easily have winning records. If we don't beat BSU this weekend, the odds of us qualifying for a bowl game start to grow pretty long. I'm hoping that getting Luani back in the lineup allows everyone else to concentrate on their jobs and we see a dramatic improvement.

 

[brettcraycraft51]

No the fools are the ones that cry cry and cry some more when we lost 1 game to a good fcs team. When just last year we lost to 1'still won 9 games and beat a power 5 former national champion in the sun bowl.

Talking about toughness about the team all you want but I see a lot of pussy crybaby fans here that just reeks of hypocrisy

for what it's worth, i wasn't referring to your overall point about the loss to a good fcs team (which i don't totally agree with, but at least understand the reasoning). i'm referring to the way you argued yourself into a corner from which the only exit seems to be comparing a loss to northwestern to a loss to an fcs school.

 

[BiggsCoug]

I don't know, maybe.

Im looking at BSU's depth chart. They look like a veteran group of kids up front on both sides of the ball and in the defensive backfield. I'd expect BSU to be very well coached and not be a push over. If EWU can get 45 points with 5 new starters on the OL and a first time QB, I have no reason to think BSU doesn't have a shot at the same or more.

 

[moondawgie]

How about getting lumped in with Steve Sarkisian's UW, Chris Peterson's UW, or Mike Riley's Oregon St?

Those are programs that have been, or very well could have been beaten by Beau Baldwin's EWU program.

Those teams went 5-4, 4-5, 5-4 in conference so not sure that is company one wants to keep.

Both UW teams won their games so not sure they belong in this conversation anyhow.

 

[How_did_this_happen?]

Those teams went 5-4, 4-5, 5-4 in conference so not sure that is company one wants to keep.

Both UW teams won their games so not sure they belong in this conversation anyhow.

HHusky?

 

[SCglory]

USC has on multiple occasions fired the coach they had after losing to WSU. Pete Carroll is the only modern day exception.

The one that comes to mind is when Walden beat a Ted Tolner team (with a young Rodney Peete). That indeed was the death sentence for TT. Sadly, that of course is a backhanded insult to WSU.....I believe that was a Ricky Turner-led cougar team and for my money he was the BEST cougar QB that nobody outside of wazzu ever heard about.....One paper called him a "wizard with the football" at the time, and they're right.

 

[SCglory]

There is not a debate on that one. The question should be framed a bit differently. Is he a good coach and fit here?

In my opinion- yes. Here is the downside to Leach, that he does lose to FCS teams at home. How does the program build momentum? How do they reward a home opening crowd against PSU and Eastern? Not only that how do you get your arms around giving up 600 plus yards to eastern and their QB is starting for the first time. Therein lies the problem.

Ed, Ed, Ed. That is not a "Leach" thing, not even a coug thing. Virtually all teams do that, which suggests that that is what sometimes happens when the outcome of ANYTHING is in the hands of twenty-year-olds. It's just that some teams do it more than others....and lesser programs do tend to lose more games like that. Common sense.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Ed, Ed, Ed. That is not a "Leach" thing, not even a coug thing. Virtually all teams do that, which suggests that that is what sometimes happens when the outcome of ANYTHING is in the hands of twenty-year-olds. It's just that some teams do it more than others....and lesser programs do tend to lose more games like that. Common sense.

I'm honestly not all that worked up about losing to EWU, but given the fact that WSU had never lost to an FCS program before last year (20-0), it rings pretty hollow to suggest that it happens all the time. I guarantee that there isn't a single FBS coach whose team lost to an FCS team who felt that that losing was going to happen because the talent was just too close.

The talent gap is narrowing, but statistically, it is still unusual for these upsets to occur.

Here is a chart showing FCS teams vs FBS teams. As you can see, in the late 70's and into the late 80's, it was very common for FCS teams to upset their FBS opponents. As TV money became more important (and TV exposure more common for FBS teams), the advantage held by FBS teams increased significantly. There has also been a steady rise in the number of games held between the two levels in the past 20 years with 2004 and 2005 being notable exceptions.

