Apple Cup Thoughts

I've been going to this game since 1968. I was 9 years old then. That was then, and this is now.

It's still as exciting of a week as ever.

Things are a lot different now for both programs. The Huskies aren't the powerhouse they were in the Don James era when they manhandled teams with their mammoth offensive line. They always had a dominating defensive tackle. Ball control and the kicking game were two key components that won many games for them.

Boy have times changed.

The Huskies enter this year's Apple Cup game hoping to land a bid in the Alamo Bowl, Sun Bowl, or perhaps the Holiday Bowl, not long ago going to the number two team in the Pac Ten Conference.

Not this year.

With Oregon on it's way to the national championship game and Stanford, say what?, possibly headed to the BCS Championship Series, one would think this is a changed conference, especially with the new additions making it the Pac 12. Oregon, a former doormat in the Pac Ten Conference along with it's sidekick Oregon State, has progressed into the premier program in the conference, and perhaps the west coast. Chip Kelly is changing the game with his high powered, quick strike offense that drives defenses crazy, especially when the fourth quarter arrives.

Then there's Washington State. The team with really no identity and still many questions loom over the future of head coach Paul Wulff. In his weekly talk show, WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos still refrains from answering questions about the future of Wulff. After an impressive 31-14 win over Oregon State in Corvallis on November 13Th, the Cougs have been waiting for their arch rivals to arrive in Pullman. The game features a new twist now with the resurgence of the Husky program generating two wins over UCLA and Cal in successive weeks. It used to be expected and is now treated as one of the two biggest wins in school history. "God's play" is what people are calling the one yard touchdown run by Chris Polk as time was running out in the victory over Cal last weekend. Husky fans bombarded the field like they were headed to their first Rose Bowl.

When the final bell rings Saturday, there's a few scenarios that could unfold. We will finally find out the future of Paul Wulff and whether he will be able to fulfill the final year of his four year contract. Will the Huskies go to a bowl game for the first time in years?

Back in Anne Arbor, Jim Harbaugh will be named the new head coach at the University of Michigan, leaving Stanford for his treasured job.

And Paul Wulff will be packing his bags, for another recruiting trip for the 2011 season.

A Devel-ish Weekend

Who would've thunk it. The WSU Cougars dropping a tough one to the Arizona State Sun Devils 42-0. Not me. After a couple weeks of great improvement the Cougs ran into Dennis Erickson and the Devils, a coach many think is on the hot seat at ASU. After a slow start and a 50-17 thrashing by California the week before, it was time to find out just what Erickson is made of. Coug fans found out the hard way. It was a good Ole' fashioned ass whooping. Sorry about the french, I couldn't resist.

Erickson had his team ready and showed why he's landed the big name jobs and outlandish salaries in his very successful coaching career. This might have been a game he needed the most after a discouraging 3-4 record coming in. "We needed a win", he said. Well, he got one and it couldn't have come at a better time.

More importantly, I was able to take in all that the valley of the sun had to offer. I was greeted with good friends, warm temperatures, great restaurants (I highly recommend Dick's Hideaway but you'll never find it. Brilliant marketing on the name by the way), drinking establishments, drinks by the pool, morning walks, and real estate that is almost too good to pass up. Not to mention a sports bar that rivals Hooters, only better. I see now why Erickson took the job at ASU. I also found out how brutal some of their fans are after a few of the Cougar faithful were escorted out of the stadium. Who knows why. I think maybe they were having too much fun. I guess you aren't supposed to stand up during a game at Sun Devil Stadium. Win or lose us Coug fans always do. Some of us fall down too.

It was great to get away from the cool air and the same political advertisements here in Washington State that have plagued so many of us over the past month or so. Mud slinging, thrashing, lies, and someone always gets the short end of the stick come election day. And here in Washington State it's usually the people that live outside of King County. Maybe it's time to open a satellite office.

I'm thinking Maricopa County is a good place to start.

December 4th Could Determine Wullf's Fate

Washington State University Athletic Director Bill Moos has to be feeling the heat right now. But after all, this is what he signed up for. He had to know at some point he would have to make a coaching change at his Alma mater. I'm sure he didn't think it would be this quick.

Or did he?

Many of the cougar faithful are falling off the bandwagon, in a hurry. The status of the WSU football team is giving a lot of people an uneasy feeling. The losses are mounting and getting old. So are the excuses. When a coach continually blames the players for "being too young and inexperienced", you know you have an accountability problem. Isn't it the coaches' job to get them ready, young or experienced? Last time I checked it is.

It has become Bill Moos' challenge. In 17 years as an athletic director at Montana and Oregon, Moos had only one losing season in football. I'm sure he doesn't want to live through very many more, especially at Washington State. He was instrumental in the hiring of Paul Wulff, he played a key role on the selection committee. Moos wants Wulff to succeed just as much as anyone else, but then again when you start losing your fan base, and the losses keep coming, it may be time to make a change. Or is it?

Paul Wulff has stuck to his game plan on how he is going to run his program. He continues to recruit hard for the best players available, and quality young men. There still is an interest on the part of some of these blue chip high school players, the most recent coming out of the state of Florida, who enjoyed his recruiting visit thoroughly despite the lopsided loss to USC.


