Sunday, September 5, 2010

Another Embarassing Loss by Cougs

On the first play of the game the worst possible thing happened setting the tone for the rest of the game. It was not what Paul Wulff or his Cougars needed. James Montgomery never got the hand off from Jeff Tuel and Oklahoma State recovered. The Cougars never recovered after that. It sounds like a broken record doesn't it?

It very well could be a long season again, given the 65-17 drubbing this time to Oklahoma State. WSU was once again outmatched in every aspect of the game. The only improvement I saw was punt coverage, it was pretty strong. Nowadays, if you want to head to the NFL from Washington State, you best try out for punter, you will get a lot of looks.

What was the worst part of the latest debacle? Tackling. There was none. In 43 years of actively watching college football, that very well could be the worst tackling (or lack thereof) performance I have ever seen. It comes down to fundamentals.

When Paul Wulff arrived at Washington State one of the first things he noticed was the team's lack of fundamentals. He said it would change. Was it poor tackling or were the Cougars matched up against a team with much more strength and athleticism? I think it's probably a little of both.

Wulff and his team need to show significant improvement this season, not so much in wins but being competitive in each game if he is to retain his job. The Montana State Bobcats are next on the schedule and the Cougs need a win badly.

Given what I saw on Saturday, It's not going to be easy.