At the end of the day, it's pointless to freak out about choking against EWU because we can't change history, but to suggest that upsets are becoming unavoidable ignores how unusual that they still are. In any given year, an FBS team has about a 1 in 20 chance of winning. Having lost two in a row, the statistics say that we shouldn't lose another one for a long time. If we do lose another FCS game, that's a very damning statement about Leach and our program. Here's hoping that we don't need to worry.

Another tidbit from that site: USC, UCLA and Notre Dame are the only major programs that have not played a game against an FCS or 1-AA opponent in the past 40 years.

 

[Coug95man2]

I'm honestly not all that worked up about losing to EWU, but given the fact that WSU had never lost to an FCS program before last year (20-0), it rings pretty hollow to suggest that it happens all the time. I guarantee that there isn't a single FBS coach whose team lost to an FCS team who felt that that losing was going to happen because the talent was just too close.

The talent gap is narrowing, but statistically, it is still unusual for these upsets to occur.

Here is a chart showing FCS teams vs FBS teams. As you can see, in the late 70's and into the late 80's, it was very common for FCS teams to upset their FBS opponents. As TV money became more important (and TV exposure more common for FBS teams), the advantage held by FBS teams increased significantly. There has also been a steady rise in the number of games held between the two levels in the past 20 years with 2004 and 2005 being notable exceptions.

At the end of the day, it's pointless to freak out about choking against EWU because we can't change history, but to suggest that upsets are becoming unavoidable ignores how unusual that they still are. In any given year, an FBS team has about a 1 in 20 chance of winning. Having lost two in a row, the statistics say that we shouldn't lose another one for a long time. If we do lose another FCS game, that's a very damning statement about Leach and our program. Here's hoping that we don't need to worry.

Another tidbit from that site: USC, UCLA and Notre Dame are the only major programs that have not played a game against an FCS or 1-AA opponent in the past 40 years.

Interesting chart but can I throw a monkey wrench into the assumptions of this chart? You say this chart proves the advantage FBS has had over the recent past. You know what I see?

I see an organization that had horrible match ups in the late 70's all the way through 1990. Then they stopped. Why did they stop the games with FCS? Might I interject that it was because the W/L ratio wasn't good! No news flash there. No one wants to lose to EWU but if we are going to lose, why not to a significant program!? It almost masks the deficiencies. "Hey, WSU lost to Alabama but they were playing ALABAMA…" kind of thing. Would our program or the nation be surprised at the loss? What looks better, a loss to 'Bama or a loss to EWU?

But now, it appears the FBS is beginning to play more and more games against the FCS. And the FBS is winning more than in the past. Hence the increase. There is benefit. But here's my interpretation… Could we be in the middle of the sample? Meaning, the result of this graph is 20 years from now and it will look very similar to the late 70's. As FBS continues to play more FCS, I'll wager the W/L ratio will change enough to start cycling back to the FCS winning more than the FBS likes.

It's human nature. Think about how BSU (I know not a FCS team but very much a lower tier program back in the day) or EWU or Houston or TCU (back in the day) or any other given small program and how they have been able to recruit. They thrive on being the underdog. Hello Kansas State, Flat?! They gain some success with that philosophy and all of the sudden 3star and even a 4star recruits, will head that way. There are people (thus recruits) that THRIVE on being the underdog. It's cyclical. But in modern times, when this happens, the likes of TCU and such move up in conference.

SO… my point… the graph is very interesting and proves the initial point but it doesn't show much of any significance, IMHO. I can easily see FCS being on the rise and in 10-20 years, college football being in the same situation as the late 70's.

Does that explain our lose? Nope. Just pointing out that the graph, while fun, only shows a small sample that could have a much bigger picture. And with WSU still being in a transitional point (since we lost to EWU), and our loss could be one of the small indicators of that rise in FCS programs.

Or it could be we just sucked...

But when people start bringing out "facts" and charts, it's always interesting to me to see human natures ability to assume what they want to see in them. I like pointing out all the other possibilities. The better the facts, the lesser of other possibilities. Yes… I'm a geek.