So if you are the athletic director at WSU what do you do? Do you hang on and give him his four years? The first year probably doesn't really count because Wulff had less than two months to recruit, given the fact he was hired so late in the process. And it's no secret WSU doesn't have the funds to buy out a guy like Rob Akey, who just signed a new extension at Idaho.


I look for the WSU team to be much improved the rest of the year. Special teams continue to be a huge bright spot in this young season. And more importantly for Cougar fans, the Huskies are struggling too. This weekend's game at USC will be another big challenge for Steve Sarkisian's Huskies.

Many football experts say to retain your job in college football you must beat your rival. John Cooper found out the hard way during his time at Ohio State against arch rival Michigan, he's obviously no longer the coach there. In 1975, the Huskies came back from 13 points down to beat the Cougars 28-27 when Spider Gaines caught a fluke pass from Warren Moon after the ball bounced off the helmet of a Cougar defender in Don James' first Apple Cup.

Exit Cougar Coach Jim Sweeney.

Paul Wulff's career record is 1-1 against the Dawgs. Mark your calendars for December 4Th in Pullman.

It very well could determine Paul Wulff's fate.

Men Of Troy Might Have Their Hands Full

This very well could be the biggest game of Paul Wulff's career so far. His Cougar team hosts USC at Martin Stadium this Saturday and Cougs from near and far will be watching this one with a keen eye. Will his team compete and show the improvement that is needed for him to retain his job?

There are a lot of people in the WSU fan base that have had enough. Die-hard Cougs that would just as soon see him go. On the other side of the coin, there's also a lot of other coaches out there watching just as closely as the dying WSU fan base. Paul Wulff has slowly built a foundation that has not succeeded with wins on the field, yet. The team still believes in him and the morale is still high. If there's one thing he has done well it is keeping this team focused on the task as hand. He is confirming with his team the positive things that are happening, even though they are few and far between. The Cougars finally competed for 60 minutes last week on the road against SMU. If by chance Wulff is not retained, whoever takes over the job can be a hero in a heartbeat. Winning five games in their first year might just catapult them into an even bigger job, like say, Weber State or Ball State for that matter.

When the Cougars take the field on Saturday you can expect all the "wrinkles" will come out of Paul Wullf's playbook. Maybe a flea flicker on the first play instead of the patented dive play we've seen the first three games of the season. We all know the Cougars don't have the talent or experience that the other teams have so why not throw the entire kitchen sink at the opposing teams and see what happens. The fan base is dying and this just might be what they need to get some excitement generated again in the cougar nation.

USC is on probation and they aren't as big and talented as year's past. They've struggled early in the season. I expect them to come out flat on Saturday. The brash and cocky Lane Kiffin will have a really hard time getting this team up for Washington State. They have nothing to play for.

I chose Pullman over going to Lake Chelan this weekend. I chose football over wine tasting and hanging out at my favorite place?

For some reason I have a funny feeling I made the right choice. Look for the Cougs to cover.

What a thrill that would be.

A Great Day In Pullman

Sometimes you learn a lot from your significant other, in this case my wonderful wife Kathy. It was hard getting her to go to the WSU-Montana State game on Saturday, given the current situation with the Cougar Football Program. She started to 'buy in' to some of the things she's been hearing from her die-hard Cougar friends, many of them abandoning ship and giving up on coach Paul Wulff and his staff.

As the Cougs fell behind in the second quarter and later at halftime, I gazed around at the 26,000+ fans who showed up for the non-conference game with the Bobcats. It was a perfect day for football. My friend Jim, a loyal MSU fan and graduate, sat next to us with his two young sons. It was huge for them and a great bonding experience. For a Montana State fan, this is big time football. Earlier in the day, his oldest ran 45 yards for a touchdown in a grid kids game.

I appreciated how great it was to be back in Pullman again. My wife and I met there and it will always be a special place for both of us. We also enjoyed watching Emily Walden (former coach Jim Walden's daughter who we went to school with) lecturing some guy next to her for not supporting the coach. Knowing her, I'm sure she got the best of him in this one. He left a short time later.

Despite the lackluster performance by the Cougars, and the nay sayers that continue to haunt Paul Wulff and his program, I found the day real enjoyable even before the Cougars came back to take the lead. My wife summed it up best. "Thanks for buying the season tickets hon", she whispered in my ear.

She couldn't have said it any better.

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.

Two Guys With A Lot In Common

I knew I had a lot in common with Fred Couples. Both of us grew up playing junior golf in the Seattle area. Neither of us wear a glove when we play golf. In addition to golf, both of us played soccer and baseball growing up as youngsters. But the biggest thing we have in common is both of us have had blow ups on that darn par 5 second hole at Sahalee.

In the Father-Son golf tournament years ago, I chunked four balls in the water and took a 13 on the par-5 hole. It was that same hole that cost Fred Couples the 2010 US Senior Open. After choosing to lay up from the right side after his tee shot, Fred proceeded to chunk a lob wedge into the lake that guards the green. He finished with a triple bogey, and it was that mistake that cost him his first major as a senior player.

On a much smaller scale, my Dad and I finished second that year in the Father-Son. Maybe I should have gone for the green too. It still eats at me to this day.