I swear, 75% of the highlights of our receivers are of them catching a ball that only they can get to. Our QB is pretty spot on. Our receivers/RB's are catching some pretty incredible throws...
"Tip Toe Crew" video
- Thread starter Coug95man2
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I watch this and I scratch my head at how we weren't/ aren't a 10 or 11 win team.
All credit to the Buffs and UW last year(no credit to BSU or EWU - that was the Cougs sh!tting the bed - again, inexplicably), but I honestly don't think they outclassed us the way the scoreboard showed and how it looked on the field; I feel like there is still a culture thing or mental block that they have to over come. Or something, I don't know, just spitballing.
All credit to the Buffs and UW last year(no credit to BSU or EWU - that was the Cougs sh!tting the bed - again, inexplicably), but I honestly don't think they outclassed us the way the scoreboard showed and how it looked on the field; I feel like there is still a culture thing or mental block that they have to over come. Or something, I don't know, just spitballing.
You hit the nail on the head... The BSU and EWU games are inexplicable. We ARE a 10 or 11 win program...
How is the Boise game "inexplicable"? They're a good program. They won 10 games last year. It was at their house. I had that pegged as a loss before the season even started, so I don't see how anyone could view that as an "inexplicable" loss.
The only "inexplicable" loss, over the last 2 years, IMO, was the Portland St game.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't have won. We have beat Oregon, we have beat UCLA for consecutive years. We SHOULD have (yeah, I know, I know... woulda coulda shoulda doesn't matter but indulge me) beat Stanford in 2015 and we SPANKED a 15th in the nation Stanford in 2016. We are beating the giants of our conference but we can't get past EWU without giving them props, as if we give them enough kudos then it won't look as bad that WSU lost to them?
Sorry, I get it that they are a good team. Not trying to take away from them and who they are. We still should have beat them. We as fans need to start getting a little swagger, IMHO.
Boise would have beat both Oregon & UCLA handily last year, IMO.
And, there's a difference between losing a game we "should have" won and calling it an "inexplicable" loss. Inexplicable means there is no logical way to explain the loss. Portland St, yes, "inexplicable". Boise though? They're good. There's your explanation.
Shoot, wasn't Boise even favored in the game?
I'm now of the opinion that there are no inexplicable losses when it comes to WSU football.
Now that I read the posts, I think I mis-spoke in the above in reply to CougKurt. I was referring to EWU.
I stand by my comment to you about BSU. I get where you are coming from. I still disagree. BSU is a good, solid team. We had that game. IMHO, it was inexplicable because it sure seemed like we just shat our pants when we had the game within grasp. IMHO, it was all mental. That is why, for me, it was inexplicable. Mental stuff, at this point, after watching them take our conference giants just doesn't make sense to me. We've advanced quite a bit, mentally. But what the hell we've been doing during our Non-Con opponents is beyond my comprehension. Hence it's "inexplicable".
How did we "have" the game? Boise led the entire way.
Boise was favored, at home, and led the entire way. Close game between two pretty good teams. I don't know how you're having a hard time explaining that loss.
Because we are a superior team, IMHO. And that is proven by the teams we beat throughout the season. As far as being favored, I have a hard time, looking now at what the preseason projections were, to put too much weight on that. Stanford went into the season at #8 in the Nation. We beat them when they were #15 in the nation. UCLA went into the season at #16. We beat them. Oregon was #24, and EVERYONE beat them. I play all of that out to say, we are supposed to believe that because they were "favored", we should have lost? We had an incredible amount of talent that was not seen by the pundits.
I saw a team that played down to the competition. That's all. EWU, PSU, etc... I just don't believe we should have lost them. Yes, I would place BSU in that same category, not because they are equivalent to PSU or EWU but just because we should have won.
EDIT: and to how we 'had' the game... I might have overstated but I thought we 'had' them. I truly did. As the game progressed, I was in awe that we had to "come from behind" and we weren't there yet!
Name a statistic, beyond the ending score and rushing, that we didn't beat them. What it was? We couldn't stop McNichols. We 'had' them in every way... except McNichols. We should have won, period.
That doesn't mean the loss was inexplicable. You really went into and watched that game and thought there was no reasonable way we could have lost it. Boise is good. I don't think any fan would consider a loss to them as inexplicable.
Losing to Portland State is inexplicable. Heck, I'd even call the NM Bowl loss inexplicable, just by the nature in which we lost it. The Boise loss was just...a loss. Disappointing and frustrating, sure, but hardly lacking any reasonable explanation.