 

[SCglory]

I'm honestly not all that worked up about losing to EWU, but given the fact that WSU had never lost to an FCS program before last year (20-0), it rings pretty hollow to suggest that it happens all the time. I guarantee that there isn't a single FBS coach whose team lost to an FCS team who felt that that losing was going to happen because the talent was just too close.

The talent gap is narrowing, but statistically, it is still unusual for these upsets to occur.

Here is a chart showing FCS teams vs FBS teams. As you can see, in the late 70's and into the late 80's, it was very common for FCS teams to upset their FBS opponents. As TV money became more important (and TV exposure more common for FBS teams), the advantage held by FBS teams increased significantly. There has also been a steady rise in the number of games held between the two levels in the past 20 years with 2004 and 2005 being notable exceptions.

At the end of the day, it's pointless to freak out about choking against EWU because we can't change history, but to suggest that upsets are becoming unavoidable ignores how unusual that they still are. In any given year, an FBS team has about a 1 in 20 chance of winning. Having lost two in a row, the statistics say that we shouldn't lose another one for a long time. If we do lose another FCS game, that's a very damning statement about Leach and our program. Here's hoping that we don't need to worry.

Another tidbit from that site: USC, UCLA and Notre Dame are the only major programs that have not played a game against an FCS or 1-AA opponent in the past 40 years.

Flat, the discussion is not about what some coaches "felt" or whether it should happen in any given circumstance. It is whether it DOES happen with some regularity across the world of college football. And it does. And it happens more to programs like WSU than it does to, say, Michigan. Again, common sense.

 

[Fab5Coug]

Those teams went 5-4, 4-5, 5-4 in conference so not sure that is company one wants to keep.

Both UW teams won their games so not sure they belong in this conversation anyhow.

Read my post in the context of the thread. I was responding to the post that, in losing to EWU, we were lumped in with bad programs.

My point was that EWU has hung with, and beaten quality Pac12 teams in the past.

Your post does not disprove that, IMO.

 

[Fab5Coug]

The NCAA also changed the rule on FCS wins counting towards eligibility. I believe it used to be you could only count 1 FCS win per 4 years, or something like that. Now, you can count 1 FCS win per year.

 

[Coug95man2]

Flat, the discussion is not about what some coaches "felt" or whether it should happen in any given circumstance. It is whether it DOES happen with some regularity across the world of college football. And it does. And it happens more to programs like WSU than it does to, say, Michigan. Again, common sense.

Completely OT… But SC. Have you read "Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality" by Theodore Dalrymple? It's based on the culture in the UK, so the examples are, as well. But it's a book I think you'd enjoy.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Flat, the discussion is not about what some coaches "felt" or whether it should happen in any given circumstance. It is whether it DOES happen with some regularity across the world of college football. And it does. And it happens more to programs like WSU than it does to, say, Michigan. Again, common sense.

If you check my post, I point out that prior to last year......it had never happened to WSU. Common sense dictates that one year is an aberration, two years is a trend. I don't deny that a program like WSU is more likely to struggle against an FCS team, but our own school history says that two years in a row is a poor reflection on Leach. Again, it's too early to panic on the entire season, but as mentioned in other threads, Leach and the coaching staff needs to look at their pre-season program and figure out what's wrong. Our teams have come out flat in 4 of the past 5 seasons and the close loss to Auburn is the moral victory of the 5 seasons.

For the post above questioning whether or not the graph will look different in 10 years......it's a good point. However, there were 107 FBS vs FCS contests in 2015 according to one site I checked. The record in those contests was 98-9 in favor of the FBS teams. That means that there was about an 92% chance of winning a game against an FCS foe. When you look at the way that the site broke down the likelihood of victory, WSU vs PSU was in the "if the ball bounces the right way" category with 17 other games. In those games, the FBS teams went 16-2 against FCS foes. That means that they had an 89% chance of victory. That winning percentage appears to be in line with the other recent years in the chart. So, while it's possible that the chart is going to shift, there is no evidence of a significant move at this point.

We'll see how it goes moving forward of course.

