Washington State Cougars 1-10 Overall (0-8 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon State 42 – Washington State 10

Next Week’s Opponent: @Washington

“We felt we were in the game. We had the ball for long periods of time. One play here or there and it would have been a whole different game.” – QB Kevin Lopina

Lopina may sound like a hopeless optimist, but actually, I tend to agree with the above statement (to a point). While the box score from Saturday’s loss to Oregon State looks all too familiar, WSU showed some promising signs of life. At one point late in the third quarter the score was 21-10 OSU, and that was especially impressive considering the Beavers scored on their first three possessions of the game. The Cougs put fourth a commendable effort, and Wazzu fans can only hope that the team is ready to take the next step this Saturday.

There are two players that I think deserve special recognition for their efforts in this game and throughout the season (not counting C Kenny Alfred).

WR Jared Karstetter – Karstetter had another excellent day against OSU (6 catches 72 yards) and the sophomore has now caught 34 passes for 507 yards (14.9 YPC) and 6 TDs in 2009. If you are looking for positives to build on as this program moves forward, look no further than #84. Karstetter is already a reliable target, but its safe to assume the 6-4 receiver is going to be even better in the next two seasons.

P Reid Forrest – A strong argument could be made that Forrest is the Cougars’ MVP, as he trails only Vanderbilit’s Brett Upson for most punts in the country (Forrest has 79, Upson has 81). Forrest ranks 3rd in the Pac-10 with a 43.56 per punt average, and he has done a commendable job under difficult circumstances. He punted eight more times against OSU, with a 38-yard average.

As bad as 2009 has been, a win in Seattle would infuse Paul Wulff’s program with much-needed momentum. Sure the Cougs beat U-Dub last year only to suffer through another terrible season, but winning the Apple Cup for a second straight season would still be massive. It was troubling to see that only 16,167 people attended the OSU game at Martin Stadium, so Wazzu needs something to spark the fan base for next season. You can bet a win over the Dawgs would do just that.

Washington State Cougars 1-8 Overall (0-7 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Arizona 48 – Washington State 7

Next Week’s Opponent: UCLA

Even moral victories seem to be eluding the Cougars these days.

It is hard to muster up much hope for the future when the talent discrepancy is so abundantly clear. After a disastrous 16 minutes and 32 seconds of football that saw the Cougars down 31-0, the Wildcats put the playbook away and just ran the ball. They only threw it five times in the remaining 43 minutes and 28 seconds.

And run, run, run they did. With their backups, no less. The Wildcats racked up 294 yards on the ground on 54 carries, and completely dominated time of possession 41:19 to 18:41. There really wasn’t anything they didn’t dominate. Especially special teams, in which the Cougars gave up both a kick return and a punt return for touchdowns.

There just wasn’t any offense to be had when the Cougars did have the ball. Jeff Tuel went an underwhelming 5/10 for 23 yards while getting mercilessly hurried and sacked with the offensive line defenseless against Arizona’s attack. Tuel’s six sacks led to two lost fumbles as well.

Paul Wulff started Marshall Lobbestael in the second half (likely to spare his young quarterback his life), who fared a bit better going 7/11 for 103 yards, highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown reception by Jered Karstetter midway through the 4th quarter. That was the only highlight of the game for the Cougars, which came with the game already well out of reach at 48-0.

What is there left to say? I feel bad for Paul Wulff; convincing potential recruits to play here after this season is going to be a pretty monumental task.

Washington State Cougars 1-7 Overall (0-6 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Notre Dame 40 – Washington State 14

Next Week’s Opponent: @Arizona

Well, that went about the way most of us expected it to. The Cougars were physically beat down by Notre Dame’s overpowering line play, and while the laundry list of WSU injuries played a role, it is pretty clear that these two teams are not in the same stratosphere talent-wise. On numerous occasions, I saw the Irish o-line blow the WSU front seven right off the ball. The same could not be said for the Cougars o-line, as it looked helpless against the ND rush.