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And like I said, I get your perspective. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
Last year, when we went back to back wins against UCLA and Stanford (previously handing USC a loss at their home field) I see us with the scheme that could beat anyone. What stops us, like so many times in life, is mental. I've been the one, from day 1 of CML's tenure, to say that what is stopping us is between the ears. Culture. I agree with you and others on that. But after 5 years, I'm done with being a fan that doesn't expect a bit more from them. Year 3? I get it. Year 4, meh we need to expect a bit more. Year 5, maybe a slip up but overall, we need to be dialed in. And our "slip" was EWU. We should have gone into BSU PISSED. Was/Is that the coaching? Who knows.
But losing to a lesser conference? I guess you are befuddled that I'd call this inexplicable. I'm befuddled that you don't see the loss to a lesser team, in a lesser conference, as inexplicable. Yes, I went into that game, and especially looking back on the season and seeing how good we were, expecting to win. I saw no reason for us to lose. I refuse to lower WSU down to that level, I guess. I have family that is currently going there but they are, who they are. Lesser. And I'm not going to lower WSU to that point, just so the loss to them feels better. That was a horrible loss and a game we SHOULD have won. Especially looking back in hindsight.
I've spent that past month or 2 really evaluating some of the statistics and evaluating my perspective. We are damm good. Like Top 10 good, especially last year. But between the ears got us in real trouble. THAT'S the inexplicable part. And so I expect more this year. We can have the same record but our losses better come from conference foes that are really really good. If we lose to a non-con... it'll be inexplicable to me. We should win every non-con we have this year.
It was a loss to a 10 win team, on the road, as an underdog.
Boise was better than any team we beat, save for Stanford.
But, whatever. This argument has gotten stupid. So, you're right. What an inexplicable loss. There is just no rational way to explain it. It's unfathomable. An enigma.
This is why we should have won BSU: we were statistically deficient in the run game on offense, once again and specifically in SCORING, for that game.
The donkeys gave up 176yds average on the ground last year. ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX. The Cougs managed 40 and zero scores for that game (20 attempts, btw...). Fab is right, they certainly were one of the best teams we faced with that vaunted run defense - how stout!!
Maybe the results aren't "inexplicable", but the Jekyll/Hyde nature of the team sure and the hell is.
The two most disappointing performances of the season last year were the Apple Cup and the Eastern game, and you could probably throw the bowl loss in there too. We had the talent to be beat Colorado and Boise but those teams were tougher than we were, and the Buffs secondary was experienced and talented. Aside from the bowl, the biggest common denominator in the bad losses was the defense. They played well against Minny and good enough to possibly win against Colorado and Boise but the no-show against Eastern and the horrid first half against UW were wretched. Those two games are on the defensive staff as much as Minnesota is on the offensive staff. Our offense doesn't put up a lot against great defenses (hopefully that improves some this year) but they can keep us in all but the most miserable games. Our chances this year come down to Falk and the new receivers figuring out how to make some plays against good defenses (and Falk being quicker with the ball when possible) and the defense giving consistent performances. ESPECIALLY against UW. The offense didn't play great against the Huskies, but their defense was also the best we played against all season. It was the defense that gave that game away before the first quarter was over. I don't know what the mental issue is there, but it really needs to be addressed, somehow.
I think the offense took care of business for the most part last year. We were a Top 5 passing offense and #17 overall. There were some tough opponents who gave them trouble, but that's when the defense needs to step up and keep us in the game. The UW and CU games, at least, were notable for complete defensive meltdowns when it mattered the most.
Let's not forget that Sefo Liufau - who was averaging 189 yards passing in [full-participation] conference play - racked up a season high 345 yards passing, and tacked a season high 108 yards rushing onto that. And then of course there's 28-3 in the 1Q of the AC. We're getting closer every year, but the defense has not yet figured out how to prevent determined teams from completely taking over games.
Except for a few letdowns, ST was the real surprise last year after the grief they had given us in the past.
Let's not forget that Sefo Liufau - who was averaging 189 yards passing in [full-participation] conference play - racked up a season high 345 yards passing, and tacked a season high 108 yards rushing onto that. And then of course there's 28-3 in the 1Q of the AC. We're getting closer every year, but the defense has not yet figured out how to prevent determined teams from completely taking over games.
Except for a few letdowns, ST was the real surprise last year after the grief they had given us in the past.
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