 

[Coug95man2]

Well, it's already history but regarding our EWU foe, they just announced they will be heading to The Swamp, Florida, in 2020. I'm sure in the East, they are certain they've got a patsie on their hands. And they very well may. But they aren't turning their back on a chance to show their worth either. Just a side note to all of this and the perspective that EWU is not worthy of notice.

 

[brettcraycraft51]

Well, it's already history but regarding our EWU foe, they just announced they will be heading to The Swamp, Florida, in 2020. I'm sure in the East, they are certain they've got a patsie on their hands. And they very well may. But they aren't turning their back on a chance to show their worth either. Just a side note to all of this and the perspective that EWU is not worthy of notice.

is anyone offering the perspective that ewu is not worthy of notice? seems like the most common refrains in this discussion are "it's no big deal that we lost to them because they're really good" and "i get that they're really good, but it's still a big deal that we lost to them." them being a very good team (relative to their division) seems to be the thing everyone agrees on. (i could have missed something. there's a fair amount of tl/dr going on w/ some of the posts on the topic.)

edit to add: that's going to be a brutal trip for eastern. about as far away as it gets and into the heat/humidity of the south? although maybe it will be later in the year. the sec schedules a lot of these things late these days...

 

[wazzucougs96]

Great post. Look at EWU's results against our conference. Beat us, beat OSU, barely lost to UW (twice), barely lost to us in '12, and gave Oregon a game last year.

Personally, I'd be fine not seeing them on the schedule anymore.

They also

Read my post in the context of the thread. I was responding to the post that, in losing to EWU, we were lumped in with bad programs.

My point was that EWU has hung with, and beaten quality Pac12 teams in the past.

Your post does not disprove that, IMO.

EWU had exactly 1 win vs a Pac 12 team ever before Saturday.

 

[Fab5Coug]

They also


EWU had exactly 1 win vs a Pac 12 team ever before Saturday.

K.

My point is, we're not the only program that has had a hard time with Beau Baldwin's EWU program.

 

[SCglory]

Completely OT… But SC. Have you read "Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality" by Theodore Dalrymple? It's based on the culture in the UK, so the examples are, as well. But it's a book I think you'd enjoy.

It is now on my list--thanks!!

 

[SCglory]

If you check my post, I point out that prior to last year......it had never happened to WSU. Common sense dictates that one year is an aberration, two years is a trend. I don't deny that a program like WSU is more likely to struggle against an FCS team, but our own school history says that two years in a row is a poor reflection on Leach. Again, it's too early to panic on the entire season, but as mentioned in other threads, Leach and the coaching staff needs to look at their pre-season program and figure out what's wrong. Our teams have come out flat in 4 of the past 5 seasons and the close loss to Auburn is the moral victory of the 5 seasons.

For the post above questioning whether or not the graph will look different in 10 years......it's a good point. However, there were 107 FBS vs FCS contests in 2015 according to one site I checked. The record in those contests was 98-9 in favor of the FBS teams. That means that there was about an 92% chance of winning a game against an FCS foe. When you look at the way that the site broke down the likelihood of victory, WSU vs PSU was in the "if the ball bounces the right way" category with 17 other games. In those games, the FBS teams went 16-2 against FCS foes. That means that they had an 89% chance of victory. That winning percentage appears to be in line with the other recent years in the chart. So, while it's possible that the chart is going to shift, there is no evidence of a significant move at this point.

We'll see how it goes moving forward of course.

I agree with the main thrust of your post...but, my point is that one key assumption--that FBS or FCS means X or Y--is not the best metric for looking at last Saturday's game....at least I don't think so, and will be interested to see how Eastern fares in the next few weeks. I think it's better in this case to look at Eastern as its own animal. And that it would likely beat many other FBS schools. Such outliers are worthy of notice in their own right, and if they exist, then they (and their opponents) deserve a different analysis, post-game. Short version: if Eastern IS better, than WSU may NOT be as bad as an overall comparison between FBS and FCS would suggest