The game was essentially over by halftime, especially after Golden Tate’s incredible Hail Mary grab with no time left in the first half (TD put the Irish up 30-7). For the game, Notre Dame out gained Wazzu 592 to 206 in total offense, and ND QB Jimmy Clausen completed 81% of his passes (22-27 passes for 268 yards and two TDs).

It’s very hard to find positives in games like these, but I did like what I saw from RB Dwight Tardy and WR Jared Karstetter. Tardy managed to run for 72 yards on only eight carries (9.0 YPC) and I thought he hit the hole very quickly. While Karstetter only made two catches on the day, both were for TDs. I understand that Paul Wulff likes to use Karstetter primarily in the red zone, because of his frame and leaping ability, but I would like to see the sophomore more involved in the offense this season and in the future.

It is easy to see why the WSU coaches are so excited about QB Jeff Tuel, even on a day where he struggled a little bit statistically (12-23 104 yards 2 TDs, 2 INTs). I have no doubt that the freshman is going to be a great player in the coming years, but he must keep his head up during these difficult times.

Next, Washington State travels to the Old Pueblo to take on a nationally ranked Arizona team that is on a roll right now. Paul Wulff’s squad will not pull the upset, but this game provides young Cougars like Tuel with another excellent opportunity to gain invaluable experience.

Washington State Cougars 1-4 Overall (0-3 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Oregon 52 – Washington State 6

Next Week’s Opponent: Arizona State

Wazzu fans may not be happy with the blowout loss in Eugene, especially considering the great effort in the Coliseum. But let’s be honest about three things: 1) The Cougs still have a long way to go in all three phases of the game, and there just isn’t enough speed right now. 2) The team has been ravaged by injuries all season, making it nearly impossible to create any chemistry. 3) They ran into a buzz saw Saturday night, as the Ducks appear to be clicking on all cylinders.

The best thing Paul Wulff’s team can do is move on, because Oregon was a bad match up for this WSU team, especially in a hostile environment like Autzen.

In a way, I think it is good that QB Jeff Tuel exited the game early, as his presence would not have changed the outcome, and a poor performance could have hurt his confidence. Tuel’s hip-pointer injury is not serious, and with the two toughest games already out of the way (and maybe three if you count Stanford), the promising freshman will have a better chance to be successful for the rest of the ’09 season.

Losing RB James Montgomery and WR Jeshua Anderson has really hurt lately, as there just isn’t any explosion in the offense. Receivers like Simone, Blackledge and Karstetter must continue to improve, because the passing game was downright embarrassing against the Ducks (leading receiver only had 12 yards). I like what I saw from freshman RB Carl Winston (7 car. 56 yards) and I can only hope that he may provide an offensive spark for Wazzu.

Defensively, I see a few positives (though you wouldn’t know it by watching the Oregon game). The linebackers are pretty solid (especially Hoffman-Ellis), and the defensive tackles are playing well. Unfortunately, the unit simply isn’t fast enough to hold up against athletically gifted teams, and Wulff must change that in the next few recruiting classes.

Next up for the Cougs is a home date with Arizona State. The Sun Devils are nothing special on offense, so this may be a golden opportunity for WSU to steal one as long as Tuel can stay in control and the receivers and running backs can be halfway decent. Paul Wulff’s team must find a way to keep fighting through all of the adversity. Sure, the blowouts are becoming painfully hard to deal with (along with the injuries), but progress will only be made if the team continues to persevere.

Washington State Cougars 1-2 Overall (0-1 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Washington State 30 – Southern Methodist 27 (OT)

Next Week’s Opponent: @USC

Sure the Huskies will get most of the attention in the Evergreen State, but how ‘bout them Cougars?! I will admit that I basically wrote WSU off after what I saw in the first two games of the season (mostly the Hawaii game), and I expected a comfortable SMU victory on Saturday. For about three quarters it looked like I would be right, as the Mustangs were up 24-7 and cruising to an easy victory in Pullman.

But then the Wazzu defense decided to take control of the game.

I cannot say enough about the resiliency of the Cougs D, which picked off four Bo Levi Mitchell passes and returned two of them for game-changing touchdowns (Hoffman-Ellis’s INT TD made it 24-13 late in the 3rd Qtr, and Beck’s INT TD made it 27-20 in the 4th).

SMU put up 504 yards on offense compared to only 276 from WSU, yet somehow Paul Wulff’s team came through. QB Marshall Lobbestael didn’t exactly light the world on fire with his performance (24-52 239 yards 2 TDs, 2 INTs), but he showed tremendous leadership and poise while directing Wazzu on an 80-yard scoring drive to tie the game in the final minute of the 4th quarter. WR Jared Karstetter has really stepped up as the number one target (caught game-tying TD in final minute), which is huge considering the recent retirement of Jeshua Anderson.

Pessimists will suggest that there are still way too many inconsistencies on both sides of the ball for this to be a competitive team every week. But college football is a funny game, and sometimes a comeback performance like Saturday’s can spark a program. Unfortunately for Washington State, an angry USC team is awaiting their arrival in Los Angeles this week so the momentum may not carry over from the SMU game.

The Pac-10 (and Notre Dame) will not make it easy for WSU to claim another victory, but none of that diminishes the comeback against the Mustangs. Even if Nico Grasu’s game winning kick in O.T. turns out to be the crowning achievement for the 2009 Cougars, it was a special moment for a program that needed one.

Washington State Cougars 0-2 Overall (0-1 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Hawaii 38 – Washington State 20

Next Week’s Opponent: SMU

It is easy to say that you understand it will be a frustrating season and that you are just going to focus on the positives. After games like this one, it is a lot harder to actually put into practice.

Hawaii needed to dig deep in week one to overcome a 12 point deficit to the Division II Central Arkansas Bears. After taking their first lead of the game in the third quarter, they gave it back with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter; and it wasn’t until Greg Alexander connected with Rodney Bradley for a touchdown with just 1:22 left on the game clock that Hawaii took the lead again, this time for good.

A team struggles that badly at home against a Division II team, and now they are coming into your stadium this week. If ever there was a time to get amped up and play your best game, this is it.

Punt, Fumble, Interception, Punt, Fumble, Interception.

Meanwhile, Hawaii moved the ball with incredible ease; after scoring only one first half touchdown at home against Central Arkansas, they managed five touchdowns in the first 17 minutes on the road against the Cougars.

Positives? After the first six turnover-laden drives, Washington State settled down and got points in four of their next five possessions. RB James Montgomery had a fantastic day racking up 118 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

That’s really about it. The pass protection was terrible, the defense gave up 626 total yards (211 more than Central Arkansas did), star WR Jared Karstetter coughed the ball up twice. Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael combined for zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The game just had the same look and feel that so many in 2008 did.

The worst part about getting off to such a slow start and having such a bad game was the fact that this was the game the Cougars needed to win. Coming into the season, most Cougars fans were circling Hawaii, SMU, and Washington as potential wins.

SMU looked great last weekend in racking up a ton of yards on UAB and picking up the win. With the way the defense played this week, are you expecting better results against June Jones and Bo Levi Mitchell’s high powered passing attack?

As for Washington, well, it looks like some teams can rebuild overnight. Washington is out of the cellar, and heading into Washington and beating that team would now have to be considered a huge upset.

For Paul Wulff, Saturday’s game against SMU just became a must win. With just about every team in the conference looking like they are headed in the right direction, even the most patient Cougar fans aren’t going to take a winless season in stride.

Washington State Cougars 0-1 Overall (0-1 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Stanford 39 – Washington State 13

Next Week’s Opponent: Hawaii

Sam’s Take:

When you think about last year’s game with Stanford (58-0 loss) this was not a bad debut for Paul Wulff’s second team.

I thought there were some very positive things to take away from both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Cougs were able to run a pretty solid no-huddle offense, and at times, the sharp throwing of Kevin Lopina and the running of Tardy and Montgomery had Stanford on their heels. I also thought Jared Karstetter emerged as a solid receiving threat for WSU.