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I agree with the main thrust of your post...but, my point is that one key assumption--that FBS or FCS means X or Y--is not the best metric for looking at last Saturday's game....at least I don't think so, and will be interested to see how Eastern fares in the next few weeks. I think it's better in this case to look at Eastern as its own animal. And that it would likely beat many other FBS schools. Such outliers are worthy of notice in their own right, and if they exist, then they (and their opponents) deserve a different analysis, post-game. Short version: if Eastern IS better, than WSU may NOT be as bad as an overall comparison between FBS and FCS would suggest

just to keep this circlejerk going I'll restate this:

In many people's opinion, an FCS team, given the inherent disadvantages, should never beat a P5 team. The disparity is just too wide when you look at financials, scholarships, etc, and to give Eastern or any other FCS team all of the credit for winning is to ignore the obvious: the absolute failure of the FBS team to utilize the advantages afforded to them. Losing to an FCS school is a systemic failure of Wulffian proportions, plain and simple. There are (at least )1.4 million reasons why WSU shouldn't ever lose to PSU, EWU, or whoever regardless of how "good" they are.

 

[wazzucougs96]

just to keep this circlejerk going I'll restate this:

In many people's opinion, an FCS team, given the inherent disadvantages, should never beat a P5 team. The disparity is just too wide when you look at financials, scholarships, etc, and to give Eastern or any other FCS team all of the credit for winning is to ignore the obvious: the absolute failure of the FBS team to utilize the advantages afforded to them. Losing to an FCS school is a systemic failure of Wulffian proportions, plain and simple. There are (at least )1.4 million reasons why WSU shouldn't ever lose to PSU, EWU, or whoever regardless of how "good" they are.

Bingo. The loss is about how we screwed up, not about how they overcame or some nonsense like that.

 

[SCglory]

Bingo. The loss is about how we screwed up, not about how they overcame or some nonsense like that.

When you fail to give the opponent any credit whatsoever, it is not only a thinly disguised insult toward them, but an exercise in blindness. Baldwin is a better than 70% winning coach, so he's no fool and he knows how to coach. And my bet is that EWU is a pretty darned good team, as a football team. Period. Sure, I grant your points about the cougar's weaknesses (I watched much of the game--btw, Front Row Sports is doing a pretty good job this year, good quality), but that is the hallmark of good coaching, right? Knowing what your opponents are not so good at, then aiming right at that point....So we'll know more in about a month. We'll have a better idea of how good both teams really are....Will EWU have a letdown in their next game? Will the cougs rise up? But I have never been a proponent of the "luck" excuse, or the "it's all on us" reason. The other team had something to do with it. A football game is not a coin flip, and when they score 45 points, they must have seen something.....

 

[brettcraycraft51]

Bingo. The loss is about how we screwed up, not about how they overcame or some nonsense like that.

yep. anyone who watched that game and thought it was a typical "underdog w/ a puncher's chance catches some breaks and makes good on their potential" situation is fooling themselves. i'm not saying eastern is a better team or anything (remains to be seen, but probably not), but they came in and kicked our ass. period. full stop.

the cougs had a good game offensively (though they definitely stumbled at times), but eastern's offense did basically anything they wanted for basically the entire game.

having said that, i'm not all doom and gloom just yet. i'm holding out hope for a bounce-back game at boise. we'll see...

 

[brettcraycraft51]

(I watched much of the game--btw, Front Row Sports is doing a pretty good job this year, good quality)

fyi... i used a site called sportstream.tv for this one and i thought it was significantly better than front row.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

fyi... i used a site called sportstream.tv for this one and i thought it was significantly better than front row.

Protip for those that are watching those streaming channels......Instead of left clicking to close popups and risking a virus, right click and select "Inspect" on the bottom of the popup menu that appears. You will get a bar on the bottom or side of the screen with a item or section highlighted. Right click on the highlighted item and pick "delete element". Popup disappears without any chance of getting a virus.

You're welcome.

 

[SCglory]

Protip for those that are watching those streaming channels......Instead of left clicking to close popups and risking a virus, right click and select "Inspect" on the bottom of the popup menu that appears. You will get a bar on the bottom or side of the screen with a item or section highlighted. Right click on the highlighted item and pick "delete element". Popup disappears without any chance of getting a virus.

You're welcome.

Hey, thanks!