The defense succumbed to Gerhart, Luck, and Owusu, but they played more inspired football than most of last season. The D was competitive and even managed to hold Luck under 50% passing, which bodes well for the future.

WSU has a great chance to beat Hawaii if they correct a few things and play like they did against the Cardinal.

Dave’s Take:

What really sticks out to me more than anything in Washington State’s effort on Saturday was how they responded after their opening drive on offense.

Starting at their own 21 yard line, Kevin Lopina, Dwight Tardy, and James Montgomery led the Cougars down the field on an extremely impressive and methodical 19-play drive. Having the ball first and goal on the one, Tardy and Montgomery were both stuffed and an incomplete pass later, Nico Grasu lined up for a chip shot 21-yard field goal; and missed.

Right there, I found myself thinking “here we go again”. I was expecting the heartbroken Cougars to just rollover and give up.

Instead, they respond with a defensive stop. They get the ball back and put together a 54-yard drive, this one capped off by a successful field goal try.

The defense left plenty to be desired, and the Cougars just don’t have the talent to keep up with the rest of the conference at this point. But in a season geared towards looking for positives moving forward, the quarterback play and character this team showed were definitely positives.

Head coach Paul Wulff would certainly love to run his no-huddle offense with this group of wideouts, but it will take some time for the new cast of skill position talent to develop in Pullman.

There is a ton of youthful inexperience in the WSU receiving corps, but the unit does have a few intriguing options. The group will be led by a lightning fast junior who is one of the best players on the team, not just at the position.

Junior wideout Jeshua Anderson enters 2009 as the Cougars main receiving threat. The 6-2 188 pound playmaker was the second leading receiver on the team last season (next to Brandon Gibson). He ended 2008 with 33 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns (9.2 YPC), and for his career he has 45 catches for 677 yards and four touchdowns. He is a native of Woodland Hills (CA) and was a two-sport star (football and track) at Taft High School (CA).

Jeshua Anderson goes up for the grab

Anderson is a tremendous overall athlete with world-class speed. He won back-to-back NCAA Championships in the 400m hurdles for 2008 and 2009. On top of that, he almost made it to the Olympics in Beijing last summer as a hurdler. Anderson will undoubtedly be the field stretcher of the unit, and Paul Wulff will look to get the speedster in space as much as possible. He missed spring ball in order to compete for the track team, but will be ready for fall practice.

To fully reach his potential, Anderson will have to become a more polished receiver. His wheels are amazing, but if he can become a better route-runner and improve his consistency as a pass-catcher, the Cougars will have an even more formidable weapon.

Next to Anderson, the player with the most time as a starting wideout is sophomore Kevin Norrell. Norrell played in all 13 games in 2008 as a true freshman, starting in six. He caught 11 passes for 124 yards (11.3 YPC) and also returned 16 kickoffs for 296 yards.

At 5-9 199 pounds, Norrell is a very elusive player with great acceleration and agility. He will line-up primarily in the slot as he did often in last year’s offense, and should increase his production after gaining valuable experience during his freshman year.

The Los Angeles (CA) native does not have great top-end speed but possesses some of the best hands on the team and plays with great instincts. Norrell will be a reliable target in Paul Wulff’s offense with his sharp route running and overall polished skill set, especially for a true sophomore.

Anderson and Norrell will be joined as starters by sophomore Jared Karstetter. The 6-4 203 pound wideout is a physically imposing receiver with solid skills. He played in all 13 games last season as a freshman and started three, but he managed only six receptions for 90 yards.

Although Karstetter had limited production in 2008, he made his biggest contribution when it mattered most. During the Apple Cup against Washington, Karstetter hauled in a huge 48-yard reception from Kevin Lopina during the final minute of regulation. His catch set up the game-tying field goal, and the Cougs would go on to win the game in overtime.

This season, the Spokane (WA) native should have a much larger role in the offense, and will provide WSU QB’s with a great compliment to the speedier Anderson and Norrell. Karstetter is a former standout basketball player at Ferris High School (WA), and has the hops to make an impact in the red zone. He also has deceptive speed for a big wideout, running the 40 in the 4.5 range.

Jared Karstetter secures the ball at practice

Juniors Daniel Blackledge and Jeff Solomon may also see time this season for the Cougars.

The 6-1 182 pound Blackledge played in nine games last season, finishing with nine receptions for 70 yards. He has spent most of his career on special teams but could be utilized quite a bit as a wideout in 2009. Blackledge gives WSU a balanced receiving threat, capable of running intermediate routes or going deep. The Colorado Springs (CO) native will start the year as a reserve, but could factor in quite a bit this season.

The 6-0 196 pound Solomon is a transfer from Paul Wulff’s old school, Eastern Washington. This will be his first season with Washington State, and he impressed the coaching staff already this past spring. The Seattle (WA) native played just about every position as a prep star at Ingraham High School (WA) and it is that kind of versatility that could land him playing time in 2009.

The most intriguing prospect on the team is junior Johnny Forzani. Forzani is a junior college transfer from Douglass College in Canada. The 6-1 195 pound wideout may turn out to be a steal for Paul Wulff because of his tremendous athleticism and blazing speed. Forzani has been timed at 4.37 in the 40 and gives WSU another field stretcher along with Anderson.

He spent time with the Calgary Colts (a CFL development team) catching 37 passes for 702 yards and nine touchdowns. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native may be eased into the rotation, but should threaten for time this season.

Finally, true freshman Gino Simone will enter fall camp with a chance to earn playing time. Simone was a spectacular performer at Skyline High School (WA), and a bit overlooked nationally. The 5-11 174 pound wideout was one of the major reasons that Skyline won back to back state titles, with a combined 2,282 receiving yards and 33 TDs during his last two years in high school. His production alone makes him a viable candidate for playing time in Pullman.

Tight Ends

The likely starter at tight end this season will be senior Tony Thompson. At 6-2 241 pounds, Thompson does not have the height of a prototypical tight end, but he does have pedigree going for him. Thompson is the son of legendary Washington State QB Jack Thompson, also known as “The Throwin’ Samoan”.

Last season, Thompson saw action in 10 games, but only caught four passes for 30 yards on the season. Thompson has spent most of his career on special teams, appearing as the team’s deep snapper for the early part of his career. The former walk-on from Seattle (WA) must continue to develop if he is to be the starter for a full season.

Behind Thompson on the depth chart right now is senior Zach Tatman. The Salem (OR) native is also a former walk-on and enters 2009 without any game experience after redshirting last season. The 6-5 245 pound tight end has a big frame, and should provide the offensive line with blocking help.

Other receivers and tight ends competing for time are: freshmen Dominique Jackson, Esa Johnwell, Skylar Stormo, Andrei Lintz and Elliott Bosch, and juniors Easton Johnson, Randy Johnson, Aaron Gehring, and Anthony Houston.

My Take

Like many positions, this will be a year of development at receiver for the Cougars. That’s not to say that there isn’t talent, because there is, but the wideouts are young.

Obviously it all starts with Anderson, who really is a spectacular athlete. I expect him to surpass his production from the last two years, but the coaches will need to be creative because every defense that plays WSU will be focusing their efforts on stopping Anderson. I also think Norrell and Karstetter can be good contributors, but expect growing pains along the way.

Cougar fans should keep an eye out for Forzani and Simone. Both of them can give the overall skill position talent a real boost if they are as good as advertised. Forzani is the only vertical threat besides Anderson, and I expect to see him on the field early in the season. Simone has tremendous instincts, and I think he can help out right away too.

Unfortunately, I do not see a ton of upside at tight end. It is very important for Thompson to solidify the position, because depth is scary-thin for this unit.

Overall, this year is about building a foundation at receiver for the Washington State Cougars.